Enter and view: Mental Health Community Services, Lambeth

Healthwatch Lambeth in March 2017 conducted Enter and View visits to community based organisations which offered very different support services, including employment support, supported accommodation and clinical treatment. This purpose of the visit was to gain insight into what the service provided, how they worked and how service users experienced them. In addition, they wanted to identify specific areas within the community based mental health and care system that may need deeper investigation.

The report highlights that while some common themes were identified, it is also important to note that there were significant differences in the design and delivery of support; the experiences of staff and service users; and the impact and scale of need the services were addressing. That said, by visiting a variety of services, they were able to see how important fluidity and communication across community mental health services is, and the need for services to work together to holistically address the multiple needs of individuals.

Of all the feedback Healthwatch Lambeth received, they were especially concerned by the issues of staff burnout; inappropriate referrals and assessments; and long waiting times to receive appropriate treatments. This seems to indicate that secondary care services may be struggling to meet mental health needs in the community.

Despite all this good work and production of a number of system wide considerations Healthwatch Lambeth’s next steps are to develop a new Enter and View programme focussing on NHS secondary care mental health services from April 2017.