Experiences and views on seeking support during a mental health crisis: Engagement activity report

Engagement Activity Report in August 2016 by Healthwatch Nottingham and Healthwatch Nottinghamshire to support the development of a local action plan on seeking support during a mental health crisis.

The aim of the report, on behalf of the Nottingham/shire Crisis Concordat Partnership Board, was to target five groups to improve the understanding of issues faced by these groups in accessing mental health services.

The methodology included voluntary face to face or phone interviews with people from the following groups: black and minority ethnic; students; carers of people with mental health illness, ex-military personnel and homeless people. Work was conducted between April to July 2016.

In summary, 269 people gave detailed accounts of their experience. Additional data from surveys took account of the views of 484 people. It was found that 43% of people sought urgent GP support. Barriers identified which could have prevented this included a lack of awareness about accessing emergency support, stigma associated with mental health, language and cultural issues, substance misuse and the actual symptoms of the crisis episode itself. Long waiting times, mental health issues being dismissed by service staff, problems around communication between services, discharge processes and the criteria for accessing mental health services were all cited by respondents as reasons for contacting services.

Recommendations included ensuring greater provision of services so that this can be sought before a crisis, reviewing eligibility criteria for access to services and providing mental health support via locations attended by the community. Further work on the quality of crisis services and on discharge arrangements was advised as well as a consideration of the ways in which a service user avoids telling their ‘story’ more than once.