Experiences of mental health crisis support at A&E in Suffolk
Download (PDF 1.65 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Suffolk CIC and Suffolk User Forum (SUF) have worked together to gather feedback from people who have accessed mental health support from local emergency departments (A&E). The aim was to update the current understanding of people’s experiences and address a local gap in independently published evidence. They undertook a survey to which 39 people responded.
People want to feel safe and supported by their visit to A&E. This includes receiving clear advice and guidance and ongoing support or signposting. It was common for patients to feel support at A&E had not met their needs. People need clear advice and signposting when they are in crisis. Ensuring follow-up and providing advice about available support can validate people’s experiences and ensure people do not leave feeling alone.
Providing updates and treating people with respect helps people to feel recognised in moments of crisis. Many patients and carers felt that their mental health was not recognised, or treated with the same priority as physical health at A&E.
Comfortable seating, access to quiet spaces, and ensuring the availability of food or water can help patients and carers in crisis. Many felt that A&E was a difficult environment to wait in, or that the facilities in A&E were not suited for patients and families in crisis.
Carers have an important role to monitor people in A&E when staff cannot attend to them, but they have needs too. Carers and people supporting someone in crisis often felt unsupported or overlooked in A&E.