People's experiences of mental health services
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Healthwatch Wolverhampton undertook research into mental health services due to the increasing amount of feedback they received from the public on this topic. They undertook a survey, community engagement and did an enter and view visit to Penn Hospital.
People require support when accessing mental health services, but there is a lack of support in this area. People are passed from service to service and some are having to seek out their own support, including those who need help with ongoing mental health problems. The difficulty accessing this care can lead to deteriorating mental health, health inequalities and confusion.
There is a lack of empathy from healthcare professionals for people accessing mental health services. People described negative attitudes towards patients.
People want to be involved in conversations about their healthcare and to make informed decisions. Poor communication from healthcare professionals and lack of information about treatment options makes people feel that they don’t have a say.