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Confederation responds to Alzheimer’s Society claims
Edited by Jane Hill: The provision of higher quality care for people with dementia, in hospital wards, could save the National Health Service [NHS] millions, states Counting the Cost a recent report by the Alzheimer’s Society.
In response to the organisation’s claim, Jo Webber, NHS Confederation deputy director of policy, said: “Dementia is a life changing and sometimes harrowing experience for sufferers and their relatives. As the number of people with dementia is likely to double over the next 20 years, this report highlights how vital it is to improve services so that they are all as good as the best.
“For example, the report cites the Confederation’s own work on liaison psychiatric teams in acute hospitals to make the case that the NHS can offer care that is better for patients and their carers and better value for taxpayers. Through intervening early and co-ordinated action across the NHS and social services, these teams and other co-ordinated services can make a real difference at local level.
“More widely, we also need to tackle the societal issues and stigma around mental health problems, such as dementia so we can get help to those who need it as soon as possible.”
Infolink: The NHS Confederation represents more than 95 per cent of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, independent providers of NHS services, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
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Key issues include individuals’ needs and patient safety
Edited by Andy Porter: The biggest–ever national survey of people’s experiences of acute mental health inpatient services in England reveals that too great a proportion feel they were let down in some important aspects of the care they received, says the Care Quality Commission [CQC].
In the recent survey published by the Commission, more than 7,500 people recently discharged from NHS trusts across England gave their views on each stage of their care from the moment they were admitted to hospital to the support they got after they left.
The findings from the survey underline two key issues that have been previously identified as priority areas for improvement: Focusing on individuals’ needs and ensuring the safety of patients.
Involving patients in decisions about their care and treatment is an important part of meeting their individual needs. When asked about this, though, only one–third of people who responded to the survey said they were involved as much as they wanted to be.
On patient safety, less than half said they ‘always’ felt safe on the ward, while 39 per cent ‘sometimes’ felt safe and 16 per cent did not feel safe at all.
Focusing on individuals’ needs and ensuring patient safety were flagged–up as the two top priorities for improvement in a review last year of NHS acute inpatient mental health services. Many trusts had performed poorly in both these areas of care.
The new survey highlighted:
- a lack of activities available to patients, on weekdays, weekends and evenings,
- limited access to talking therapies, such as counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy and anxiety management,
Large proportions of patients also reported shortcomings in other aspects of the care they received during their hospital stay.According to the results of the survey, which was co–ordinated for CQC by the National Centre for Social Research, 85 per cent of patients said they were made to feel welcome when they were admitted to hospital.
There was a mixed response about patients’ relationships with hospital staff. Most respondents said that psychiatrists, and to a slightly lesser extent nurses, treated them with respect and dignity, and listened to what they had to say. However, only half of patients said they were ‘always’ given enough time to discuss their condition and treatment with psychiatrists, and the figure for nurses was lower at 41 per cent.
Barbara Young, CQC chairman, said: “This survey gets to the heart of what it means to provide care that meets people’s individual needs.
“As the care services regulator, we have pledged to ensure that the voices of everyone who uses care services are heard. This survey shows us that there is considerable room for improvement in patients’ experiences of acute inpatient mental health services, and that there remains a particular need to ensure that services are focused on meeting the needs of people as individuals.
“It is not acceptable for people to feel unsafe in hospital or for them not to be to given basic information about their care and treatment. All trusts must provide a therapeutic environment in which patients can feel safe and recover. A therapeutic environment must include adequate access to activities and talking therapies.
“We will be writing to all the trusts covered by the survey to underline the findings, and we will continue to push for improvement through our assessment and registration systems.”
Infolink: The 64 trusts covered by the survey include combined mental health and social care trusts, and those foundation trusts and primary care trusts that provide acute mental health hospital inpatient services. It excluded secure and specialist units. Questionnaires were sent to patients aged 16 to 64 who had been discharged following a stay on an acute ward or psychiatric intensive care unit of at least 48–hours.
The results from CQC surveys are used by NHS trusts to help them understand and improve their performance. The Commission has also used the results from each trust in this survey in its annual assessment of their performance [the annual health check for 2008–09] that will be published on 15 October 2009.
Visit the Care Quality Commission online at: www.cqc.org.uk.
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Warning against hospital and prison food comparisons
Edited by Jane Hill: In response to research from the University of Bournemouth, which compared NHS hospital food with prison food, the deputy policy director at the NHS Confederation, Jo Webber, warned against making superficial comparisons between two completely different types of organisation.
The director said: “Eating properly is one of the key parts to successful recovery and the NHS Confederation argued that proper nutrition should be one of the enforceable standards of the new healthcare regulator the care quality commission.
“According to the last national patients’ survey, most people are satisfied with the food they receive in hospital. It also said that more people were getting help eating their meals when they needed it.
“We recognise that more needs to be done to improve nutrition so all hospitals meet the standards of the best although we urge caution in making superficial comparisons between two completely different types of institution.”
Infolink: The NHS Confederation represents more than 95 per cent of the organisations that make up the NHS. Its members include the majority of NHS acute trusts, ambulance trusts, foundation trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts, independent providers of NHS services, special health authorities and strategic health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
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Plan aims to eliminate causes of poor mental health
Edited by Nick Adams: A new 10-year mental health strategy, called ‘New Horizons’, sets-out an approach which aims both to improve England’s well-being and target the root causes of poor mental health.
The Department of Health’s strategy, which aims to involve schools, employers, the NHS and the criminal justice system, is now undergoing a consultation period with different organisations.
The policy was developed with input from a wide-range of partners, which also comprised local government and the educational sector.
Included in the consultation document are key themes and aims, such as:
- prevention and public mental health, the need to prevent as well as treat mental health and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing,
- stigma, with a focus on social inclusion and measures to tackle stigma and discrimination wherever they occur,
- early intervention, expansion of the principle of early intervention to improve long-term outcomes,
- personalised care, this should ensure that care is based on individuals’ needs and wishes,
- multi-agency commissioning/collaboration, a joint approach between local authorities, the NHS and others, mirrored by cross government collaboration,
- innovation, to seek out new and dynamic ways to achieve objectives based on research and new technologies,
- value for money, to deliver cost-effective and innovative services in a period of recession,
- and to strengthen the often difficult transition from child and adolescent mental health services to adult services, for those individuals who still have mental health needs.
For further information visit the Department of Health’s website: www.dh.gov.uk.
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