Dorset leads the way for patient experience in mental health

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Dorset HealthCare as one of the best in the country for positive feedback received from mental health patients.

The findings have been published in the annual CQC Community Mental Health Survey 2017, and are based on feedback from 12,139 patients who received care between September and November last year – including 229 from Dorset.

The information is gathered once a patient has been discharged. They are then asked for their views on the overall quality of care they’ve received and how likely they are to recommend our services to others.

In total, 56 health care providers took part in the CQC Mental Health Survey, with Dorset HealthCare coming out on top for overall patient experience with a rating of 7.5. Compared to others, the Trust rated particularly well for crisis care.

Chief Operating Officer Eugine Yafele said: “I am delighted to see such positive results in our annual survey. The feedback we receive from people who have used our services is so important in helping us continue to improve the support we offer.

“We shall be closely looking at areas of best practice, as well as those where people have told us they would like to see more change, and using this to help inform how we deliver services in the future.”

Dorset HealthCare provides a range of community and in-patient mental health services across Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole. It delivers care and treatment for conditions such as depression, schizophrenia and eating disorders, as well as dementia and mental health problems relating to pregnancy and childbirth.

The CQC survey consists of 32 questions where it is possible to make comparisons between different trusts. A score and banding is given to each one, and it’s this that determines whether a trust is above, below or within the expected range.

The findings are then compared to last year’s results for each organisation. The data helps the CQC to assess the quality of care provided, and enables trusts to understand where improvements are needed.

Rachel Small, Mental Health Community Services Manager said: “We had a fantastic response to a public consultation on mental health care, and the new services we will deliver are in direct response to what people have told us they want.

“This includes easy access to services out of hours, and as a result we will be opening a new service called The Retreat in Bournemouth in April and one in Dorchester in 2019. This will help continue to build on the successes demonstrated in the survey.”

Details of the survey are available at www.cqc.org.uk/publications/surveys/community-mental-health-survey-2017.