Out-of-hours crisis care sparks concern

Sep 11 2007 By Paul Bradley, Birmingham Mail

MENTAL health patients in Worcestershire are not getting the out of hours crisis care they need, it was revealed today.

In a survey by the Healthcare Commision, around one in three patients in Worcester-shire said they were unable to get the care they needed out-side of the normal operating hours. And the same proportion said they were not getting the counselling they needed.

Carers also had reason to complain with nearly half saying the did not get the support and help they needed to do their job.

Betty Passingham, a member of the Worcestershire Health and Overseeing Scrutiny Committee, said: "This situation is very concerning."

"We have a group of people looking into the matter at the moment and we are trying to find ways we can improve the service.

"We have been assured that the NHS has the money to deliver the crisis care out of hours but whenever patients seem to need it most they have been unable to get the care they desperately need."

"We are asking carers to come and meet with us next month so we can find out exactly what we need to do to make things better."

But health bosses claimed the report showed an improvement in services on the whole with 83 percent of the 212 patients interviewed rating their care as 'good'.

John Calvert, Chairman of the Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, said: "We welcome the findings of the Healthcare Commission's survey. Understanding what patients think about the care and treatment they receive is crucial in helping us raise standards and improve the quality of care we provide.

"It is quite clear that, in general, our staff continue to provide an excellent level of care that people appreciate, however, there are areas that we need to address and we shall."

On October 5 the Redditch and Bromsgrove Health and Consultative Committee will meet to discuss the matter.