The
Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its 2009 survey of mental health acute inpatient services. The report has revealed some worrying statistics that suggest that many people with mental health problems feel vulnerable and even unsafe when admitted as in-patients and that a significant proportion of patients also feel uninvolved about decisions relating to their care. Human rights lawyers at Leigh Day & Co have represented a number of people with poor mental health who have received inadequate or substandard care, or who have felt excluded and marginalised by the people responsible for their care.
Whilst there were some positive findings in the report, for example, 85% of respondents felt welcome on the ward when they arrived, other figures make more worrying reading. For example:
- 8% of respondents said that they had shared a sleeping area such as a room or bay with patients of the opposite sex during their most recent stay.
- 86% reported having physical health checks in hospital – but only 44% of those with physical health problems ‘definitely’ felt that enough care was taken of these.
- The survey showed limited access to talking therapies, with 29% receiving these overall and less than half of those who wanted talking therapies getting them.
- Less than half (45%) said that they “always” felt safe in hospital.
- There was a lack of activities available for inpatients, with 35% saying that there was too little to do on weekdays and over half (54%) reporting that there were not enough activities available to them at weekends or evenings.
- Patients were often not involved in their care as much as they wanted to be, with 34% saying that they were “definitely” involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment.
- Many patients felt that they were not given understandable explanations about their care and treatment,– 48% said that the potential side effects of medicines that they were prescribed whilst in hospital were not explained to them in a way they could understand
- Only 28% said that staff on the wards “definitely” knew enough about their previous care and treatment, and 29% said they were not given information on how they could get help in a crisis after they were discharged.
Alison Millar, a partner in the human rights team at Leigh Day, said:
“It is good that the CQC has gathered responses from over 7,500 people with mental health problems for the first time. These statistics are a useful way of illustrating some of the problems that such patients experience. It is particularly concerning that such a high percentage of respondents felt unsafe in hospital, a place where patients, whatever their illness, should always feel secure and cared for. Patients with poor mental health deserve to be treated in a way that involves them, as far as possible, in key decisions about their care and treatment. It is saddening to read that many patients do not seem to be treated with a holistic approach to their problems.”
If you would like to speak to a lawyer in the human rights department on this subject please contact partners
Frances Swaine or
Alison Millar on 020 7650 1200.
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