‘Improving mental health services for Birmingham service users’ details changes made by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) to its community mental health services (CMHTs), after patients shared their issues with medicine management, access to care and appointments, respect and communication.
Patients and professionals in the community shared their experiences of Zinnia Centre CMHT with Healthwatch Birmingham in 2018. Feedback highlighted issues such as delays and problems with medicine management and inflexibility of pick up times for medication. The initial investigation also heard about difficulties contacting the CMHT, getting responses or accessing follow up care.
The Zinnia Centre provides important services such as assessment, specialist support and care for local people with mental health issues, such as psychosis and depression.
BSMHFT has now put in place a series of improvements to ensure better access for patients, such as:
- changes in the dispensing of medication
- a dedicated community psychiatric nurse (CPN) leading on improving systems
- better communication with service users if medication is not available
- improved telephone access to the Zinnia Centre and support, with calls answered more quickly and signposting information about crisis support within voicemail messages
| Improving mental health services for Birmingham service users | Download File (pdf 1.91 MB) |
