We shared feedback from the Healthwatch Birmingham report Experiences of NHS Community mental health services in South and East Birmingham – Healthwatch Birmingham as well as feedback we have heard from the people of Birmingham and Solihull between April 2023 and December 2024.
04/02/2025
Consultations
2024
We highlighted a number of key challenges faced by those who are accessing community mental health services in Birmingham and Solihull:
- Quality of access (e.g waiting times, mode of access, lack of support while waiting for appointments)
- Quality of appointments (e.g rushed or cancelled appointments, lack of face-to-face appointments)
- Quality of treatment (e.g overreliance on prescription medication, and strategies or activities offered)
- Consistency and continuity of care (e.g. relationship continuity, knowing who to contact, and access to Community Psychiatrist Nurses)
- Care planning and review (numbers of people having a care plan and how well it captures people’s needs)
- Support with health and wellbeing (e.g. support with physical health, money, work, housing, relationships, trauma, abuse, and addiction)
- Poor communication from services (e.g inability to contact services to follow up on issues)
- Medication issues (e.g issues obtaining medications prescribed by services, being prescribed inappropriate medications)
- Unprofessional behaviour from staff (e.g inappropriate conduct, breaches of privacy).
Download full response below.