BeeU spotlight report

Find out about the experience young people and families have of the mental health services in Shropshire.

Summary

Through our contacts with local groups we became aware that some families were feeling let down by the 0 - 25 Emotional Health and Well-being Service in Shropshire. We focused on gathering feedback from families using the service.

The issues we were told about included long waiting times, frequently changing staff and lack of continuity of care, difficulties in getting diagnostic assessments, lack of response to complaints and unexplained discharges.

Key findings

  1. There is inequitable access across the county to face to face services.
  2. Patients and family are not always aware of the type of help available through each service within Bee U.
  3. Young people and families who are needing interim help while on the waiting list are not always receiving timely responses.

You Said We Did

We presented our report to the Midlands Foundation Partnership Trust (MPFT) who provide the service and to Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (SCCG) who pay for the service. They took the findings from the report into account when they were reviewing the service. In August 2018 SCCG reported that they were looking at the best way to address the problems in association with MPFT. Service users have been invited to help look at actions and next steps.

Update September 2019

MPFT  have now reported that as part of the ongoing review they have looked at the waiting lists for neurodevelopmental assessments, those for ADHD, autism etc. Children who had been waiting for more than a year will be offered urgent appointments. A new service has been commissioned which will deal with the backlog.

If you need this report in a different format, please contact us:

enquiries@healthwatchshropshire.co.uk

01743 237884

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