Access to Mental Health Services: A Conversation with Service Users and Carers
Healthwatch North Yorkshire conducted an hour-long focus group about the experiences of individuals accessing mental health services in the Harrogate district area.
Summary
Our goal in this piece is not to imply that this captures all experiences of care in Harrogate District, but rather to develop a narrative snapshot that represents the opinions of a group of people at one moment. We have done our best to represent what the Harrogate Service User Involvement Group shared with us
Key findings
- There is a need for greater communication between service providers
- There is a common thread of bad experiences - that basic personal needs were not considered
- Group members also had positive and encouraging things to say about their experiences with care
- Several comments addressed the inherent difference in power between service user and service provider.
Downloads
The central role of this report is service users’ voices; as such, it is not an appropriate place to detail potential upcoming changes. At Healthwatch North Yorkshire, we are committed to ensuring that patient voice takes centre stage when changes are being made. In this capacity, we will be monitoring the situation closely and doing more work around this issue in the near future.
Access to mental health services
