Adult mental healthcare

Developing wellbeing and mental health services for adults in Brighton and Hove.

One in four working age adults experience mental health problems at any one time. We want to buy services that meet these needs and help keep people healthy.  We wanted your opinions on what we should focus on.

The online survey built on wider conversations with people over the last six months about mental health services in Brighton and Hove.

Thank you to everyone who gave responses to the online survey on mental health and mental wellbeing. We had over 180 responses.

Below is a summary of what we heard through the survey

We had responses from:

• 30 NHS mental health staff,
• 29 past service users,
• 27 GPs,
• 23 non NHS mental health staff,
• 22 current service users,
• 9 carers, 
• 4 members of the Brighton and Hove LINk.
• And 28 local people who have never used any mental health services.

We also heard from a range of organisations in the city which are involved in providing mental health services.

Priorities

• 73% of respondents told us the three priorities of addressing mental wellbeing, meeting needs for anxiety and depression earlier and high quality services for people when they are unwell was the right approach.  
  Some thought quality was the overriding key issue to address. 

Our vision and services

• 26% of respondents said there were gaps in the vision including the absence of some specific services and the need to improve the quality of services. 

Experiences with mental health services

• 84% of respondents said they had had experience of seeking help for themselves or someone else.

• 48% of respondents said they had had a particularly positive experience of mental health services. Good experiences were regularly related to communication and being treated with respect and dignity.

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We asked what would be the commissioning priorities in three main areas:

Mental wellbeing and prevention:

Your response	We received 110 responses. Suggestions included focusing on campaigns for fitness, good health, more information on what services are in place so people can seek help themselves and more of a focus on ways in which to make simple lifestyle changes.
Comments included	"Education needed about how drugs and alcohol can affect your mental health." "Advice is needed about simple lifestyle changes to combat stress."

 

Meeting the ends of anxiety and depression:

Your response	We received 111 responses. Accessing talking therapies in doctors’ surgeries was a common theme, although the actual location was less important than having a choice of therapist and not having to wait too long before being seen.
Comments included	"Emotional distress can be life threatening. The only access to services at the moment is GP and A&E.  The length of time it takes to get support from mental health teams is far too long."

 

Priorities for adults who have a serious mental health problem:

Your response	We had 110 responses; they varied between adding services not already available in the city to addressing quality issues in current services.  Having a named worker, more time with professionals and consistently good care were priority areas.
Comments included	"Entry point into the system needs to be clearer. Agencies involved need to communicate better." "There needs to be more emphasis on meeting the needs of service users with complex problems whose needs don't fit easily into boxes."

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Next steps

Further analyses of all the consultation and engagement information is taking place and will be used to inform the commissioning plan for the next three years.

We know that we need to make changes to what is available in the city in order to:

• meet needs earlier,
• reduce waiting times,
• increase choice,
• keep services local and
• get better value for money.

We are developing a commissioning plan for mental health services and will work with the community and with our current and potential providers on the best models for care.

We will make this available once it has been agreed between the joint commissioners: the NHS and the City Council.

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