NHS ‘must do better’

4:30pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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HEALTH bosses in York and North Yorkshire have been criticised over their service for patients with acute mental illness.

The Healthcare Commission has carried out an assessment of services across the UK – and it says North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) needs to improve.

The study focused on four key areas – with trusts being ranked as “excellent”, “good”, “fair” or “weak” in each of them.

The PCT gained an overall rating of “weak” – which, according to the commission, meant the “performance of the trust does not meet the minimum requirements and the reasonable expectations of patients and the public” – and suggests there is considerable room for improvement.

The PCT said it was working to improve its service and an action plan had been drawn up in the wake of the rebuke. A commission spokesman said the review was launched “following a number of reports over the last decade highlighting concerns about the quality of inpatient mental health services.

“The report has identified areas for action, in particular improving the involvement of patients in their care.”

The PCT was classed as being weak in “effective care pathways” – an area which assessed how patients are supported before and after they left hospital – and “service-user and carer-involvement” categories.

It earned a rating of “fair” on safety and individualised whole-person planning, which looks at whether its treatment of patients is appropriate.

John Clare, the PCT’s assistant director of mental health, said: “The Healthcare Commission’s report was based on data collected in the early part of 2007.

“By the time the commission visited, we were able to show them a detailed action plan to deal with the areas where our score fell below expectations.

“We have continued our discussions with the commission and they have been pleased with the progress we have made.

“A vast amount of work has been done in planning the reorganisation of services, to provide 24-hour home care for patients whose circumstances allow their treatment at home which, evidence shows, is preferred by most service users.

“These developments will help us to ensure that those people who do need in-patient care are able to get it when they need it.”