Measuring the Patients Voice & Satsifactions ref Service Changes

Fiona Edwards
Surrey & Borders Partnership Trust
Ref: Epsom Garden Centre .
Dear Fiona

I am very concerned about the methods SABPT use to create changes in , User-services and the elements which make them up.

Its clear at the Epsom Garden Centre where Brian Hall had his £3 a day deducted , that very little consultation took place with the actual Users there. Ofcourse I invite you here to specify and confirm that your Trust did directly involve those Users at that centre or their direct Carers.

Quite what is meant by any form of User Representation at SABPT which is supposed to credibly represent those Garden workers at Epsom is simply not clear.
So how did your Trust specifically involve them at that centre in the changes that were implemented and appear to have been simply applied to them without their direct involvement ?

It appears you have some kind of User-type groups elsewhere in your Trust vicinity which appear to rubber stamp policies and lubricate them through which at the same avoid the specific difficulties of individual centre consultation eg . ref : The Epsom Garden Centre .

Do you have plans to be more sensitive about how you measure patients voices and their satisfactions after changes you make to their services in the future ? What are they , in relation to each Centre or location of servces having its own right to express the voices of patients there in a recorded way so the PPI forum or anyone else independently can audit that ?

Auditing for effective patient satisfaction after service changes and the varying of arrangements have taken place , must be done for scruntiny . SABPT's arrangements appear to be very poor and non specific ...

Turning to the financial changes for Users at the Garden Centre . Have these folk had a chance to make up their losses by being awarded extra benefit money for their efforts ? Are they in receipt of allowable rewards or compensation for giving of their time ?

Have you had any drop out rates as a result of the changes you have implemented at the Centre ?

None of these things are clear Fiona and I complain they should be by now ...
We all pay for effective services in the country and effectiveness should be demonstrated ..

Regards
Paul Brian Tovey
Independent Monitor For Mental Health Matters

Complaints : Measuring the Patients Voice & Satsifactions ref Service Changes .

Dear Mr Tovey

Thank you for your email of 4th September 2006. People at the Old Moat Garden Centre were informed of the decision at communication meetings which were facilitated by an independent service user consultant who works with people with mental health and learning disabilities. These meetings took place in early May.

The Trust does take involvement seriously. A significant step forward for us was the development of our Forum of Carers and People who Use Services (FoCUS), in consultation with people who use services, carers and families. The role of FoCUS as part of our governance structure is to:

· Place people at the heart of what we do
· Set standards for how we involve people
· Measure how we are doing against these standards for involving people
· Measure how well we are delivering our services

In this way FoCUS will hold us to account for the work we do. Indeed, FoCUS raised the issue of therapeutic payments with us.

We also regularly work with service users in relation to specific service developments.

We are committed to auditing services following service changes and on an ongoing basis. There is still room for improvement in this area and the Trust is working towards a more consistent approach across all service areas.

You asked about drop-out rates. Only six people have left any of our "work services" since May.

We now acknowledge that that the decision to stop therapeutic payments was incorrect and, at the Board meeting on 28 September we decided to reinstate the payments. An action plan will now be drawn up .We will then work with the people affected to clarify the situation that applies to them and ensure that they (or their carers) are involved in deciding the way forward for them.

I hope this answers your questions fully.

Yours sincerely
Fiona Edwards
Chief Executive