The care and support patients receive from community mental health services needs to improve, especially in areas such as 'help with physical health and day-to-day living' according to a the results of a survey published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Improved physical health for people with mental health problems is one of the core objectives of the national policy No Health Without Mental Health. However, more than a third (36 per cent) of respondents to the 2012 survey, who needed support from NHS mental health services in gaining help for a physical health needs, said they had not received support, but would have liked to receive it. This is up from 31 per cent in the 2011 survey.
The survey reflects the experiences of more than 15,000 people during the past 12 months; questionnaires were sent out by 61 NHS mental health trusts in England. People were asked about care and support they received from mental health services outside hospital, such as those offered by outpatient clinics, local teams providing crisis home treatment and generic community mental health services.