Mental health survey shows patient woes

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDDec 20 2011

In a new survey of mental health patients in New South Wales it was found that many have struggled to gain access to a doctor. The state's Ministry of Health paid for the survey by an advocacy body, the NSW Consumer Advisory Group - Mental Health Inc. The group questioned 3,500 patients for the survey and will hand the results of the Action and Change in NSW Mental Health Services report to the State Government.

Consumer Advisory Group chief executive Peri O'Shea says nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed complained it was too hard to see a psychiatrist on mental health wards. Dr O'Shea said, “That is concerning because that's part of what they should get when they're in hospital, is to see a doctor… From our point of view we would normally say that the consumer knows when they need something, and I guess it's an access issue because of resources within the hospital. It's also an issue often when people need to see a doctor after hours.”

O'Shea added that more than half the patients questioned also said they were not given enough choice or information about their treatment. “There's a lot of problems around choice. The problem of the drugs that consumers might take, being able to make informed choices and consumers not knowing what their rights are,” Dr O'Shea said.

Changes in response to patient complaints included increasing doctors' rounds, providing patients with more information on their rights and notepads to record it, and increasing carer involvement, the report said.

Nearly 80 per cent of people in community care were satisfied their information and privacy was protected, and they were treated with respect.

Mental Health Minister Kevin Humphries has issued a statement saying the report includes a significant amount of positive feedback, but there is also much that needs to improve. More than 100 changes have been made as a result of the first year of the program he said. More than 100 mental health service providers used the survey and of those 39 per cent implemented changes.