This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Improving access to psychological therapies - Nottinghamshir...

Posted By Hellokitty23

"Improving access to psychological therapies - Nottinghamshire"

About: Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust / Clinical psychology

(as a service user),

I was disappointed with the IAPT service, I felt my therapist was not open to any discussion regarding the sessions even after asking my opinion if I said something was not working or that I didn't feel better I felt the therapist blamed me and didn't offer any solutions or alternatives. I felt this attitude meant we could not build a very good relationship. This then wasn't helped when my therapist was off sick for a long period of time. Towards the end of this period I was informed that I could see another therapist to complete my treatment. I feel I should have been offered the option of seeing another therapist sooner as it meant I had long gaps without any sessions and I felt my treatment lost momentum.

I was offered no choice about the time and location of my appointments and had to travel to an area of Nottinghamshire that I do not live in to receive therapy. The sessions were held in a room at a Contact Centre however the room was located directly off a busy area of the centre. The room the sessions were held in had a large glass window in the door which was not covered with a blind meaning anyone outside in the centre could see in. As the room was located in a public building I don't think this maintained a high level of privacy. Also when waiting for appointments I was asked to wait directly outside the room where I could hear what was being discussed by the person inside. Again as this was a public area members of the public would have been able to hear too if they had chosen to take a seat outside the room. I think if sessions are to be held in public buildings which are used for other purposes the room the sessions are held in should be located at least in a quiet and private area.

At the end of my sessions I was given a feedback form to complete. I was instructed by the therapist to complete this now and hand it straight back to them. I think the feedback form should have been sent through the post or via email so I could have completed and returned it anonymously. Many people may not feel comfortable giving honest feedback if they know they have to hand the form straight back to their therapist.

Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Jane Danforth, Involvement & Experience Officer, Involvement, Experience and Volunteering Team, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 11 years ago
Jane Danforth
Involvement & Experience Officer, Involvement, Experience and Volunteering Team,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Hello, my name is Jane Danforth. My role involves helping our service users, volunteers and staff to understand that Notts Healthcare wants to hear stories about our services. We reply to every story and it really helps us to improve what we do, how we do it and to hear about what works well too.

Submitted on 19/04/2013 at 10:43
Published on Care Opinion at 14:04

picture of Jane Danforth

Dear Hellokitty23

I was very sorry to read about your experience with IAPT. You have raised a number of issues that need further exploration.

I would like to pass on your posting to the specific service so they can explore what went wrong and reply to your posting. To do this would you be able to tell us a bit more about the service you received and where the sessions were held? IAPT are City and County Wide and provide a lot of services in different locations. In the meantime I will send the posting to the service managers for City and County as I know they will want to hear about any service that leaves poeple feeling disappointed.

I can only apologise and hope that we can improve your experience to bring benefits to others using this service. in the future.

We appreciate your feedback and take seriously all the things you have told us about.

Thank You

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Jane Danforth, Involvement & Experience Officer, Involvement, Experience and Volunteering Team, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 10 years ago
We have made a change
Jane Danforth
Involvement & Experience Officer, Involvement, Experience and Volunteering Team,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Hello, my name is Jane Danforth. My role involves helping our service users, volunteers and staff to understand that Notts Healthcare wants to hear stories about our services. We reply to every story and it really helps us to improve what we do, how we do it and to hear about what works well too.

Submitted on 26/04/2013 at 14:09
Published on Care Opinion at 15:32

picture of Jane Danforth

Thank you very much for sharing your concerns. Although you have not named the venue you were seen at, we think from your description it may be a Contact Centre in Sutton in Ashfield. One of the service team leaders has personally visited the venue and checked the noise levels and agrees with you regarding noise and privacy. There is a chair directly outside the room which does pose the risk of conversations being overheard. There are also three glass areas in the door which means patients can be viewed from outside the room.

To address these issues we are making changes, they are as follows:

* The door Glass will be covered up to provide privacy.

* Therapy to take place at the top of the room where voices cannot be heard clearly.

* Chairs directly outside the room will be moved away to maintain confidentiality

I was disappointed to hear you were not offered a choice of time or location as we offer therapy in many places throughout Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and usually try to accommodate patient's choice in relation to where and when they would like to be seen. I will discuss this further with the office manager as the admin team coordinate appointments.

You should have been given the opportunity to return your feedback form anonymously we apologise for not giving you that option and we will communicate to staff the importance of informing patients they can send their feedback form back anonymously.

I hope this goes some way to answer your concerns? As I don't have the name of the therapist you saw I will feedback your concerns to the staff as a group. If you would like to discuss anything you mentioned in your posting further please do not hesitate to get in touch with me in the meantime thank you for taking the trouble to post on the Patient Opinion site and please be assured we take all your comments and concerns seriously.

With regards,

Helen Simpson

Service Manager

Let's Talk Wellbeing County North and Bassetlaw Aspect Court

294 Spring Lane

Lambley

Nottingham

NG4 4PE

Tel: 0115 9667159

Email: helen.simpson@letstalkwellbeing.co.uk

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k