Another Year Of Success And Challenges For Somerset's Mental Health Services, England

Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Depression;  Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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"Mental health services in Somerset will see further investment and improvements to both community and inpatient services in the coming year;" that was the pledge from managers of the county's mental health trust.

Speaking at the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Annual General Meeting in Bridgwater last week, Trust Chief Executive, Edward Colgan, explained that 2007/08 was the second year the Trust had achieved the Healthcare Commission's highest performance rating of 'excellent' for the quality of its services and financial performance.

The Trust ended the financial year with a surplus of £500,000 to invest in developing new services

Key successes and developments highlighted at the public meeting included:
- Reduced waiting times for patients needing access to services - 98% of referred patients are now being seen within nine weeks. - Improved access to psychological therapies - Improvements planned for crisis and out of hours services in Mendip - Progress with plans to develop the existing Broadway Park site in Bridgwater for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services - Repatriation of high cost patients to mental health facilities Somerset using custom-made packages of care - An increased number of inpatient beds at the Wyvern Unit in Bridgwater

Key challenges for the Trust for 2008-/09 were said to be:

- The effective management of agency, bank and staff overtime costs
- Reducing levels of staff sickness absence and in particular long term ill health

Commenting upon this year's performance, Edward Colgan said: "Once again we have been both pleased with the performance of the Trust and its progress with improving the quality of services. Our success is attributable to the hard work of all our staff and I sincerely thank them all for their continued commitment and dedication to providing the highest standards of patient care.

"Mental illness will affect one in four people and as we see the proportion of elderly people living to very old age we can expect more to develop conditions like depression and dementia. We are working now to meet these future challenges whilst ensuring the care we provide aids recovery and supports our clients with their longer term well being."

Mr Colgan added: "We I would like to thank the many supporting members of the Foundation Trust - now over 5,000 and its Member's Council. Their collective voice has the potential to champion the cause of mental health and local services and redress the stigma which still deters many people from seeking timely help when they are experiencing anxiety or depression in their everyday lives."

Copies of the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's Annual Report for 2007/08 are available on request, by writing to:

Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust