What did you tell us?

Most people told us they found telephone and online appointments helpful and were grateful to have them, especially when body language could be seen on video appointments.

An additional benefit was not having to travel to appointments, which allowed more flexibility for appointment times and was less stressful for many.

There was, however, an overwhelming desire for returning to face-to-face appointments as soon as possible.

Issues highlighted a lack of privacy at home, difficulty in building proper relationships with staff when not seeing them in person, problems with technology and communication difficulties.

So what have we done?

Wherever possible, we have made the necessary changes so that people can return to face-to-face appointments safely.

Risk assessments of buildings have been carried out and staff have worked hard to be able to welcome service users back on site.

Some clinicians have seen service users at different sites to ensure they can be seen face-to-face if that is what they prefer.

What did you tell us?

Good communication and clear, easy to follow instructions were given in letters for using the online Attend Anywhere system.

However, overall the feedback suggested that more could be done to communicate the changes in how services are running and what support is available.

Many people told us that the amount of contact they had with services has been less since the pandemic began and suggested that the website could be better used to help with communication.

So what have we done?

Services are looking at how to better utilise the website to improve communication. For example, sharing the results of this survey.

Many services have sent out letters which include communication about what they've been doing in response to the feedback they’d received, as well as letting people know what is happening within the service.

What did you tell us?

People who were able to keep contact with their key worker, despite the changes, were very grateful.

However, there was feedback that some people were not able to contact the team they needed, with long waits on the phone and call backs not being received.

Communication for service users who live alone could be especially improved during these times.

So what have we done?

Where support groups haven’t been able to meet a monthly newsletter has been produced to keep in touch with service users and this has received positive feedback.

What did you tell us?

While peer support has continued in some areas with some of the support groups moving online or to telephone support, the general feedback was that more communication was needed about what peer support is and what is available.

People are missing face-to-face engagement and would like more contact and support for both themselves and their carers.

Ideas included holding more support groups online, meeting outdoors, one to one support meetings, online courses and the introduction of socially distanced hobby groups.

So what have we done?

Alternative locations have been found for some groups to meet and others are now being facilitated in an online format.

The Trust holds a Quality Improvement Forum monthly and in January 2021 one of the discussions was about service user support groups during the pandemic.

The Stronger Together Group for the Early Intervention Service shared how they've moved to being online via Microsoft Teams and now meet monthly, and that they've been offering Zoom calls in between as a sort of buddy system between service users. 

This learning is being shared with other services with the suggestion to link up with the Stronger Together members to learn, share and help set up similar forums or groups in other areas.