Last year we carried out a survey to ask our service users about their experience of using our services during the pandemic.
We know how difficult it has been for everyone during this period, especially if you're already receiving support. We wanted to know about what's gone well, what hasn't gone so well and what we can improve on.
All of the staff working in the service were also contacted to listen to their experiences of providing the service during this time had been.
We received 41 responses to the survey from people using our Early Intervention in Psychosis service, with lots of really helpful comments.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part. Your feedback is really important to us and we have been considering it carefully.
The findings have been shared with staff and we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the main themes that emerged and how we have responded.
Good access
We were pleased to hear that nearly all of those who responded knew who to contact during the pandemic and had been able to access the support they required.
Waiting times were not mentioned as an issue at any point in the feedback. The absence of this, alongside the positive feedback around accessibility of the service, is something to celebrate and maintain through monitoring to ensure it remains.
Choice of appointments
We know that for the majority of our service users preferred face-to-face contact.
We have been working with staff to explore the use of Attend Anywhere to offer video appointments as an alternative to phone appointments. We would like to set up some focus groups to increase staff confidence in offering and using video appointments. The Stronger Together peer support group is involved with providing the support to these sessions.
Exploring the use of video platforms is important as in the future we would like to continue to offer that choice of appointment type even after we return to more face-to-face appointments.
Promotion of support groups
The results showed that there was a lack of understanding about what peer support was and how it can support your recovery - and what was available to service users.
The Stronger Together Group peer support group is looking at ways of promoting the group (and the benefits of peer support) to help it to reach out to more people.
A leaflet is being prepared with details about the group. It will include information on how you can get involved, showcase what it has already happening and how you can benefit from being part of the group.
An email for the group is being created and a system is being put into place to manage enquiries.
To find out more
If you would like to find out more about any of the information above or you'd like to see the results in more detail please contact the Quality Improvement team by emailing qiteam@shsc.nhs.uk or you can speak to a member of staff in the service.