In Liberating the NHS: Equity and Excellence, there was a commitment to introduce choice of treatment and provider in some mental health services from April 2011, and to extend this wherever practicable.
The Department of Health's consultation ‘Greater Choice and Control’, launched on 18 October 2010, asks for views on what extending patient choice could mean and how it could work in practice, it specifically asks about choice and mental health.
The choices that mental health service users can make are increasing as new services develop. For example, a growing number of therapies and other services are available to people with mild to moderate depression or anxiety under the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.
IAPT guidance makes it clear that people should be offered choices about where, how and what services are provided and by whom.
The choice consultation goes on to propose that more choices should be available to mental health service users including:
- how they access services (including contacting relevant professionals without speaking to a GP first).
- choice of clinically appropriate healthcare professional or team for a mental health assessment
- access to a range of clinically appropriate therapies and medications available on the NHS.
- choice of provider. This would mean that any person who needs treatment for their mental health needs would be able to choose any healthcare provider that is considered clinically appropriate by their healthcare professional.
- choice of the range of different treatments and therapies for mild to moderate anxiety and depression (phased from April 2011)
- access to a personalised care plan, including health and social car and linking to personal and social care budgets where relevant.
- Choice should be extended wherever practicable to people detained under the Mental Health Act and for Community Treatment Orders.
Seeking your views
Are these the right choices for users of mental health services, and if not why not?
The Mental Health Network is keen to hear your views about choice and mental health and what needs to happen for this to work in practice. Please forward your views to Christina.heap@nhsconfed.org by the 1 December.