Positive change for mental health services

Queensland mental health consumers value and are positive about the care they have received, according to a report made available to the public for the first time.

The third Consumer Perceptions of Care statewide report, showed a positive change for Queensland’s public mental health services.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the main analysis used to gauge whether or not mental health consumers valued the services they received, showed the majority rated their experience as moderate to commendable.

“What this survey shows is that mental health consumers largely record positive perceptions regarding their care and treatment,” Mr Springborg said.

“Child and youth community services performed particularly well with regards to respect and safety, and adult community services scored in the commendable range across all domains.

“This Can-do Government has a strong plan to deliver the highest quality public mental health services to Queenslanders and this report is another demonstration of our absolute commitment.”

Mr Springborg said the report’s release added transparency and integrity to a sensitive and important public health issue.

“This is the first time the survey has been made publically available, and in conjunction with the major review of the Mental Health Act, demonstrates our commitment to ensuring we deliver high quality public mental health services,” he said.

“The results enable us to understand what is important to mental health consumers and then implement quality improvement activities across the state.”

Mr Springborg said while the results were largely pleasing, areas where services have not been performing will be targeted for improvements.

“Opportunities for improvement have been identified for each Hospital and Health Service across the state that they can choose to adopt,” he said.

“I strongly encourage them to consider whether additional steps can be taken to improve in these areas.”

[ENDS] 22 May 2014

Contact: Ian Eckersley 0432 754 897

Fast facts:
• The survey (4,097 respondents) included adult acute inpatients, consumers in extended treatment (e.g. rehabilitation units), adult community services, youth consumers aged 13-18 years, and family of youth consumers 18 and under
• Participation is voluntary but all mental health service organisations, excluding one, volunteered to take part in the survey – an excellent result
• A tool developed at the national level to gauge mental health consumer experiences may replace the current Consumer Perceptions of Care tool used in Queensland
• Previous reports were conducted in 2010 (3,583 respondents) and 2011 (4,836 respondents)