Responding on Care Opinion is a privilege

My name is Dr Liz Gethins, Consultant Psychiatrist in Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services and I have been recently responding to online feedback on Care Opinion. We have recently had several stories shared about The Crisis Resolution Team, which you can view here: Feedback about Crisis Resolution Service.

I guess the issues for me are that we want to ensure as far as possible that the service user voice is heard, and that we support and empower the part they play in their own recovery journey – and I know this phrase could be applied to any of our services, but there is something challenging about actioning that in Crisis when levels of arousal and risk are potentially quite high. We want to be able to give SU and their family the time and support they need at a very vulnerable time for them, we want our support to be meaningful, we also want to be open and responsive to suggestions about how we work, and ways we can improve.

Getting feedback from SU can be challenging, we set out at the beginning to ensure everyone at least got the opportunity to have a voice / reflection after they had worked with us because we really do want to hear from the people that use the service. Every SU that has worked with the CRT gets sent a Care Opinion letter within 2 working days of their discharge.

We have been delighted with the response from people, and overall it has been really positive. This is validating for us as a service, and tells us we are going in the right direction. The comments are brought to MDT and form a focus for reflection as well. Responding to them is a privilege when people have given their time and thought to putting feedback together, and we are always grateful for that effort.