‘We're one of the best,' say Milton Keynes Community Mental Health Services

An independent health surveying company has concluded that Community Mental Health Services in Milton Keynes have dramatically improved since CNWL took over the helm in 2013.

Quality Health, which runs the Care Quality Commission's national patient survey, has found a profound change in the ratings given by service users to the mental health services in Milton Keynes since CNWL started running the service in April 2013.

Last year it was second worst in the country in terms of the patient experience in mental health and for much of the period between 2005 (when our records begin for Milton Keynes) and 2013, the service was seen to be one of the lowest ranked services in England by service users themselves.

And it had consistently poorer scores than is the case either in the region as a whole or when compared to all Trusts nationally.

Now the Mental Health Community Survey shows:-

• Milton Keynes has shown big improvements in almost all scores

• Significant improvement across 24 areas compared to last year; 17 of these areas saw improvements by five points or more

CNWL Chief Executive Claire Murdoch said: "This is really positive news and I am really proud of our staff in Milton Keynes. We have undertaken a huge journey of improvement since day one and have always had huge faith in the staff and the service.

"There is no greater endorsement than what patients have to say about our services and service users are telling us we've made some big improvements.

"Time and effort and the huge commitment by staff have shown that we are well on the way to achieving our aim of providing an excellent service."

Managing Director, Dr Reg Race, said: "The level of improvement shown by CNWL is almost unheard of, but we know these are real improvements for patients.

"These improvements show how much staff time and resource CNWL has put into Milton Keynes to turn the service around and I must congratulate the Trust and its staff for their efforts. Well done."

Editors' notes

Conducted annually by the Care Quality Commission, the Community mental health survey asks for people's views on aspects of their care from community mental health services, such as whether they felt they were treated with dignity and respect and on whether they felt involved in decisions about their care.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Stephenson House, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL
Tel: 020 3214 5700 e-mail:communications.cnwl@nhs.net