I had been paying privately for person centred counselling for years, but ran out of money. I've been waiting for support from the Wellbeing service since before Christmas and have since lost my job. My GP see's me every fortnight - this must be a more expensive way to treat people. I've ended up going to Relate while I've been waiting and then because of this when Wellbeing did get in touch, I've been put to the back of the queue again. It's not the fault of the people there. They have called me and said they want to treat people, but are too stretched. If I was seen sooner I may not have lost my job.
What I don't understand is that if I broke my leg I'd be treated straight away, so why isn't mental health the same? At the moment I'm very reliant on my GP and that shouldn't be the case.
There's money to provide care for people at the end of their life, but where's the money for mental health and stopping people ending their lives early through suicide.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for your valuable feedback and we are sorry to hear that your experience of our service was not as we would have hoped. Supporting individuals who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health is a priority for us and so if you have any ideas as to how the service could be improved, we would very much like to hear from you.
Very poor
1
Submitted by Anonymous5th September 2017
My daughter used this service. She was in need of serious support and all she got was a phone call once a fortnight and from someone different every time, so she stopped using it. Just wasn't helpful at all. I haven't spoken to anyone with a good experience of this service.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
We are sorry to hear that your daughter found her experience of the Wellbeing Service negative, this is not something that we would want for anyone accessing our support. Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. We are always keen to learn from this and develop. If you would like to speak with one of the Service Managers directly to explore this further we would very much welcome your contact.
Worth the wait
5
Submitted by Anonymous24th August 2017
The telephone counselling is really good. The lead up is hard and it can take you a year, going to all the group stuff first, but once you're there it is really good and I now get regular phone calls.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for taking the time to leave such positive feedback. It is always lovely to read that someone has found our support helpful. We are also in the process of developing the service based on feedback received. This means that from January, everyone who accesses the service will do so via an assessment. Individuals will still have the opportunity to access workshops following this but will not be able to access them directly, as they can now, without having seen or spoken to a clinician one-to-one. Thank you again for taking the time to complete this review, it is greatly appreciated.
Had to go private
1
Submitted by Anonymous24th August 2017
I managed to get 8 free counselling sessions over the phone but then had to pay to go private. I had to phone and email loads to get those sessions and it took several trips to the doctor. If you're not pro-active you've got no chance.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. We were concerned to read that you found accessing our support difficult and that, once this was accessed, you were only offered telephone support. The Wellbeing Service offers a range of evidenced based psychological therapies and these should always be offered in line with NICE guidance. We would very much welcome you contacting us to discuss your concerns so that these can be looked into.
Service wasn't tailored to me
2
Submitted by Anonymous21st August 2017
I have mental health issues including bipolar. I was referred to the Wellbeing service by my doctor but unfortunately it didn't help me at all. It didn't tailor for me.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback and we are sorry to hear that you did not find the Wellbeing Service useful. If you would like to discuss other services or support that may be more beneficial, please do contact us.
I'm still stressed
1
Submitted by Anonymous21st August 2017
My daughter has special needs and OCD whilst my husband is an alcoholic. I'm extremely stressed as you can imagine. The wellbeing service was not good for me and didn't help.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for your feedback. We are always saddened to hear that the support we have provided has not been of use. Please do contact us if you would like to discuss other options that may be available and more helpful to you at what sounds like a difficult time. Alternatively, please do visit your GP who will also be able to consider these option with you.
I should never have been discharged
1
Submitted by Anonymous7th August 2017
I was having CBT sessions when my therapist said that I could be discharged because I was in good health. In fact, I had just normalised my condition and being afraid just became normal to me. After I was discharged, I realised that I couldn't go on like this so I applied to get back onto CBT. I had to wait 1 year to get CBT again with the same person.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. It is really important that we use this to continuously improve the service that we are providing. We are sorry to hear that your experience was not a positive one and we would very much welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you and to consider what support may be valuable to you at this time.
They think one size fits all
1
Submitted by Anonymous4th August 2017
I wanted a counselling service but they wouldn’t offer it to me, instead they gave me CBT. They think one size fits all. There’s a lack of services, I understand this but 10 years without mental health help is just not good enough.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback and sorry to hear that you did not find the service helpful. As a psychological therapies service we offer a range of NICE recommended treatments, the selection of which depends on the individuals presenting problem. This can mean that what patients hope to access is not what is evidenced based and, therefore, would be the most appropriate treatment to offer. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss this further and consider what options are available.
Fantastic!
5
Submitted by Mark4th August 2017
The Wellbeing service really helped me with my depression. It felt like there was nobody to turn to until I met this NHS funded service.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback. It is always lovely to hear that our service has been of benefit. We are really pleased to hear that you felt the service gave you somewhere to turn to and hope that the skills that you have worked so hard to develop will continue to support you in your journey to recovery. As a self referral service, you are welcome to access our support again at anytime in the future.
Very poor service
1
Submitted by Dylan4th August 2017
They say that they will help you but then they just shut you down. They have too long waiting times to get an appointment.
Reply from NHS N&W Talking Therapies
Thank you for your valued feedback. We recognise that waiting times for some of the options available within our service are not acceptable and are working hard to review these to ensure that patients get the right support as quickly as possible. We understand that this review will not change your experience but hope that you are assured that we agree with your feedback and genuinely wish to improve what we offer and how we offer it. If you have any ideas around this and would like to support the service from a service user perspective, please do get in contact with us.