Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

Feedback

• Not offered suitable support

  3

  Submitted by Anonymous 4th April 2018

  I self referred into Wellbeing service because I suffer from anxiety and agoraphobia. They gave me a half an hour assessment, then offered me group sessions at a busy centre. I tried to explain that I was agoraphobic and wouldn't be comfortable attending but they didn't offer me much other support. I ended up going to mind instead.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear that you did not find the service suitable. The Wellbeing Service is a partnership between the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Central Mind, West Norfolk Mind, Great Yarmouth and Waveney Mind and Relate. As such, we are concerned that you did not feel able to access adequate support. We offer our interventions in many ways. These include workshops (face to face and online) and one to one support (via telephone, face to face and online). If you feel that any of these options would be suitable, please do contact us to discuss this further on 0300 123 1503 or via our website www.wellbeingnands.co.uk

• Unfit for purpose

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 19th March 2018

  I have long-standing mental health problems & self-referred to the Wellbeing service on-line. as I was slipping into an actively suicidal mindset & recognised I needed help before it got worse. A week later I was told by letter my phone number was wrong so had been 'discharged' ! Sent them correct number but explained I had phobia about phone calls. I was told I would need to refer myself again as my case had already been closed. Finally after about 3 weeks I was contacted (by phone) to tell me I had no choice other than a telephone assessment as there was no other way to speak to me! After about 20 minutes of a barrage of difficult, personal & emotionally upsetting questions in which I found it impossible to express myself properly - due to intense anxiety - i was told I would be contacted again in about a week about CBT Therapy. I had tried CBT previously & explained that I didn't find it helpful. I was informed that lots of people say that & I should give it another go. Four weeks later, after I had given up on them as useless, I got a letter to tell me I was booked onto a group course (something I had managed to specifically explain to them on the phone that I could not do due to anxiety - having failed with group therapy in the past for this reason) No details about why this course would be suitable for me, what the course content will be, how long it lasts (one-off or several?) how it is meant to help me, and what the intended outcomes/alternatives might be have been communicated to me, & I can only assume the Wellbeing service don't consider this necessary. The letter also tells me if I don't go to this course that I was not consulted about, i will be 'discharged' from the service again! I tried calling the so-called helpline & got through to a woman in a call centre somewhere or other who told me she couldn't help as she & her colleagues don't have access to patient records.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. We were sorry to read that your experience of the Wellbeing Service was not a positive one. As a Primary Care Mental Health Service, we offer psychological interventions such as CBT and Counselling for Depression for individuals experiencing mild to moderate anxiety and depression. These interventions are offered in a variety of ways (by telephone, face to face or online). As feedback is anonymous, it is difficult to comment on the concerns raised in your feedback but, as Service Manager, I would be keen to explore this in more detail. If you would like to discuss this further, please do contact me directly.

• Post-natal depression

  4

  Submitted by Anonymous 9th March 2018

  I was referred to the Wellbeing service for post-natal depression. They offered me online CBT. This didn’t work for me, I didn’t want to spend a long time sitting at a computer. It took over 6 months for me to actually get in to see someone face to face, and in the meantime I paid and went private. Once accessed the post-natal depression counselling was fantastic and really helped me.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback and we are sorry to hear that you waited so long to access face to face support. We are aware that the waiting times for certain types of psychological therapy are unacceptable and would welcome any ideas you have as to how the service could be improved. This could also be ideas around more suitable support whilst waiting for therapy. We are really pleased to hear that once you accessed the support, you found it helpful and hope that your journey of recovery continues.

• Fined of

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 3rd March 2018

  Was promised booklets to help understand problems also a referral to a counsellor this was promised by a trainee obviously she was not supervised after 9weeks gave up and went private

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback and we are sorry that your experience of the Wellbeing Service was not a positive one. Unfortunately, as feedback is anonymous, it is difficult to look into the specific details of a case. We are keen to explore dissatisfaction and make improvements wherever possible. If you would like to discuss this further, we would be keen to here from you. Our number is 0300 123 1503.

• Lack of support

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 19th February 2018

  Felt there was a real lack of support for a member of the family. He was referred through our GP and was told he would have to wait months when he was suicidal. He was also referred by the psychiatric nurse at the hospital. After two months he got a telephone appointment, but he wouldn't take call from a number he didn't recognise. He was given six, two hour evening classes. He was in a group class with depressed adults and found it very intimidating. He didn't go back.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. We are sorry to hear that you do not feel that your family member received appropriate support. We are keen that everyone who accesses our service is offered the right treatment, whether this be with us or another service. We have a variety of options available that include workshops and one to one support via telephone, online and face to face. We would encourage your family member to contact us to discuss these options if it is felt that these would be of more benefit.

• Made me feel a lot better

  5

  Submitted by Anonymous 19th February 2018

  I was referred to this service by my GP. I attended anger management classes at Hellesdon Hospital. They were very good and made me feel a lot better.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. It is always lovely to hear when someone has found the support that we offer so positive. We hope that you continue to progress on your journey of recovery and please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any support in the future.

• I have friends that have used this service...

  2

  Submitted by Richard 31st January 2018

  ...and said they offer generic advice and support and have upset people with inappropriate comments more than once.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to feedback your concerns. We were equally concerned to read that people have experienced inappropriate comments and would very much like to explore this. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the service manager by email on admin@wellbeingnandw.co.uk or via telephone on 0300 123 1503.

• Very good

  5

  Submitted by Anonymous 29th January 2018

  I use the Wellbeing service at Providence Street regularly and see a lovely lady. They really understand my moods and about my suicidal thoughts. They have given me a lot of advice and are very good.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for your feedback. We are always grateful when someone feels able to spare the time to let us know how they have found the service. We are really pleased that your experience has been a positive one and hope that you continue to find your support from us beneficial.

• Needs improving

  2

  Submitted by Anonymous 29th January 2018

  They just referred me to a webinar for anxiety. My anxiety was linked to my IBS and the webinar was just too general – it didn’t help me at all. I really needed face to face support but I was told this wasn’t possible. I know many others with poor experience also. I expected more support but it just wasn’t there. I do yoga and acupuncture now. I definitely think the NHS Wellbeing service should be better than what it is and it definitely needs improving. There are a lot of people out there with serious drug and alcohol issues and there just doesn’t seem to be enough support for them. It’s very worrying.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback and we are sorry to hear that your experience of the Wellbeing Service was not a positive one. We offer a variety of support options including webinar, online support, telephone support, face to face support and face to face workshops. Alongside these, we also have a comprehensive social programme. It is concerning to read that you were only offered one of these options when so many are available. If you would like to discuss the other options further, please do contact us. It would also be helpful to establish who advised you that face to face support was not possible. It is extremely important to us that our service provides the right support to those that would benefit from it. As a Primary Care Mental Health Service, we are not best placed to support individual's with serious drug and alcohol difficulties. Our staff are trained to work with anxiety, stress and low mood. If individual's are using drugs and alcohol to manage their mental health, we would always look to ensure that a person accesses the service that will be of most benefit and has the expertise to guide them on their recovery.

• Wait is too long

  3

  Submitted by Anonymous 29th January 2018

  I only saw someone a couple of times and was then referred to a group course for stress management. What they’ve got they’re doing their best with, but there’s just too much demand and not enough of it. I had to wait 6-9 months for both Wellbeing and Mind.

• Reply from Wellbeing Norfolk and Waveney (IAPT)

  Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that you had to wait an unacceptably long time to access the support you required. We are aware of the waiting times within the service and completely agree that these are not acceptable. We are doing our best to adjust the ways in which we are working to improve these and would very much welcome support from those that have experienced the service to improve it. If you would be interested in becoming involved in service improvement, please do contact us for more details of our Ambassador Programme.