Mental health services reviewed

A review of mental health services across the East of England has been started by the NHS.

The East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) review is designed to ensure mental health services are focused on patient recovery.

It will also look at making local health trusts more responsive to patient needs.

This will involve monitoring authorities and ensuring commitments are written into trust contracts.

Pol Toner, head of mental health and learning disabilities for NHS East of England, said: "Now, for the first time, we can monitor how well Trusts support mental health recovery, rather than how many times each person sees their psychiatrist, for example.

"One of the challenges of working within a recovery-oriented service is the shift in focus from only identifying treatments to measuring outcomes.

"This is a really significant development that has been requested by commissioners and service users alike over the years."

The East of England SHA (also called NHS East of England) covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

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East of England Strategic Health Authority
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