Mental health trusts appeal against falling star ratings

Two mental health trusts have appealed against the star ratings
recently awarded by the Healthcare Commission, writes
Haroon Ashraf.

Derbyshire Mental Health Trust and another as yet unidentified
trust have said there are unhappy with their fall in the
ratings.

“Our overall score has been adversely affected by inadequate
information systems, which we acknowledge and already have an
action plan to address,” Chief Executive of Derbyshire Mental
Health Services Mike Shewan said.

The Trust met five of the seven key targets but failed to reach the
required standards for the assertive outreach service and the
mental health minimum data set, he said.

A Commission spokesman told Community Care that all mental health
trusts needed to be better at providing information and collecting
data.

“Mental health trusts are not under as much scrutiny as
[better performing] acute trusts, which have become used to
clinical and corporate governance,” he said

Six primary care trusts, four acute trusts and two mental health
trusts have challenged their new star ratings.

“The performance of mental health trusts remains a cause for
concern, with more than a third still having one star or
less,” the Commission said when the ratings were published on
July 21.

“The quality of the information available in these
organisations, so they can monitor effectively the care of people
who use mental health services, also needs improvement,” it
said. However the Commission said this year’s ratings showed
overall the NHS was improving.

“More trusts have been given three star and two star ratings
and 93 per cent of acute trusts have no-one waiting more than nine
months for in-patient treatment.”

The closing date for trusts to appeal the commission’s
ratings is August 6.