Background to the Research

• In 1992 the DHSS (NI) produced the document 'A Charter for Patients and Clients'. Yet, to date, little is known of the opinions of those who use the services of mental health social workers in NI. In order to address this, the authors carried out the first survey of users who had received services from two community health social work teams in South and East Belfast Community Health and Social Services Trust.
  

Research Approach

• A sample of 129 services users was drawn from the SOSCARE database. A semi-structured interview was administered to 94 clients (response rate 73%).
  

Main Findings

• Almost 70% of the sample was under 50 years old, 60% were female and only 22% were married or cohabiting with 54% having between 1 and 4 children.
• Seventy percent of respondents were housed in rented accommodation and only 8% were employed.
• Thirty-three percent of service users were referred to the social work teams by GPs and 26% by psychiatrists; only 5% were referred by CPNs.
• Fifty-six percent of users reported that appointments were on time (within 30 minutes) while 12% had to wait more than 30 minutes.
• The majority (82%) of respondents indicated that they were involved in decisions about the type of service they required. Almost three-fifths (59%) had been in contact with social workers for over a year and only 11% for 3 months or less.
• Around 75% of respondents indicated satisfaction with the service; between 20-25% were dissatisfied. Ninety percent of respondents felt that they had been treated with respect by the social worker. Eighty-five percent of the sample was able to contact a social worker when they needed to.

Conclusions

• Overall the social work teams provided a valued service for their clients. There was a lack of awareness by users of the range of available services, in light of this, accessibility and relevant information are required in order to empower service users to make good choices.
• The complaints procedure can be difficult for services users to navigate through, as users tend to be vulnerable, lack the skills to articulate their views and tend to be dependent on those about whom they may wish to complain.
• In light of the research, practitioners and managers have agreed to routinely obtain the views of service users, explicitly communicate the range and nature of social work services available to users and to make the complaints procedure more accessible and clearer to clients.