Methodology

Willow Grove is part of the Quality Network of Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Q.N.I.C.), a group of similar units which conduct yearly peer review cycles. The Network is co-ordinated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom and every two years their standards are reviewed and updated in line with best practice. The satisfaction survey used is an adapted version of a standard Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) inpatient satisfaction questionnaire, taken from the COSI-CAPs study, recommended by Q.N.I.C.

Respondents

Parents and young people were asked to complete this measure on the day of discharge. 55 young people and 83 parents/carers completed the questionnaire. Response rates for service users were 75.3%. As surveys were anonymous and some service users may have only one parent/carer, this response rate could not be calculated. The number of surveys returned by young people and parents/carers were up 25% and 33.8% respectively in 2016 compared with the previous year.

In 2015, a shortened questionnaire was introduced for the first time, which was given to young people and their parents on the day of discharge. This was in an attempt to increase the response rate to this survey, which may account for the increase in available data compared to 2014. There was a 25% and 33.8% increase in surveys returned by young people and parents/carers respectively in 2016 compared with the previous year.

Survey Design

The questionnaire asked young people a set of questions which gather information on their experiences of access to services, the environment and facilities, the therapeutic services offered, the ability of the service to help young people and parents manage mental health difficulties, discharge preparation, professionalism of staff and confidentiality and rights.

The questionnaires asked parents and young people to rate a number of statements preceded by the statement, ‘What is your overall feeling about…’, answers ranged from 1 ‘Very unhappy’ to 5 ‘Very happy’. The young person’s questionnaire also included a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 1 ‘Very poor’ to 5 ‘Very good’, printed with corresponding smiley faces to help young people to understand the response options.