§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place for involving people with mental health problems in decisions about their care and treatment. [47627]
§ Jacqui SmithPeople of working age in contact with specialist mental health and social care services have their care and treatment co-ordinated under the care programme approach (CPA). The key principles of the CPA are applicable to all service users: they have a right to the thorough assessment of all their needs, the development of a care plan and a review of the care by the professionals involved in their care. It is envisaged that written care plans should be drawn up with the involvement of the 1183W service users, and where appropriate their carer. Any refusal to accept treatment or medication should be noted in the care plan along with the service user's reasons for refusal. Service users should be given the opportunity to sign the agreed care plan and then receive a copy. Users or carers must also be able to ask for a review of care at any time and annual audit should ensure that reviews are carried out.
Further, any local audit of quality will need to include the views of service users, who should be given the opportunity to contribute to the setting of quality standards and measures. The views of service users are an effective indicator of the quality of services and must be included in any audit of service delivery.