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Objectives: The current paper aimed to explore doctor-patients' views about their treatment from the Practitioner Health Programme (PHP), a UK-based service treating health professionals with mental health/addiction problems. Aims were to gain insights into the issues most important to patients and consider whether a service specifically for doctors is important in helping to overcome barriers to accessing mental healthcare. Methods: Nine doctor-patients attending PHP took part in semi-structured interviews between September 2010 and June 2011. Thematic analysis was used to explore recurring patterns in the data. 134 written comments from PHP patients were also included. Results: Participants reported difficulties in finding appropriate treatment; problems were often severe by the time PHP was involved. Concerns about confidentiality, judgement and impact on career were obstacles to help-seeking and important issues during treatment. Analysis of written comments provided further support for these findings. Conclusion: Whilst some of the needs of mentally unwell doctors mirror the needs of patients in general – e.g. a supportive and non-judgemental attitude from clinicians – they do have specific needs related to confidentiality and stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Psychiatric ward design may make an important contribution to patient outcomes and well-being. However, research is hampered by an inability to assess its effects robustly. This paper reports on a study which deployed innovative methods to capture service user and staff perceptions of ward design. Method: User generated measures of the impact of ward design were developed and tested on four acute adult wards using participatory methodology. Additionally, inpatients took photographs to illustrate their experience of the space in two wards. Data were compared across wards. Results: Satisfactory reliability indices emerged based on both service user and staff responses. Black and minority ethnic (BME) service users and those with a psychosis spectrum diagnosis have more positive views of the ward layout and fixtures. Staff members have more positive views than service users, while priorities of staff and service users differ. Inpatient photographs prioritise hygiene, privacy and control and address symbolic aspects of the ward environment. Conclusions: Participatory and visual methodologies can provide robust tools for an evaluation of the impact of psychiatric ward design on users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines the introduction and operation of a number of support roles in mental health services. This is done in the context of concerns about the effectiveness of CMHTs. Aims: Three questions are addressed: the degree to which concern for the work of consultant psychiatrists informed the introduction of the new roles; what the reforms implied for the work of the psychiatrist and those in new roles; and the impact of any changes on the operation of CMHTs. Method: Data were collected as part of a national-level evaluation. The main means of collection was the semi-structured interview. Results: The study shows: that reform was underpinned by concerns about the workload of psychiatrists; and that while in principle the responsibilities of the psychiatrist were to be distributed across other team members, those in new roles felt themselves to be isolated. Conclusions: Despite the intentions of policy, the creation of the new roles did little to extend the idea of distributed responsibility in CMHTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]