Forensic carers in England
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study of the extent to which secure mental health services in England meet the needs of family carers
IRAS ID
209410
Contact name
Mick McKeown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Central Lancashire
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
The relatives and friends of individuals admitted into secure psychiatric services face a number of challenges that compound the usual stresses of being a carer and suggest that this group have many unmet needs. Furthermore, given that for various reasons the relationships between these carers and service providers may be limited, the potential for involving them in care planning and decision making is not fully realised. National policy emphasises the importance of supporting carers and making use of their knowledge and experiences to increase the effectiveness of care and treatment of their relatives. Previous studies, including our own research, suggest that carers were not always treated as ‘partners in care’.
NHS England has commissioned this independent evaluation of carers’ experiences within forensic services to investigate the experiences of carers in their relations with services and the extent of support for carers provided by services. As such, the evaluation aims to provide evidence about:
• The support for carers that exists across forensic services in England
• The gap between what professionals say is provided and carers’ experience
• The extent to which carers access available support in forensic services
• What works well and what hinders carers from accessing this support.
In addition to gathering information from carers about their experiences and views, the study will aim to gather information from forensic services about what carer support exists, and uptake by carers. The study will involve surveys of carers and services and qualitative interviews with carers. The findings will be relied upon to design a toolkit to support relevant commissioning arrangements.NHS England who have commissioned the study have contacted all English secure services to ensure their cooperation in collecting the survey data of commissioned services(this letter attached).
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NE/0273
Date of REC Opinion
30 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion