14 August 2025
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is carrying out a survey to find out what service users think about the care they received when using community-based mental health services in Sussex. The Trust plans to use this feedback to improve experiences and understand areas where it performs well.
People who have recently used community mental health services may receive a questionnaire by post from Monday 18 August. Those sent the questionnaire will also be sent text message reminders to take part. They will be asked about various aspects of their care, including, the quality of care and treatment, communication with staff, and information about their care.
Results from the survey will be used to improve the quality of care and people’s mental health care experiences.
The 2024 Community Mental Health Survey results helped the NHS identify areas where there was most room for improvement, and as a result the Trust has:
- Teamed up with the national text messaging service Shout to deliver an enhanced digital service to support people who need help with their mental health
- Introduced Staying Well services across Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex, enabling self-referral to anyone who is experiencing a crisis in their mental health
- Made the involvement of service users in care planning a major priority in their 2025-2026 annual plan
- Introduced a text messaging option to collect feedback for the Sussex Experience Survey
- Co-created a carer engagement plan that will be implemented in August 2025
- Launched a new organisational strategy for 2025-2030, which describes the Trust's vision for delivering high-quality, specialist NHS services for patients, families, and carers. The strategy is built on the values of compassion, accountability, and optimism.
Dr Jane Padmore, Chief Executive at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"Receiving feedback from patients and taking account of their views is really important to us. It helps us understand and learn from people's experience of the care we provide, it highlights what we are doing well, and where we need to make changes to ensure quality of care.
"I would encourage anyone who is asked to take part in the Community Mental Health Survey to be open and honest and tell us about their experience of using our services. This will help us to promote examples of good practice, keep doing the things that we're doing well, and make improvements where we need to."
People’s responses are confidential. The results of the survey will be presented in a form that does not allow any individual’s answers to be identified. The results will be published in Spring 2026.
Find out more about the Community Mental Health Survey.
