Equipment quality and outcomes questionnaire
Contact officer: Brenda Worthington, development manager, Occupational Therapy service
Tel: 0151 233 1665
Email: Brenda.Worthington@liverpool.gov.uk
Start date: 4 February 2008
End date: 12 March 2008
Purpose of the exercise:
This exercise asked service users about their views on the Occupation Therapy service, what effect the service has had on their lives and levels of independence. They were also asked about how well the service was delivered, their aftercare, the effect on their overall well-being and safety of having to wait for equipment and their dependence on other services.
Who was consulted and how:
Service users who received a service between October 2007 and February 2008 were consulted via a postal questionnaire, which was followed up with a phone call.
Who were the results of the exercise reported to:
The results of the exercise were reported to the:
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executive member for Health and Adult services
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executive director for Community Services
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Health and Social Care select committee
What were the findings of the exercise:
710 people received a service between October 2007 and February 2008. They were aged between 18 and 85+, with the majority being females aged between 65 and 84 (261 of the 710)
The initial findings show that over 74% of respondents were extremely or very happy with the equipment or adaptations they received. 4.8% remain very dissatisfied (20 people in all).
80% of the service (the initial assessment and the provision of equipment) were carried out via a home visit. The other 20% were contacted by other means (for example, by telephone, joint working with health staff or visiting the disabled living centre). No-one mentioned the self-assessment process available via the internet - suggesting that majority of users were more comfortable with a home visit or direct contact with a member of staff.
87% of respondents were happy with the way that their issues were addressed and discussed and 77% felt that they were engaged in the choice of what service would best meet their needs.
88% reported that they used the equipment/adaptations they were supplied with and 93% said that the provisions of these had improved their quality of life.
70% of respondents received more than one piece of equipment, and 15% required advice only, to solve the reported problem
Getting around, both inside and out their homes, aspects of personal care and greater control over their daily lives were the major areas that have been improved by the service.
Although the findings, in general, were very positive, serveral service users made direct contact with Community Services as soon as they received the questionnaire. Some were unaware of any equipment they had received within the time frame given, were still awaiting assessment or were unclear about what the questionnaire was about. All these service users were contacted directly and their concerns discussed with them individually.
It was found that some respondents didn't know that services provided by non-council services, for example the Merseyside Centre for Deaf People and Bradbury Fields (previously the Liverpool Voluntary Society for the Blind), and recorded as replacing or updating equipment, did so on behalf of Community Services and were, therefore, covered by the remit of the questionnaire.
What are the changes to the service brought about as a result of the consultation:
The findings so far, lead to the conclusion that the service requires more publicity and clarity about its role and needs to provide more information to service users.