Listening, Learning and Shaping Future Inpatient Care

Between August and November 2025, NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin worked with partners to engage local people about their experiences of adult mental health inpatient services. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to complete the survey, attend events, or share their experiences with us.

This engagement is helping to shape the Transforming Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services Strategy (2024–2027), developed in partnership with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, local councils, and voluntary and community sector organisations.

What the Engagement Focused On

We asked people about their experiences of mental health crisis care and inpatient services, including:

• Accessing help when in crisis
• Experiences of inpatient care and ward environments
• Involvement in decisions about care
• Support for families and carers
• Admission, discharge and follow‑up support
• How services could work better together in future

We heard from 186 people, including people with lived experience of inpatient services, carers and family members, current inpatients, professionals and volunteers.

What People Told Us

Feedback was wide-ranging and honest. While many people shared examples of compassionate, high‑quality care from individual staff and teams, we also heard clearly about areas where improvements are needed.

Key themes from what we heard include:

• Being listened to really matters
  People consistently told us that feeling listened to, treated with empathy and involved in decisions had a huge impact on their experience. Where this was missing, it caused distress and disengagement.
• Access to help can be slow and difficult
  Many people described long waits, unclear pathways and difficulties getting timely help, particularly before reaching crisis point. This sometimes meant situations escalated before support was available.
• Families and carers often feel excluded
  Carers told us they frequently felt left out of care planning, communication and discharge decisions. Around two‑thirds said their needs and views were not adequately considered.
• Quality of inpatient care is inconsistent
  Some inpatient experiences were described as supportive and therapeutic, while others raised concerns about safety, staffing levels, communication, ward routines and the environment.
• Discharge and follow‑up support need improvement
  People described poor communication about discharge, lack of preparation, and inconsistent follow‑up once home, increasing the risk of relapse or re-admission.
• Earlier intervention and joined‑up care are key
  Across all groups, people called for more proactive, preventative mental health support in the community, better coordination between services, and smoother transitions between inpatient and community care.

Read the Full Engagement Report

👉 Read the Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services Engagement Report (January 2026)

The report provides a detailed summary of what we heard through surveys, interviews and face‑to‑face engagement.

What Happens Next

We are now using what people told us to inform the ongoing delivery of the Transforming Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services Strategy (2024–2027).

Further updates on next steps and how feedback is shaping future plans will be shared on this page in due course.

Thank you again to everyone who shared their experiences, views and ideas. Your voices are central to improving adult mental health inpatient care across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

For any questions or further information, contact us at stw.communications@nhs.net or call us on 01952 580300.