Is day service modernisation such a daunting prospect?
| Pages | 10-14 |
| Published date | 18 August 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/mhsi.2010.0439 |
| Date | 18 August 2010 |
| Author | Peter Swan |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Mental Health and Social Inclusion • Volume 14 Issue 3 • August 2010 © Pier Professional Ltd10
10.5042/mhsi.2010.0439
studying, I still prefer to avoid new situations and
challenges, being happy to remain within a familiar
zone of comfort. If I, with relatively mild mental ill
health, can find change daunting, how must it feel
to somebody with a severe and enduring condition,
who may have used mental health services for years?
For my master’s degree dissertation, I conducted
a survey of day service providers in several English
counties, looking at whether they were in favour
of the modernisation approaches outlined in the
Department of Health 2006 published commissioning
guidance From Segregation to Inclusion (National
Social Inclusion Programme et al, 2006). While the
majority of respondents were in favour of these
proposals, respondents from user-run organisations
were more sceptical. This suggested that service users
have different wants and concerns to the service
providers, who I thought may have been more
in tune with client needs than the policy-makers
themselves. In addition, the minutes of consultations
between local authorities and those using their
services seemed to show the same worries and
concerns being raised time and time again. Service
users appeared to be frightened about changes to a
In the last few years, mental health day services in
both the statutory and voluntary sectors have been
encouraged to adopt a more structured, recovery-
oriented approach to the way they work. It has
been argued that traditional day services maintain
segregation, constrain ambition, and fail to meet the
needs of some people (National Social Inclusion
Programme et al, 2006; Social Exclusion Unit,
2003). As a result, a number of suggestions for the
modernisation of day services have been proposed,
which include more service user involvement, a
greater emphasis on employment, and a move away
from buildings-based services. However, despite the
above criticisms, traditional day services appear to be
highly valued by those who use them, and a number
of concerns regarding service modernisation have
been raised (Beresford & Bryant, 2008; Spandler,
2007). So, is modernisation just about saving money
and putting undue pressure on service users to obtain
employment, or does it in fact have its benefits?
At first, I was apprehensive about such changes.
I have experienced mental health difficulties in
recent years and, even though they have not been
serious enough to prevent me from working or
Is day service
modernisation such a
daunting prospect?
DAY SERVICES
Peter Swan
PhD student, University of Durham
Abstract
This article describes the results of a survey of adult mental health day service staff that explored their views
and experiences of day service modernisation. While respondents acknowledged the positive aspects of
service modernisation, they also believed that some people might find these changes harder to accept than
others. Even though it can be a daunting prospect for some, based on the testimonies of the staff interviewed,
the rewards associated with service modernisation outweigh the initial discomfort.
Key words
Day services; Modernisation; Mental health services
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