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Anxiety UK Webinar: Engaging with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
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How Anxiety UK utilised the Public Engagement Network (PEN) to share the lived experiences of people living with anxiety with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
PEN member, Anxiety UK, hosted a webinar earlier this month to introduce their members, beneficiaries and national participation group members to Choice Support’s Public Engagement Network and enable them to engage directly with colleagues from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
About Anxiety UK
Anxiety UK is a national organisation, established in 1970, run by and for people living with anxiety. Their mission is to support individuals and organisations who are living with, or are seeking to learn more about, anxiety and anxiety disorders
They do so by providing a wide range of support services including talking therapies such as CBT and EMDR, therapist-led anxiety management courses, peer-led support services such as groups, and a wide range of information via the charity’s website and Anxia® app.
PEN and CQC Engagement
At the webinar, Emma Clements, Operational Manager of the Experts by Experience team at Choice Support, gave an overview of the Public Engagement Network (PEN), while Diane Lewis spoke about her role as Community Engagement Officer for the Midlands.
Those present were given the opportunity to share feedback on the health and adult social care they have experienced. Members of the Anxiety UK team were also present.
Jane Ray, Deputy Director for London (Mental Health), George Campbell, Engagement, Insight & Evaluation Manager and Nazma Islam-Khan, CQC Senior Expert by Experience Officer (Engagement, Insight and Evaluation), were representatives for the Care Quality Commission.
Experiences of people living with anxiety in the UK
A range of topics and questions were raised including the gap between primary and secondary mental health services, where support for people with complex and long-standing anxiety disorders was of particular concern. People felt that treatment was mainly provided at primary care level and that, outside of crisis services, ongoing support for severe anxiety disorders was not readily accessible.
The issue of medical gaslighting and diagnostic overshadowing in those with anxiety was also raised. This refers to the dismissiveness experienced by people when they seek support for physical health conditions but where their symptoms are solely attributed to mental health diagnoses .
Differing wait times across the country and long wait times for talking therapies were highlighted as an ongoing and recurring problem, affecting people with severe anxiety disorders.. People were interested in understanding how this issue was being monitored by the CQC.
People living with anxiety are sometimes finding that online and social media marketing is targeting individuals living with anxiety with products or services claiming to help with anxiety but which lack an evidence base or may even be unsafe or exploitative.
This is in addition to frustration with the stagnation in treatment approaches for anxiety over the past few decades, where options are commonly limited to SSRI medication and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which are not always effective for everyone.
Anxiety UK members were also able to give individual feedback on health and adult social care confidentially, using Choice Support’s ‘give feedback on care’ form. Their experiences were gathered and shared with the CQC.
Learn more and get involved
You can find out more by visiting Anxiety UK’s website
If you would like to arrange an engagement session with members of Choice Support’s PEN team, please contact us here.
You can also share our ‘give feedback on care’ form with people who have lived experience of using health and adult social care services in England.
