Rethink Mental Illness Manchester Group

Recovery is on our Mental Health Wish List for 2010 and is a topic that seemed to generate a lot of conversation and excitement at our Mistletoe and Mental Health event a couple of weeks ago. Going through my email inbox, which I'm a bit behind on, I found an email from Rethink sent in November with news of a new report on recovery. ' Getting back into the world: reflections on lived experiences of recovery ', is what it says - a compilation of interviews with 48 people across England who have personal experience of mental illness. What's really interesting - and positive - about the report is that the interviews, analysis and write up were also done by people who have personal experience of mental illness. I've not had a chance to have a proper read but a quick glance shows that it will be an inspiring, thought provoking and useful report for anyone with an interest in recovery in mental illness.

Although the issue of confidentiality and information sharing hasn't made it onto our Mental Health Wish List it has cropped up several times as a discussion point over the past few months. Rethink recently sent through some guidance on information sharing from the Department of Health. The report, ' Information Sharing and Mental Health ', touches on some of the issues that we've discussed - that service users have a right to access information that impacts on them and that carers often feel that information is withheld from them unnecessarily. The guide is intended mostly for health professionals and is primarily focussed on sharing of information between statutory and non-statutory organisations. So, it doesn't directly address the issues we've been discussing as a group but does give a useful insight into the difficulties that professionals face. However, the guide does reference a report by Rethink for the Department of Health, published in 2004 , ' Pos

At our Christmas party this week we launched our wish list for mental health services in Manchester. We're calling on service users, carers and people who work with us to sign up in support of the wish list. Here's how you can show your support: 1. Follow this link to download the wish list 2. Save it to your computer 3. Add in any comments you have and sign your name (just typing is fine - no need to sign in pen) 4. Email it to me or post it to Ruth Hannan, Manchester Carers Centre, Beswick Row, Manchester M4 4PR At the end of January we'll collect up all the signed wish lists and send them to Manchester City Council, NHS Manchester and Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust. The document I've linked to above is a summary version of the wish list, because we thought that not everyone has the time to read through a 10 page document! If you'd like to read the full wish list, click here to download . We don't claim that the wish list is comprehensive or re

To celebrate the end of 2009 Rethink Manchester Carers in Action have put together a ‘wish list’ of what we’d like mental health provision to look like in Manchester, covering areas such as use of the recovery model and involving carers and service users in staff training. We want to know what else you think should be on the list and would particularly like service users' views. After the event we will be handing the wish list to Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust. So whether you’re a service user, carer or professional, we hope you can come along, tell us what else you want on the wish list and join our festive celebration. Wednesday 9th December 2009, 6-8pm Manchester Carers Centre Beswick Row, M4 4PR Buffet food and drinks will be provided Please let us know if you’d like to come Email Mary Rayner, Group Co ordinator: maryrayner@hotmail.com Or call Manchester Carers Centre on 0161 835 4090

Time to Change, the national anti-stigma campaign, is recruiting for 'Lived Experience Advisors'. They want to hear from anyone who has direct experience as a survivor, service user or carer, is involved with national, regional or local networks and has skills in public speaking, media work, research, involving others or community engagement. This is a chance to join England's most amitious campaign to end mental health discrimination. For more information, including application forms, visit the Time to Change website , email , or phone on 020 8215 2356.

It's time again for some more campaign plotting... we're planning to hold a Christmas Party on Wednesday 9th December to bring together as many different carers, service users and their representatives to discuss what we'd like the future of mental health to be in Manchester. More details coming soon... If you'd like to come to this Wednesday's meeting, it's 6-8pm at Manchester Carers Centre, Beswick Row (nr Victoria Station).

We actually finalised our campaign aims at our meeting last month, but preparing to speak at a conference tomorrow about RMCIA has reminded me that I've not written about them yet. After much discussion, debate (and dare I say arguing!), here are our main campaign aims... 1 Challenging stigma and discrimination - did you know that 1 in 8 people would not want to live next door to someone who has a mental health problem? 2 Developing best practice with professionals. There's lots that we want to do under this category, such as encouraging use of the recovery model, and tackling unwelcoming atmospheres in some wards. 3 Information is power! Being diagnosed with a severe mental illness - or having a loved one diagnosed - is such a disorientating time. Some basic information - what questions to ask, what sort of care you should expect, and where you can talk to other people in the same situation - can be a lifeline. We want to get information out there. So, that it's for now. W

One of the major shifts in health and social care policy over the past five years has been how to allow individuals to have more control over the care package they receive - called 'personalisation'. Most of the trialling of personalisation so far has happened with social care. However, currently the Department of Health is working with over 70 Primary Care Trusts nationally which have applied to test out personal health budgets – using health money to create personalised solutions. In the North West there are currently around 10 PCTs bidding to achieve formal pilot status. It's early days for personalisation in mental health but I'll be watching to see what the results are from these pilots. For more information see the North West Mental Health Improvement Programme's latest bulletin at http://www.northwest.nhs.uk/document_uploads/MentalHealthNews_July09/Issue038_Pers&MH_CB.pdf . You can subscribe to this yourself using a link at the bottom of the document.

If you feel that you'd like to be prepared in case you are unlucky enough to get swine flu this year, you might be interested in this information I've received from Manchester City Council... Carers can plan for an emergency as part of a Carer's Needs Assessment. In the assessment, they can discuss how they would like the person that they care for to be looked after if they become ill or their situation changes and there is also the option to have an emergency sitting service available as back-up. The assessment is simply a discussion about their needs as a carer and, as well as planning for an emergency, it gives carers the chance to find out about other services that could help them in their caring role. To request a Carer's Needs Assessment, carers can simply call Manchester's Contact Service on 0161 255 8250. Carers should also find themselves a flu-friend or flu-friends who understand their caring role and, as well as being able to assist the carer, may be a

Britain's six million unpaid carers who look after relatives or dependents are missing out on crucial benefits because of overly complex rules, MPs have concluded. A report by the Commons public accounts committee revealed that carers claim only £2bn in benefits, while their work saves the Treasury an estimated £23bn a year in health bills. For the full story see here .

The standing conference for service users, carers and the public now has a new name – Collective Voice North West. The first event was held in Liverpool in July – see this short film . The next Collective Voice North West event will be held in Manchester on the 12th October, in conjunction with World Mental health Day. The theme of the event will be ‘stigma’ with opportunities throughout the day to engage in discussions, workshops and a marketplace. Bookings for the event via standingconference@rethink.org

Your chance to have your say on the reform of adult care and support in England. The Government wants to create a National Care Service which is fair, simple and affordable. How should they do it? They have published the Green Paper for public consultation. Copies of the full Green Paper, Shaping the Future of Care Together, and the Easy Read version are available from:- DH publications orderline PO Box 777 London SE1 6XH Email: dh@prolog.uk.com Tel: 0300 123 1002 Minicom: 0300 123 1003 Quote the reference, 295936/Shaping the Future of Care Together for the full Green Paper and, for the shorter version, 295936/ER Shaping the Future of Care Together – Easy Read. You can also order copies through the Department of Health Orderline here . Or read the consultation on the Department of Health's website . Copies in alternative languages and formats are also available, but upon request so may take some time to produce. Email careandsupport@dh.gsi.gov.uk with your details to order.

If you've ever trawled through a Government consultation document you'll know that they're not the easiest read. This one, from the Department of Health, is no exception - at 130 pages you'll need a few cups of tea to get you through. Thankfully, Rethink have produced a handy six-page summary to save you the trouble. In a nutshell, the National Service Framework (NSF) for Mental Health in England expires this year and New Horizons is its new 'vision' for mental health. It contains some promising stuff - it covers areas such as prevention and public mental health, stigma, personalised care and collaboration between services. New Horizons aims to shape the way a range of agencies work to make mental health everyone’s business, from health services, local authorities, schools, employers, and those involved in the criminal justice system. The Department of Health asks quite a few (big) questions, such as: What do you think are the three most important changes for me

NICE guidelines aren't a handbook for general good behaviour, but are issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (hence the 'NICE') as a guide on ow different health conditions should be treated - and set out the most effective treatments which they recommend should be offered. The new NICE guidelines on treatment for schizophrenia were published in March 2009. Rethink has produced a guide on changes from when the guidance was last published, which include: - The guidelines no longer recommend that newer, atypical antipsychotics are prescribed over older ones. Instead, they say that a choice of medication should be offered to the service user, following a discussion about possible side effects. - The new guidelines also recommend that the service user should be offered 10 sessions of CBT and possible family therapy. - GPs are also required to offer annual physical health checks to people with schizophrenia and the results should be shared with their

We've just received notification from Rethink that the North West Regional Committee has approved our application to register as a Rethink Group.

On 17th May I ran the Manchester 10k to raise funds for RMCIA. Thanks to everyone who sponsored me - you helped to raise nearly £200!. It was a bit of a challenge as I had a stitch from 2k onwards and spent the last kilometre with my hand dug in my side trying to get rid of it - which made me look a bit like a one-winged chicken!

On Wednesday 13th May 2009 over 50 people got together at Manchester Carers Centre to celebrate the launch of Rethink Manchester Carers in Action. We heard from a range of speakers including Diane Miller from Time to Change, a groundbreaking national campaign that is challenging people’s perceptions of mental health problems, Shirley Devine, Chief Executive of Manchester Carers Centre, Grainne Cuerden, North West Regional Manager for Rethink and from Karen Machin who is active in mental health campaigning. We finished off the evening by cutting through stigma - or more specifically cutting a cake with the word 'stigma' written across it. A very tasty start to our campaigning activity!