Rethink Mental Illness Manchester Group

The Think Local Act Personal partnership and the National Centre for Independent Living are holding a series of 9 regional events for England. The events are titled 'Transforming social care through Direct Payments'. The North West event will take place in Manchester on 17th January (sorry, no time specified) at Breakthrough UK, Aked Close, Ardwick, Manchester, M12 4AN. The government has challenged councils to significantly improve take up of direct payments and work towards making them the default offer for adult social care.   The events bring together a series of subject experts from key organisations in the field of direct payments including Think Local Act Personal, Skills for Care, the National Centre for Independent Living, Shared Lives Plus (formerly NAAPS UK) Community Catalysts, Groundswell and HMRC.   The workshops are aimed at senior commissioners and operational managers in councils, direct payments support organisations, providers working with DP recipie

For any readers of this blog who are interested in the progress of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust's Foundation Trust application , the news is that they have just passed the Department of Health stage. There are various hurdles to overcome to gain Foundation Trust status and this means that the Trust will now progress on to the next one, which is financial scrutiny by Monitor , the regulator for Foundation Trusts in England. More information about all this is available in MMHSCT's latest newsletter . More information about what becoming a Foundation Trust means is available on MMHSCT's Foundation Trust microsite as well as on the Monitor website.

I was about to post a Merry Christmas message from all of us at Rethink Manchester Carers in Action, when I read this one from our national charity, Rethink Mental Illness, which sums up what I'd like to say... From everyone here at Rethink Mental Illness, we hope you all have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year! If you or someone you know is feeling low at this time of year, please remember that the Samaritans service is available 24/7, 365 days a year. If you’re feeling down, depressed or anxious over the festive period, get in touch with them: 08457 90 90 90 http://www.samaritans.org/

It's the Rethink Manchester Carers in Action Christmas Party  this Wednesday 14th December, from 6 – 7:45pm  at Manchester Carers Centre, Vulcan Mill, 12-18 Pollard Street, Manchester M4 7AN. As well as having a cup of tea and a good catch up, we've got a fun line up including... Exclusive music performance by  Dissolved Boy  - AKA Andrew CJ Smith! Raffle to raise funds for our group Food and drink – bring a little something to share! Christmas quiz Everyone is welcome – just come along. If you are travelling by public transport or by foot, a ‘walking bus’ will leave from the taxi rank at Manchester Piccadilly station at 5:30pm. Please call Mary Patel on 07816 754 032 to let us know you will be coming, so we know to wait for you. If you are travelling by car then free parking is available on Pollard Street after 6pm.

The Manchester LINk is carrying out a survey of people's experiences of using Manchester's crisis services. There are two versions of the survey, one for staff and one for patients - both of which are attached. You can also fill out the survey online through 'Surveymonkey' by following the relevant link: For patients: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XMGZGP8 For staff:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XWMQ8B6 The closing date for the survey is the end of December 2011.  If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone at the LINk, please call: 0161 874 2187 or email: Manchesterlink@theBHA.org.uk

If you access the Crisis Line run by Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, please note that due to technical problems the number has now changed. The new number is 0161 922 3801. All service users affected have been informed both by their Care Co-ordinator and by personal letter to their home address and all staff are aware of the change.

If you live in Manchester or Broughton, have a mental health condition and currently claim Incapacity Benefit, you might be interested in a new peer mentoring service from Making Space . If you're claiming long-term Incapacity Benefit, the DWP will shortly be asking you to undertake an Incapacity Benefit Reassessment to decide whether you could be considered fit for work. When they contact you, you can call on the Making Space Work4you service to help you through the process. Making Space will make sure you have the right information to take with you for your interview, or we can attend the interview with you if you wish, and help with any appeals if necessary. Contact details: FOR MANCHESTER CAROL GARRETT - 0784 326 8068 Email: Carol.Garrett@makingspace.co.uk TRACEY HARPER - 0784 326 8023 Email: Tracey.Harper@makingspace.co.uk FOR SALFORD ANDREW ATKINSON - 0784 326 7957 Email: Andrew.Atkinson@makingspace.co.uk You can also contact the Rethink Mental Illness Ad