Rethink Mental Illness Manchester Group

Our next meeting is coming up this week, Wednesday 14th September, from 6 – 7:45pm at Manchester Carers Centre . As well as having a cup of tea, a snack and a catch up, we've got people coming to talk with us about: Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust's service user and carer strategy reviews  updates to Manchester Local Involvement Network (LINk), a network of local people, groups and organisations working to make health and social care better.  All are welcome. 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 text or call Mary Patel on 07816 754 032 to let us know you will be coming, so we know to wait for you.

You might be interested in a new Facebook group, 'Making Mental Health Positive'. The group was set up by someone based in Manchester who has personal experience of mental illness and wants to improve awareness of mental health and to challenge stigma. You can join the group here and listed to an interview with the group's founder, Dawn Perry, here .

The NHS North West Board has approved the capital funding for Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust's Inpatient Pathway Redesign (IPR) Project. See the Trust's website for more information about this . This means that the Trust will now proceed with plans to relocate its inpatient services to two sites from the current three. The change will result in the inpatient beds that are currently at Edale House at Manchester Royal Infirmary being relocated to Park House on the North Manchester General Hospital site. The Trust says: "This will give us unprecedented opportunities to improve care to our service users and their carers." When the Trust announced its intention to close the inpatient unit at MRI we wrote to the Manchester Evening News to express our concerns about the extra burden this would place on some carers in terms of extra travelling time. The Trust's latest communication about the IPR states that: "The work in addressing concerns about ...

The world of mental health can sometimes feel full of debate about service provision with little space left for creativity and free thinking. That's why I always enjoy hearing from organisations like Asylum or arts organisations that open up debate and challenge thinking in ways that conversations about statutory services - however important - just can't. So I was interested to find an email in my inbox this week from an outfit called Laced Banana. They describe themselves as "a theatre production company creating socially relevant theatre that aims to educate, inform and open minds." They've just finished a production called Blowing Whistles, a play about what it's like to be a gay man in 2011.They're now on the look out for people who have had experience of mental health problems to help put together their next production. Here are the details on exactly what Amy and the team at Laced Banana would like your help on: 1. A new full-length verbatim p...

Here's a message we've received from Rethink that you might be interested in: Rethink Mental Illness is really concerned about cuts to mental health services, and we want to make sure the Government knows the impact these cuts are having on people affected by mental illness. We are compiling a report to raise awareness of this issue and to fight unfair cuts, and we urgently need our members, activists and supporters to tell us about how cuts have affected them personally. Your story could feature in our report, and we are also looking for people who would be interested in talking to the media about how they have been affected by cuts. This could mean having your name and photograph published, but if you would feel more comfortable to tell your story anonymously then that could also be an option. To tell us about how cuts to mental health services have affected you, please fill in our online form . We are particularly keen to hear about cuts to housing, crisis or inpatient s...

CareLoop: a mobile phone system for monitoring mental health and supporting self-management It’s common for service users with severe mental health problems to experience a range of distressing symptoms, which can change depending on levels of stress and a range of things. When these symptoms become worse it’s often hard to monitor them, it can be difficult to access help, and sometimes results in you having to go into hospital. This study is seeing whether you can monitor your mental health through the use of telephones. Normally you would see a doctor, nurse or other health professional every few weeks and they would ask you questions about how you are feeling. This means sometimes things are forgotten. It is hoped that with a telephone system symptoms are recorded as they are happening (like a living diary). This might it easier to discuss your thoughts and feelings with health care workers; it might also mean that when you are becoming unwell more support could be provided to s...

Due to disturbances in Manchester City Centre tonight, we have taken the decision to cancel the Rethink Manchester Carers in Action meeting that was due to be held this week, Wednesday 10th August. Our next meeting will now be on Wednesday 14th September. As usual, we will be posting news updates to our blog at www.rmcia.blogspot.com. If you need to get in touch with anyone in the meantime, either for information on the group, or just for a chat if things are difficult, you can get hold of me on the mobile number below. Rethink has sent out the following message through their Facebook page: "A message to any of our Facebook followers who may have been affected by disturbancies in UK cities over night - do get in touch with family or friends if you're feeling anxious or distressed, or call a support line such as the Samaritans to talk it over with someone. They're on 08457 909090 or jo@samaritans.org We hope that none of you or your family and friends have been affect...