Mental Health

ASSEMBLY MEMBERS INVESITGATE CHALLENGES FACING LONDON'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Tuesday, 13 December from 10am in Committee Room 5 at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1). Members of the public are invited to attend and the meeting can also be viewed via webcast.

The challenges facing the capital’s mental health services are to be investigated by the London Assembly next week.

On Tuesday the Health and Public Services Committee will question experts on the ability of London’s mental health services to deal with increased demand at a time when the NHS has to find up to £20 billion of savings by 2015.

The Committee will discuss the following issues:

Current and future challenges of providing mental health services;
How access to mental health services could be affected by budget cuts; and
The impact of new arrangements for commissioning mental health services through Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Victoria Borwick AM, Chair of the Health and Public Services Committee, said: “London has higher levels of mental illness than other regions and it is essential that people who are affected are able to access help quickly and easily.

“Demand for mental health services in the capital is increasing, while funding for them is being reduced. Added to this, the way in which the NHS commissions and delivers its services is changing.

“We want to take a detailed look at how London’s vital mental health services will cope with these challenges.”

NHS TRUST STAFF CONSULTATION DOCUMENT ‘IMPROVING COMMUNITY SERVICES’. CAMDEN & ISLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST CALLS A HALT IN THE MIDST OF FURIOUS RESPONSE.

This notice is for Service users in Camden and Islington who don’t know – but NEED to know how the Social Care Services they receive will change. I hope you are able to understand, and get the point.

A couple of months ago Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I NHS Foundation Trust), published a 100 page, confidential, staff consultation document ‘Improving Community Services’. It lays out the Trust’s proposals to cut jobs and reconfigure services.

In that document issues and concerns come up for staff and Service Users, (particularly at Iseldon Road Resource Centre and Hanley Road Education and Employment Project, along with other Social Care Services through-out both boroughs). These are cuts to staff at Isledon Road; and a merger with Hanley Road Education and Employment Project.

In the document ‘Improving Community Services’, C&I NHS Foundation Trust informs its employees that their roles/job specification will be re-classified to a lower grade, they will also have to take a pay cut. Some posts will become part-time, other posts deleted and staff will be made redundant. This affects employees’ across C&I NHS Foundation Trust, and includes Managers and Support Workers.

Employees facing demotion – will be redeployed at all levels are encouraged to apply for jobs elsewhere within the Trust (to effectively take another employee’s job); if they don’t find suitable job within the Trust they face redundancy.

This means that Isledon Road could lose some of its mental health support workers, and its manager. It also means that employees who replace these staff, and work with service users are not required to be qualified or experienced in mental health.

I can’t stress how important support has helped, to keep a little dignity. Having a mental health professional to talk to who understands you, and what you go through. They know the truth about our lives, in detail and how we live with mental illness. The support acts as an enabling device, support workers do exactly that, offer the advice support and motivation to make decisions and take risks. People with severe mental illness struggle with every day issues being accepted and fitting in.

Another issue is the downgrading of both Isledon Road Resource Centre and Hanley Road Education and Employment Project. The Trust proposes that both Centre’s merge. Both services would be chopped up and fragmented in a way that would destroy how service users come together to share support and advice. Again, both Iseldon Road and Hanley Road would lose support staff, and both managerial posts would be replaced by one part – time post shared between to separate locations.

The activities at Iseldon road offer education, community and volunteering opportunities to its members. It is a sought out facility. Opportunities for members to change their lives it would be wrong and unfair to undo so much of the hard work that has gone into the services at Iseldon road. Members of Iseldon Road find meaning and purpose in their lives through the activities on offer in there groups e.g. Artistic opportunities, personal development, volunteering, fund raising to improve the service, engagement with community through exhibition, skills in curating.

Service users are aware of how challenging it can be to find the kind of support or therapy that assists their recovery, particularly in a mental health system subject to cuts year after year and virtually run on peanuts. These are support workers who have grasped personal histories, the traumas, and effects of mental illness on personality and the kind of dynamics that sets up in the daily lives of individuals. The prospect of losing the staff that currently providing this mental health support is understandably worrying for all service users affected.

Anti-stigma campaigns – good. Early intervention – good. Promote wellbeing – all good. However the ‘severe’ in Severe Mental Illness isn’t there for nothing. The C&I NHS Foundation Trust public relations machine and the never ending queue of media personalities seem to suggest that Mental Illness is about ‘eccentricity’, and ‘bizarre behaviours that seem ‘fun’. People, who are not Ruby Wax or Stephen Fry, don’t have the ability or resources to make a buck out of their difficulties. Ordinary people with little personal resources tend to use social services based in the community, they are, at risk, isolated, neglected, risk suicide, psychosis, depression, I could go on, and on, staff who work with service users now the detail. Basically, vulnerable at particularly at a time when life is so difficult for everyone right now.

One last vague issue is that the management of Hanley Road Education and Employment Project has been put out to private tender. If Isledon Road merges with Hanley Road, Iseldon Road will be managed by an out sourced private organization. It would undo all the great achievements at Iseldon Road.

In the name of ’service user involvement’ the C&I NHS Foundation Trust distributed a ‘ Service User Feedback Questionnaire’ on the basis that they wanted to find out how to improve services. They did this with the awareness that they had already drawn up their own policies in the form of the Improving Community Services Staff Consultation document, which must have been draw up sometime before they distributed the questionnaire or read our feedback.

Service users had the confidential ‘Improving Community Services’ staff consultation document passed to them, and discovered they had been misled and lied to. The responses in the questionnaire were used to reflect the interests of C&I NHS Foundation Trust.

Confused and angry, Service Users have repeatedly emailed questions and concerns about the future of services at Iseldon Road, to receive a couple of sentences denying the service will change. Or flat out refusals to discuss the matter. We’ve met with Mp Jeremy Corbyn at Iseldon Road’s weekly meeting, and requested to meet with the chief executives, Wendy Wallace and Jackie Dury who have either made excuses or cancelled.

These are the real reasons why the consultation document was a staff secret , and why the chief executive have cancelled a number of meetings with service users to discuss these points, and answering awkward questions and protest.

The cuts the C&I NHS Foundation Trust need to make are borough wide. Service users were told that the budget for Iseldon Road Resource Centre had been cut by 100,000K this year. Naturally there is much anxiety about the future of the Resource Centre, and confusion about what will happen, and how the financial cuts will affect mental health support service users receive.

For the NHS Trust it hasn’t been a toss-up between providing up to date services and protecting the services from the effect of an economic crisis in a fair way. Many of us have loss confidence in the Trusts ability to make fair decisions about the way it treats its staff and patients.
 
What of Islington Borough User Group (ibug), long funded by C&I NHS Foundation Trust as the ‘token’ voice of service users? With prior knowledge of cuts they were fortunate enough, to transform themselves into a limited company. I’ve said it before, and say it again, Ibug do not TRULY represent the spectrum of Service User views in Islington because they are funded by, and therefore regurgitate the majority of C&I NHS Foundation Trusts misleading information on policy; it’s in their interest to do so. Chairmanship of ibug deserves scrutiny.

A ‘Working Group’ has been set to take part in discussions up; to share service users’ views and opinions about the proposals, with NHS managers who (we hope) will pass them on to the C&I Foundation Trust board members. Service users who have any concerns or issues about the proposals should attend the Friday Resource Centre Meetings which take place at 2.00pm to have their say.

If the Trust intends to genuinely allow service users to make an informed judgment about spending cuts they face. Service users should be able to fully understand and make clear decisions about the services they should have access to.

In those meetings, I’d suggest service users should be allowed to put forward constructive solutions that can be acted upon without being changed or amended in a misleading way when the consultation process is over.

The Trust wants to increase the capacity, and through put of service users at both sites, pushing clients through the Mental Health system on the basis of payment by results. It seems to be a theoretical idea, especially when current service has been consistently cut year after year and runs on a shoestring – it will cost money to make changes.

Note:
The ‘Improving Community Services’ document was a confidential document in the sense that staff were forbidden to talk to service users about the impact these proposal would have on individuals and their care. The Trust chief executive The Trust’s Chief Executive Wendy Wallace; Arnold Palmer - Finance Director; Claire Johnston - Director of Nursing and Performance; Dr Sylvia Tang - Medical Director; Colin Plant - Borough Director Camden; Jackie Drury - Borough Director Islington all agreed that these proposals should not be discussed with service users until the deadline for the end of November 2011.

These proposals are made available on this site, so that service users have a clearer picture of what the C&I NHS Foundation Trust is up to, and expose the Trusts formal reassurances for the bullshit it is. I very much appreciate the sources that have supplied this information. (It is suggests the proposals were drawn up with the aid of a legal team, to make these changes difficult to challenge and reduce the bill for redundancy payments.) They see how unethical it is so brought in lawyers.

Unison insisted the Trust make clear the impact cuts would have on community services in an open letter published in The Islington Tribune. Service users have written to the chief executive with questions and concerns, which have met with brief formal reassurances that services will not change.

Both Wendy Wallace and Jackie Dury have cancelled a number of face to face meetings discuss with service users in fear of awkward questions and protests.

Since the proposals in the staff consultation document ‘Improving Community Services’ were unofficially made public in various ways, there has been overwhelming response against the proposals from staff and service users. The Trust has called the staff consultation to a halt as a result.

Right now unofficial sources say, that a new staff consultation document is being put together, part of which will allow those facing redundancy or redeployment to apply for their own jobs.

The Trust executives were always clearly very aware that staff and service users would find the proposals unfair. Apparently the staff consultation document was put together with the assistance of lawyers to reduce the redundancy bill. What kind of morally bankrupt executive do we have running our local public services? Those who earn about 150,000K, fortunate enough to board their yacht, go sailing and forget how insignificant the lives of ordinary people are…(strange but TRUE for at least one of these executives guess who…)

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

I've just signed the petition to send a clear message to the House of Lords to protect our NHS. The more of us that sign it, the better the chance they'll vote the right way.

Please sign the petition now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

38 DEGREES NHS PETITION

Yesterday, Lord Owen told Channel 4 News "I believe that if this Bill
is introduced, in ten years' time the NHS will be unrecognisable. It's a
great sadness to me.".

Let's get behind his motion to stop that happening - add your name to the emergency petition now:

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

Which way will they vote? This Wednesday the House of Lords makes a
choice. They could wave through the government's dangerous NHS plans. Or
they could insist on proper scrutiny and big changes to protect our health
service.

The press say it's on a knife edge. It could come down to one or two
votes. [1] Together we can help tip the balance. If we can prove that the
public wants Lansley's plans put under the microscope, we can convince
wavering Lords and Baronesses to stand up to the government and vote the
right way.

Thousands of us have written personally to Lords and Baronesses. We know
our message is starting to get through. Now let's show wavering Lords just
how many of us want them to vote to protect our NHS - by building a huge,
people powered petition.

The vote is on Wednesday afternoon, and we'll need to deliver the petition
just before it starts. Please add your name now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

An influential Lord, David Owen, has announced he will call a vote to put
Lansley's NHS plan under the microscope, by creating a special 'select
committee'. [2] The committee would investigate key concerns of ours -
like scrapping of the Secretary of State's "duty to provide" health
services. We can win this vote! And if we do, it will be a massive boost
to our chances of stopping dangerous changes to the NHS being forced
through.

The government doesn't want this to happen. They're doing all they can to
pressure Lords to toe the line. [3] We can outweigh that pressure with
people power. Let's prove to the Lords that the government doesn't speak
for us. We never voted for this dangerous NHS plan and we can show our
support for Lords' efforts to stop it.

Please take 30 seconds to add your name to the urgent petition to the
House of Lords:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

There's a lot at stake here. We all rely on the NHS to look after us and
to look after our loved ones. We know that if the government's plans go
through unchanged, we could lose our health service forever. The House of
Lords could be our best hope of protecting our health service for future
generations.

Thousands of 38 Degrees members have sent personal emails to Lords and
Baronesses, telling them why the NHS matters so much. Now let's back that
up with big numbers. Let's build a huge petition to the Lords to show them
how many of us support efforts to protect the health service.

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/message-to-lords

Thanks for being involved,

Johnny, Marie, Cian, David, Becky, Hannah & the 38 Degrees team

NOTES

[1] See for example:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047210/Controversial-NHS-reforms-killed-peers-days.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/08/lords-kill-off-nhs-reforms

[2] Lord Owen isn't the only Lord who's written an amendment to put the
bill under the microscope, or stop it completely. But Lord Owen's
amendment has the greatest chance of success. The full text of Lord Owen's
amendment reads:

"And that a Select Committee shall be appointed to examine and make
recommendations to the House on the issues raised by the 18th Report of
the Constitution Committee, namely the Government's and Parliament's
constitutional responsibilities with regard to the NHS, in particular to
clarify (a) the extent to which the Secretary of State remains responsible
and accountable for the comprehensive health service, and (b) individual
Ministerial responsibility to Parliament, and to report on the extent to
which legal accountability to the courts is fragmented; that this House
requests that the services of Parliamentary Counsel be available to the
Committee; and that the Committee shall report no later than 19 December
2011."

[3]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8816585/Health-bill-could-be-diluted-further-to-win-Lords-vote.htm

CAMDEN & ISLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST - ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING, 2011

20 October 2011 (05:30 pm - 08:00 pm)

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I) warmly invite you to our Annual Members' Meeting, which is being held at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday, 20th October, starting at 5.30pm. It will be our biggest yet, with a chance to meet a wide range of people with an interest in mental health, as well as our leadership team.

You will hear from our Chief Executive, Director of Finance and Lead Governor on what we've done in the last year, hear about our future plans and meet the other Directors and Governors, with plenty of chance to ask us questions.

There will a highly topical presentation on our groundbreaking work with young men in Camden who are in gangs. We will also feature IMPACT, our innovative project with probation services which has reduced the rate of recall to prison for service users with personality disorder by 49%, and hear from Arsenal about how our partnership is helping local people.

( You need to reserve a place at the meeting to attend. Use the following link )

http://www.candi.nhs.uk/news-and-events/events/annual-members-meeting-2011/

Agenda:

5.30pm Refreshments and exhibition

6.00 Presentations within the exhibition area

6.15 Performance by KC Singers Community Choir

6.20 Presentations on 2010-11 and future plans

6.45 Presentation by our Lead Governor

6.55 Questions

7.10 Street level work with young people and local gangs

7.25 Impact reduces prison recall rates

7.35 Arsenal in the Community and mental health

7.45 Close, view of pitch and stadium

There will be an exhibition, with stalls on volunteering opportunities, carers and more. There will also be an opportunity to view the pitch!

You will be entertained by a concert standard violinist, and our new community choir, KC Singers, comprising of members of staff and people who use our services, will be singing live.

We will also be providing you with buffet food and refreshments.

Copies of our annual report and summary financial statements are available here and will be available on the day.

Please do let us know if you will be coming, so we can plan our catering requirements, by contacting trust.secretary@candi.nhs.uk or 020 3317 3192. Please use the Media entrance, to the left of the Armoury Superstore on Queensland Road (nearest tube is Holloway Road) for our even

IMPROVING COMMUNITY SERVICES

A Staff Consultation called 'Improving Community Services' has been kept secret from service users at Isledon Road. It is clearly going to affect members dramatically. Click 'go' at the bottom of this page to read the full document...

STOPPING MENTAL HEALTH CUTS - MEMBERS, RETHINK NEED YOUR HELP...

Members can take part in their survey by going to the Rethink website.

Rethink activists marched with 8,000 people on May 11th protesting against cuts to benefits and services. Thanks to all of you who took part in the Hardest Hit march. Rethink and our supporters want to fight cuts to mental health services, and you can help now. Many council budgets were slashed in April with mental health services once again being seen as a 'soft target'.

This must stop happening because the most vulnerable people are suffering. Nicola says: "I attended a local service as a volunteer and when it was closed the alternative was miles and miles away. Service users lost support and a valuable social network. This service was family to many who have no one and nothing else. Now my care-coordinator has been taken away too and I feel like everything has been turned upside down."

Councils look set to make more cuts next year and the year after that. We urgently need to know about cuts in your area so that we can build our evidence and campaign to stop this happening again. We must not allow cuts to target those who need the most support. Help us demand 'Fair Treatment Now' and complete our survey today.

Thank you for your support...

Rethink Campaigns Team

WELFARE REFORM:

The apt 'ConDem' government's choice of cuts and policy seem to be poorly thought through, and a bad excuse to stir up class based divisions, while scapegoating a vulnerable and powerless section of our society who depend on welfare (I have been reliably informed that the rate of contact with mental health support services have peaked since the changes became public knowledge. It is an indication of the level of anxiety that surrounds this issue).It is not just about individuals, it's about the effect on families and how they cope too. Most who work within voluntary and public sector caring organisations know that there will be a punitive effect on thier clients, and all the work they do, should clients loose their entitlement to particular services as a result of the change.

Sir Ian Duncan Smith says, he has done his research by visiting council estates, and meeting with groups and individuals who use welfare services, but has yet t to acknowledge in his White Paper, the complex lifestyles and conditions those groups live with. I'd encourage those who can, to have their say, and bring Ian Duncan Smiths attention to these problems in detail. The Welfare Reform Bill makes it's way through the House Of Commons at this very moment.

Call me paranoid, but it's possible that 'the deficeiI' has become the poor excuse to create class based boundaries, with all the ideological sound-bites that come with a Conservative government? Liberals in government should rightly feel shame for dropping their election promises and proposals - like a dirty pair of knickers.

The government funded anti-stigma, and anti-discrimination mental health campaigns in the media, mean nothing while they associate negative label's like 'lazy', 'scroungers','benefit cheat','life-style choice', 'work shy' with those who experiencing or living with severe difficulties. Its clear that at number of levels, including parliment that Service User Involvement has facilitated growth, innovation, recovery, community activities, personal development, volunteering, service user led social enterprise schemes that create positive occupation's in creative, positive and healthy ways. So just lay off the stereotyping, it's gettin' long - AND old.....

I'm personally, moved by the examples of support that acknowledge the problems in our community and society. I see the government's idea of a 'Big Society' as an illusion, an agenda to maintain the sort of elitist, greedy, unaccountable society, that lacks compassion and is doggedly obssessed with the pursuit of money. It's the kind of unfair society, people working in the community tend to want to get away from.

The government strategy to reduce the welfare bill by means testing should ensure that the tests fairly reflect the range of physical and non-physical (hidden disabilities) - it includes mental illness. At the moment I can only see the growth of an underclass unable to cope, without support, because they are no longer entitled to welfare, living in poor conditions, and neglected. I don't want to see this happening in my community.

After a visit to the House Of Commons organised by Rethink Parliment, I felt the need to 'say my piece'. As one of those, who depend on a number of mental health support services in the community, without support I would be another dead statistic - and that's the truth. Suicides, neglect and vulnerablility are not at the top of the agenda, yet these issues are out there in the public domain should anyone care to look at it...

MAD PRIDE PRESENTS...A PUBLIC EXECUTION AND ASSORTED HORRORS

Demonstration against cuts to benefits and services.
Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London,W1K 1QB
Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner tube,.

Tuesday 25th October, 1.30pm, 2010

madpride.org.uk

MADPRIDE: FRIENDS, PRIDESTERS, SURVIVORS AND ALLIES.

There will be a final Mad Pride meeting before Tuesday's Demo on:
Sunday October 24th
Sutton House,
2 and 4, Homerton High Street,
Hackney,
London
E9 6JQ.

Sutton House is a National Trust gem, the oldest house in East London, built in 1535. So bask in the Tudor splendour nestling behind the temporary scaffolding. Talking of scaffolding, Mad Pride is holding a demonstration against the monstrous "shock and awe" spending review.

This will be Survivor Anti-cuts Demo to be held at Speakers corner, Hyde Park (Marble Arch tube) from 1.00pm on Tuesday October 26th 2010. Meet at the cafe at the corner of the park just there. A little further away is Hyde Park Corner tube - and it is a nice walk up the park - following Park Lane to Marble Arch.

This will be our first demo for several years, but as I think you will agree the issue of Cuts is so terrifying that we could not stand by and do nothing. Do come on the day if you can!

Buses are 425 and 488 and others a little further away. Rail link, Homerton and Hackney Central (walk through the churchyard).

We can combine final arrangements with a viewing of the Art of Stephen Bird (aka Jowe Head) who has an exhibition of his latest work there. Steve is as skilled an artist as he is a musician (ex Swell Maps, TV Personalities and many more). He has performed memorably at Mad Pride gigs.

All opinions valued (but please no flaming or personal attacks). All survivors and allies post on the new Forum at: http://madpride.org.uk/forum/
Fab photos of Street Art - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotmasters/sets/72157625168332994/
Facebook group - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#%21/group.php?gid=166438346705607
Madpridemark is twitting occasionally: Enquiries: 07542 459321 07766 124472

Madpridemark

CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH - See fresh ideas re: 'Recovery Into Practice'.

Can you put recovery at the heart of your services?

Having developed a framework by which organisations might become more recovery-orientated, Centre for Mental Health, in partnership with NMHDU and the NHS Confederation, is now looking for demonstrations sites to help put it into practice.

The project

We aim to field test the methodology for organisational change in 6 demonstration sites and help them to improve the quality of their local services to support people more effectively to lead meaningful and productive lives. This project provides an opportunity to demonstrate an innovative approach to quality improvement and cultural change across organisations. It is expected to run until 2011/12.
What we are offering

Each organisation will receive an individually-tailored support package of expert consultancy, access to specialist, user-led training programmes and materials, and participation in a learning network. This will enable organisations to put a truly person-centred approach at the heart of service delivery with the aim of improving service user outcomes and satisfaction levels with service provision.

The project team of Jed Boardman, Rachel Perkins (South West London and St George's NHS Trust) and Geoff Shepherd will provide direct consultancy and advice on target setting and implementation to individual sites. Julie Repper from the University of Nottingham will provide specific help with training of service users and staff.
Find out more

For more information and the forms with which to apply, visit http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/across_mh/recovery_into_practice.aspx.

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2010.

Tel: 020 7827 8376
Fax: 020 7827 8369
Email: katherine.hall@centreformentalhealth.org.uk
Website: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk

CAMDEN AND ISLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
Every one is complaining about the Board of Directors due to spend 35.000 pounds of PUBLIC MONEY on a an image make over, where do these people think they are living in the court of Marie Antoinette? They're in another world, and it aint Realityville.

Expect a fluffly pink logo, and matching scented note paper when they write to us to explain why they are cutting the service....its an OUTRAGE!!

CAMDEN AND ISLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST BOARD MEETING
Thursday 29th April, 2010, 5pm

If inclined, listen to executives and PR people tell you what a beaureacratic sucess they are. Someone somewhere is concerened they don't have a 'people friendly' image. You wonder who thinks up this stuff it's mind boggling... How about patient friendly PRACTICE. Feel free to rip my artwork off the walls of the executive suite! Remember the days when Erville Millar was chief executive. He was decent enough to go and talk to service users on a face to face basis....

Oh yes, I'm in one of those bloody moods! How to confuse a mental health executive, attend the 'bored' meeting and ask when they lasted spoke to a service user in a Day Centre....be prepared to be escorted out the door and told to '"calm down, you're not feeling very well ..."

(open to stand corrected...)

Conference Hall
St. Pancras Hospital
4 St. Pancras Way
London, NW1, 0PE

For further info contact the Trust Secretary:
Trust.secretary@candi.nhs.uk
0207 3317 3184

Speaking of BORED....iBUG years of comfy dissapointment, it serves the Trust more than it assists the service user, and the Trust encourage it's yes man operation and low expectations, it's why I left, and why nothing changes. As one of many, speak up, get squeezed out by the Chair.

iBug can never be forgiven for systematically destroying Islington Music Forum by ousting representatives in touch with service user interests, in such a cloak and dagger manner there was no choice but to leave. Hardly supportive way of working.

Funded by the Trust to reflect service user views? I don't think so, but that's just the view of a mad woman - right. Take me off the mailing list I am sick of the tedium, and the website leaves a lot to be desired, no representation of real life, but glossy stock photo's - who are you kidding...

iBug chairmanship has a lot to answer for, many of us know it, and more think it, time for a change, and tthat don't mean constantly listing what you've done before, what about what you need to do...and are going to do for the service user community...

ANOTHER VERY LOCAL SUICIDE

Why am I angry, another suicide under mental health care in the paper, (the name and details witheld with respect). I don't knock the good professionals. There is a list of people I am aware of who have approached health care professionals then died because they were not taken seriously a reflection of the mindset that exist in the NHS. Whatever threatening tactics are pulled, on those of us who speak the truth, we could say more, a lot more...

LADY SARA 'GEM' TONIN

Just the best news I've heard for some time - Lady Sara Tonin and Gem founder of Creative Routes, Mad Chicks and Bonkersfest is back!
Wishing you well luvvy...x

CAMDEN AND ISLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST SERVICE USER STRATEGY DOCUMENT 10 YEARS OVERDUE

Shitloads of your money folks have been mis spent on glossy PR materials that tell you how 'inclusive' and 'diverse' this NHS Trust is.

It's untrue, and has been for some tIme. In law, a patient/client/service user is encouraged to contribute to the decision making process that manages mental health and resources, a strategy document was promised over ten years ago, with an agreement to involve service users in the drafting of document.

When are the Camden and Islington Mental Health Foundation are going to stop patronising Service User Representatives, and allow them contribute to drafting the document - with a real say, and produce a workable Service User Strategy Document...

I've stopped attending Foundation Trust Annual meetings because, a stupefied Wendy Wallace Director of Mental Health Services in Camden and Islington, never seems to hear, or answer very simple questions like 'When is this document going to be ready, or produced.

While I'm at it, why is the 'Art Strategy Group' such a mystery? We are, only the bloody artist's! We would like to know if we play part in it, and how - because we should. Seems backward to have a load of administrators making decisions about us as so called 'Trust artists', when no artist sits on their committee.

...as you'll see, the 'inclusiveness', and PR they spout is Bullshit - this is the kinda crap that gets you down, so much for being informed.

If any one has any news on this elusive document, let me know, and I might take this back...

Maybe I don't need to take this back.

Check out:

Panorama, BBC1
0.25am 11th March 2010

Hospitals failing the public, assess themselves as 'good'...