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28 Jul 2005
1 in 100, a mental health awareness campaign, was launched this morning in Essex jointly with South Essex Partnership NHS Trust and Janssen-Cilag Ltd to raise awareness of schizophrenia, and break-down the barriers existing for over 10,000 local people who experience the illness. It will also raise awareness of the fact that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some stage in their lifetime. http://www.oneinonehundred.co.uk Essex businesses and support groups are uniting in support of the campaign aimed at combating misconceptions of a wide range of mental illnesses and schizophrenia. “This campaign is a great opportunity to reach out to the many thousands of people affected by mental health problems in Essex. With fantastic support from Janssen-Cilag Ltd and local support networks, we are committed to changing public perception of mental illness and improving the lives of all those affected by any mental health problems from stress to schizophrenia,” said Dr Patrick Geoghegan, Chief Executive of South Essex Partnership NHS Trust. Although serious mental illness can be devastating, developments in understanding, rehabilitation and treatment can now enable people to live relatively normal lives. The campaign wants to support this understanding to enable service users to either remain at, or return to, work and function in the community whilst dispelling the associations some people still have of serious mental illness automatically translating to institutional care. The initiative kicks off a day of educational activities with a breakfast meeting for representatives of business large and small, from Essex and beyond, at The Towngate Theatre, Basildon. The meeting will explore prejudice and discrimination in the workplace and offer advice on how to help, support and enable service users to enjoy fulfilling employment. The campaign continues at The Towngate Theatre with a public exhibition which will provide information on mental health services, support groups and the opportunity to take a stress test. The exhibition will be open from 12.00 - 16.00. Dr Geoghegan continued, “People should not be afraid or embarrassed about accessing services. Our service users are offered a tailored package of care with appropriate treatment and rehabilitation services to enable them to get better as soon as possible. We need to work together to combat the stigma surrounding mental health problems as they are extremely common - more common than asthma, and the chances are we will all know someone whose life has been touched by a mental health problem. We need to come together and show our support and encourage anyone experiencing a problem to come forward without fear of recrimination.” John Andrews, Manager of the Service User Involvement Network, said, “We strongly support the initiatives being undertaken by the South Essex Partnership NHS Trust to raise awareness of the 1 in 100 campaign. Many families and communities are affected by Schizophrenia and can be very devastating for those affected and their close families.” The start of this campaign closely follows the launch of a series of posters by South Essex Partnership NHS Trust to highlight how common mental health problems are, and at the same time promote membership of our proposed NHS Foundation Trust. Membership of our Foundation Trust means local people will have a greater say in how mental health and learning disabilities services are provided in Essex. You can receive further information about this initiative by visiting the 1 in 100 website, http://www.oneinonehundred.co.uk, or can request a free information pack by calling the 1 in 100 helpline on 0800 587 1153. For more information, please contact Sue French, Communications Manager on 01375 364686, (on-site) mobile: 0797 1047384 or e-mail: [email protected] http://www.southessex-trust.nhs.uk Census 2001: Office of National Statistics (ONS) - based on 1 in every 100 people have schizophrenia
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Mental Health Foundation calls service-user defined outcomes symposium, on publication of final star ratings, UK27 Jul 2005
In response to the Healthcare Commission's publication of the final set of star ratings today, the Foundation has called a symposium on mental health service user-defined performance measures. The event in November will provide a think-tank opportunity to examine meaningful measures and how to embed them in the future of health service inspections. The charity welcomed the Healthcare Commission's statement today that the challenge for mental health trusts remains 'to measure what really matters to patients and staff in the most meaningful way'. Today's star ratings indicate some broad improvements in mental health, but less than a quarter of mental health trusts achieved three stars. The Foundation has always maintained that the ratings system is not an effective way of measuring the performance of mental health trusts. Through the symposium, the Foundation aims to bring together key stakeholders in the mental health service user movement, charities, patient and public involvement forums, NHS and other statutory organisations, including the Healthcare Commission. It will provide a structured day of discussion, agreed actions and future plans for ensuring that inspections of mental health services take account of genuine user-defined outcomes. The Mental Health Foundation is not a direct service provider, and receives just under 85% of its income from voluntary sources. It recently appointed David Crepaz-Keay as a Senior Policy Advisor on Patient and Public Involvement. The new post will see David promote the voices of service users throughout the Foundation's policy, service and practice development work. David Crepaz-Keay said: "It's time that targets were set by the people most affected by services' successes and failures. Service user involvement remains meaningless while targets are defined by professionals and service managers. We welcome the challenge the Healthcare Commission has set for the mental health sector and all those who have a stake in measuring the performance of mental health trusts. We will seize the opportunity with both hands." The event will be held at a central London venue, date to be confirmed. Expressions of interest in the symposium should be addressed in the first instance to [email protected] The Mental Health Foundation uses research and practical projects to help people survive, recover from and prevent mental health problems. We work to influence policy, including government at the highest levels. And we use our knowledge to raise awareness and to help tackle the stigma attached to mental illness. We reach millions of people every year through our media work, information booklets and online services. http://www.mhf.org.uk |
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