NSUN news

Five Year Forward View for mental health: what does it means for us?

The Mental Health Taskforce report was published Monday 15th February following the Prime Minister's 'Life Chances' speech and on the same day that BBC One launched its In The Mind season. NSUN was invited to be a member of the Taskforce and was able to use the Members' Manifesto to feed into the consultation process. We have now produced a more in depth analysis of what the  report means and look at how many of the recommendations suggest new and innovative developments and how many  focus on increasing and improving what exists.  Read more here.

Manchester Users Network (MUN) Public Meeting

On Thurday 25th February, Manchester users Network (MUN) invited Ivan Lewis MP and Luciana Berger MP to a public meeting in the centre of Manchester to talk about the cuts and closures of mental health services in Manchester. NSUN was honored to be asked to chair the meeting which had over 50 people in attendance. Sarah Yiannoullou was able to set the national scene and spoke about the launch of the Mental Health Taskforce report, which paints a picture of a system in much need to improvement.

People shared their experiences and views and the consequences of some of exclusive decision making processes. We heard about the lack of consultation, lack of innovative approaches, the impact of welfare sanctions and 'step down' policies without due process and the shocking truth that Manchester has the highest rate of male suicides in the country.

There were plenty of suggestions and ideas from the floor and a real passion to make things better for the people of Manchester in need of support for their mental health. Ivan Lewis spoke about the opportunity to influence a Mental Health manifesto if he were to be successful in his bid to become Mayor of Manchester. He invited people to send him their top three priority issues. Luciana Berger also spoke about the opportunity to feed into a Labour Manifesto for Mental Health. MUN will be producing a report and recording of the meeting and looking at what the next steps need to be.

London Mental Health Crisis Care Summit: collection of tweets and articles

NSUN attended the London Mental Health Crisis Care Summit on 25 february 2016. We tweeted from the event. This is the list of tweets we sent, followed by a collection of related articles available on the web.

Member Blogs

Nicky Hayward is a regular contributor, mental health activist and independent commentator. This is Nicky's take on Stephen Fry's programme 'The not so secret life of the manic depressive, ten years on', which aired on BBC One in February 2016.

The Giving Machine

NSUN is raising money via the Giving Machine.

• You join for free and choose NSUN as a cause to support.
• You generate commissions by shopping online (over 1,500 retailers including Amazon, Play.com, John Lewis, eBay, Sainsbury’s and Next).
• The Giving Machine converts your commissions into donations .  You’re raising funds for free!

Click here for the NSUN page.

Previously shared information available online

Please visit our website to find involvement opportunities, jobs and events we shared in previous e-bulletins. This includes our guides to support involvement in reducing the use of restraint in mental health settings.

Fight Racism Film Festival

South London Revolutionary Group will be holding a Fight Racism Film Festival on Sunday 28 March at Southwyck House Community Hall, Brixton, SW9 8UR.

This is organised by Revolutionary African and Revolutionary women film festivals.
All day documentaries and films that explore and challenge our understanding of racism and asks what are we going to do about it.
Racism is a hideous system of anguish, pain and oppression, however the covert aspects of racism are purposely hidden or denied in our everyday lives. Come along, discuss the films, make suggestions and enjoy good company.

Hot authentic Caribbean food served all day. More information is availble on the organiser's Facebook page.

Campaign launches to improve emergency mental health care

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has launched its five-point plan to improve emergency mental health care. The CLEAR Campaign calls for:

• co-location of services
• liaison availability 24 hours a day, seven day a week
• education of emergency department staff
• adequate access for young people and patients in crisis being in the safest place for their needs.

'Old Problems, New Solutions': Improving acute psychiatric care for adults in England

The Commission on Acute Adult Psychiatric Care (set up by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in response to widespread concerns about the provision of acute inpatient psychiatric beds and alternatives to admission available for patients) has published its report, 'Old Problems, New Solutions', highlighting huge variations in quality and availability of adult acute care.

It recommends improvements across the whole system, including faster access to services and ensuring very ill patients are not sent long distances for treatment.

Free webinar: Care Act Reviews and Advocacy Rights

On Wednesday 2nd March at 10am Belinda Schwehr, who practiced as a barrister then re-qualified as a solicitor,  will be doing a free webinar for Community Care site visitors, on Care Act Reviews and Advocacy Rights.

It's an introduction to a forthcoming series of Wednesday Webinars - which Belinda hopes 'will make the knowledge so irresistibly cheap that it won't be possible for councils to fail to comply with the Care Act any longer. '

The Wednesday regular webinars start on April 6th, and last for a year – each running on the first Wednesday afternoon of the month.

For more information, please visit here.

A festival of  arts and health

The 5th annual festival of arts and health will bring together artists, clinicians, commissioners and thinkers to explore the myriad ways the arts impact on wellbeing between 13 and 19 June 2016.

The festival is easy to be involved in – you can upload events here: it is a great way to let people know about your work, involve the wider community in what you are doing and generally to celebrate creativity and health.

The deadline for events to be included is 11th March

To find out more please email the organisers |  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook

CQC strategy consultation

You can still respond to the Care Quality Commission’s consultation on its plans for the next five years as it develops its approach to regulation.

The consultation is open until 14 March. CQC will formally respond to the feedback provided when it publishes its strategy in May.

• A link to the consultation document Shaping the future can be found here.
• You can respond to the consultation through this web form or by email strategyconsultation@cqc.org.uk.
• You can also tweet your thoughts at #cqcstrategy.

Be ready for RethinkYourMind 2016

Enter this year's visual arts and poetry competition
The next competition launches on World Mental Health Day in October 2016.

The project is free to enter & positive poetry, art & photography will be accepted from this date. You can get more information by getting in touch with RethinkYourMind, using their 'contact us' page

Department of Health releases mental health strategic statement

As part of the 'Social work for better mental health' initiative, the Department of Health has released a strategic statement outlining how to improve, develop and sustain social work across the mental health sector. Self-assessment and guidance resources are available alongside the statement document.

Department of Health's shared delivery plan update

The shared delivery plan describes the Department of Health's and its agencies' priority objectives for 2015 to 2020.