Each week we publish blog posts on a whole range of topics, relating in some way to mental health — written by Mind staff, service users and health and policy professionals. Some blog posts may not reflect official Mind policy.
We welcome comments and questions on our posts, but have a few ground rules to keep the site welcoming and interesting to every body. The first rule is the most important: be respectful of other commenters and bloggers.
Guest post from Glen, on the difference one caring mental health professional can make.
In 2009 I moved to London and to the care of a new support worker at the local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). Annie was my third support worker that year, but she was amazing from the start.
33 CommentsThe future of the NHS is all over the media. Stung by criticism from politicians, health professionals and the public, in April the Government announced a pause in its reforms and set up a 'listening exercise'.
The group overseeing the listening exercise, charged with investigating people’s concerns and recommending changes to the proposals, was the NHS Future Forum. I was asked to be on the panel of this group, and for the last few weeks have worked to ensure that the concerns and needs of people who use mental health service are represented on the panel. While it’s clear that many people hugely value the NHS and the way it supports mental health service users, it would certainly be wrong to assume that nothing needs to be changed (perhaps the impression created by some media coverage).
5 CommentsMind’s Chief Executive Paul Farmer met with David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Andrew Lansley and other voluntary sector representatives last week to discuss the Government’s 'pause' in reforming the health system.
8 CommentsAfter the Lib Dem's conference, the team headed off to Manchester for the Labour event. As Decca Aitkenhead analysed in The Guardian, the early days felt extremely quiet and flat. But Ed Milliband's speech brought the Conference to its feet, and suddenly it felt like the Opposition were ready to get stuck in.
32 Comments