People in the East Midlands will be given the opportunity to have their views heard on the future of mental health care, by the National Director for Mental Health Services at an event tomorrow.
Professor Louis Appleby is visiting the region as part of a nationwide tour to discuss what the content of New Horizons, a new strategy for achieving mental health and well-being across England. He will be talking to mental health staff, people with mental health problems and carers at an event in Northamptonshire.
Mental health is a key component of the Strategic Health Authority and Primary Care Trusts Next Stage Review programme. In the East Midlands we are already prioritising new services for depression and anxiety and have created new teams for crisis services and early intervention for people with severe mental illness. The high costs linked to mental ill-health mean that getting mental health right, benefits society both financially and socially. The opportunity to put forward views on future strategy is very important to drive continuous improvements in the East Midlands.
Prof. Appleby said: “It’s almost ten years since the introduction of the National Service Framework for Mental Health, which was the catalyst for a transformation of mental health services. I’ve been charged with building on this good work and together with many of our stakeholders we are developing New Horizons, a united, dynamic and renewed vision for mental health services in England.
“Getting mental health right benefits the whole of our society, both financially and socially – and it’s something we should all be concerned about. One in four people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives, and, as well as the personal cost to relationships, jobs and physical health, mental health problems are costing the nation an estimated £77bn a year.”
In the lead up to a national consultation on New Horizons, Professor Appleby is keen to hear more views on people’s vision for mental health care and promotion and how this will be shaped in the future.
During the event there will be two presentations. One will be by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Corridor of Hope, a voluntary sector organisation, on a project they have devised to work with ethnic minority service user groups in their community. Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) supports service users by identifying their needs and positively helping them create their own recovery plans. These plans can then be used in conjunction with professional help.
The other presentation will be by Changing Minds, an NHS Northamptonshire scheme, on their wellbeing service for mental health which incorporates a number of innovative approaches to working with service users.
Dean Repper, Director of Mental Health at NHS East Midlands, said: “This event is a great opportunity for local views on mental health care to be heard nationally. In the East Midlands, the aims of the New Horizons strategy will be very important in supporting us to address inequalities, stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems and ensuring access to high quality mental health services remains a priority. This event provides an excellent opportunity for the innovative work taking place across the region and in Northamptonshire to tackle this issue to shape national strategy.”
