Mental Health Forum For Cowal

Care in the community seeks to:
• promote privacy, dignity, independence and choice;
• provide support for community-based living;
• provide, as far as possible and practical, professional care and support at home, or in a homely setting;
• provide services which are sensitive to the individual’s needs for health, social care and housing and cause as little disruption to the service user and their family and friends.
This requires:
• Effective joint working among all the disciplines and agencies involved, including primary care and the voluntary and private sectors;
• The close involvement of people who use the service, their relatives, carers and advocates at all stages;
• That properly resourced replacement facilities and services are in place before any service discontinued or hospital unit is closed;
• That changes in the balance of care are pursued with commitment but also with sensible caution;
• That no person should be discharged from NHS
Long-stay care without an agreed care plan, support and accommodation in place, available and properly resourced;
• Recognition that some people with a serious mental illness will need admission to inpatient services, possibly with repeated re-admission, and that some may also require long-term support

Enabling the users of mental health services to express a “Voice” which is recognized as Valid by those professionally involved in mental health service provision, the aim of the forum is to encourage users to become involved in user councils and emphasize the need for clarity and openness about the objectives to be achieved.

The Cowal Mental Health Forum considers provider responses to those “voices” and discusses the importance of establishing means through which voice can be translated into action by those with responsibilities for services. The forum’s long term aim is to highlight the need for fundamental change in mental health services provision, and to bring about this change through dialogue.

Cowal Mental Health Forum in Argyll has been given start up costs from NHS Highland. The Forum is particularly grateful for the help of Viv Smith, Locality Manager, Allen Stevenson, the Council’s Social Services Manager and David Burtin, Area Manager. They have been very supportive of the aims of he Forum - as has everyone connected to the mental health services. The Forum is also talking to grant making bodies to explore the putting in post of a development worker. This will create a more substantial role for the Forum, giving the service user more of a voice/partnership with NHS Highland.

Another website for Argyll launches today, adding to a rapidly expanding number of associations, activities and communities hosted and promoted by Fyneside Media as a part of the “Out There For Argyll” project.

For a full list of all the websites, click here.

If you would like a website like this, click here.