People with mental health conditions and their carers can now take part in a new programme designed to strengthen their involvement in improving services.

The programme will actively engage people who use mental health services and their carers in all aspects of the commissioning process including service review, redesign, specification, tendering, planning and monitoring of mental health services. The programme will also offer the opportunity to be involved in the training of NHS and Local Authority staff who buy and plan services.

All the Essex NHS organisations, Essex County Council, Thurrock Borough Council and Southend Borough Council have come together to jointly fund a three-year contract to provide the Mental Health Service User and Carer Involvement Programme. The contract has been awarded to a partnership comprising Anglia Ruskin University and ARW Mental Health Training and Consultancy.

The programme will provide:

• The opportunity for service users and carers who would like to take part in training to develop their confidence and skills in becoming involved in the commissioning of mental health services
• Training for service commissioners (the people who “buy” specific services) in working with service users and carers.
• Outreach to both existing and less easily reached individuals, groups and organisations Establishing specialist skills groups to enable service users and carers across Essex to contribute through consultancy, training and research.

The partnership will be developing a new database of service users and carers who wish to be informed about the project and be included in our new database. For more information on how to become actively involved in this exciting and important programme please contact Lyn Kent on 07976 827534 or Maxine Nightingale on 07722 425988, or email.