Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Island’s Public Health Team have commissioned the development of a strategy to improve the Island’s mental health.
Workshops
There are two workshops aimed at service users, carers, organisations and services that work with people with concerns about mental health. The workshops are being held as follows:
Date: Monday 17th June 2013
Time: 1:30pm to 4pm
Venue: Riverside Centre, Newport Quay, Newportor
Date: Wednesday 26th June 2013
Time: 5pm to 7pm
Venue: The Lakeside, High Street, Wootton Bridge, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 4LJ
Registration is free. Anyone interested in attending should register their attendance please online.
The objectives
The national mental health strategy has six key objectives as follows:
- More people will have good mental health. More people of all ages and backgrounds will have better wellbeing and good mental health. Fewer people will develop mental health problems – by starting well, developing well, working well, living well and ageing well.
- More people with mental health problems will recover. More people who develop mental health problems will have a good quality of life – greater ability to manage their own lives, stronger social relationships, a greater sense of purpose, the skills they need for living and working, improved chances in education, better employment rates and a suitable and stable place to live.
- More people with mental health problems will have good physical health. Fewer people with mental health problems will die prematurely, and more people with physical ill health will have better mental health.
- More people will have a positive experience of care and support. Care and support, wherever it takes place, should offer access to timely, evidence-based interventions and approaches that give people the greatest choice and control over their own lives, in the least restrictive environment, and should ensure that people’s human rights are protected.
- Fewer people will suffer avoidable harm. People receiving care and support should have confidence that the services they use are of the highest quality and at least as safe as any other public service.
- Fewer people will experience stigma and discrimination. Public understanding of mental health will improve and, as a result, negative attitudes and behaviours to people with mental health problems will decrease.
“There is more that can be done to improve the mental health”
Dr Jenifer Smith, from the Isle of Wight Public Health Team said:
“We are seeking the views of Islanders on each of these six objectives and how we can embed them into Island thinking and our way of life.
“Across the Island there is already a wealth of good work, but there is more that can be done to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Islanders.”
Dr Sarah Bromley, a local GP and Isle of Wight CCG Clinical executive Member said:
“We want to engage with service users, stakeholders, organisations and individuals with experience in this area to identify what is working well on the Island and what more we need to do. We want to know what particular issues IoW residents face and what actions need to be taken to reduce the incidence of poor mental health.”
Take part in survey
Everyone can contribute to the development of the strategy for the Island by completing a questionnaire which can be accessed online.
Image: Sander van der Wel under CC BY 2.0
