New service to better support carers of people with mental ill health
Mental Health – new service for carers to be trialled
Surrey County Council in partnership with the NHS are piloting a new service, aimed at better supporting the carers of people who are using mental health support services.
This is a new service, which has come about partly from feedback received as Surrey’s Carers Strategy was being developed.
What will the service do?
The service will aim to:
- Support carers who are looking after someone with mental ill health, taking a whole family approach
- Establish carer-friendly environments in Mental Health acute settings
- Ensure that Mental Health Community Services use carer-friendly practices
The specification of the service – what it is, how it works, etc – will be co-produced with stakeholders, including the independent Mental Health Forum.
The pilot service will likely start in spring next year, and be trialled for two to three years.
Can you help design this new service?
They are looking for carers who would like to be involved in developing the model of service. Sessions (on-line) will start in December, with a series of discussions to help decide on the approach to take. The main aims of the first session are to:
- Understand carers perspective/lived experiences – what does good look like?
- Identify any areas that need to improve
There are two sessions in December for this first discussion:
- Monday 20th December 12–1.30pm
- Wednesday 22nd December 6–7.30pm
It’s up to you as a carer to choose how much to get involved. You can attend just one session and give your views, and that session can be at any point in the project, or you can choose to attend more discusson sessions. Whatever time you can commit, they say they would be very pleaesd to hear from lots of carers who have experience of Surrey’s Mental Health services.
Find out more
To get involved, or just find out more, please contact Jo Neville-Rye at [email protected]