SEC/10/16
Service User
VOX Update
From Dougie Pickering & Tracy Laird
The priorities/concerns mainly remain the same, namely Welfare Cuts, Human Rights and some concerns around the Scottish Governments Mental Health Strategy, to name a few.
We are also keen (along with others) to promote Advance Statements, and with VOX’s new website coming along, which we hope will aid the AS, we (near) all wish to see better take-up, promotion, and heed of this part of the 2003 Act. There is considerable additional work going on around this issue, including VOX pulling together a group of individual & Member groups to advise the Mental Welfare Commission on what style of information they would like on the Advance Statements. Service Users are looking at Advance Statements and the wider issues in relation to the Mental Health Act, especially around ‘safeguards’. VOX will develop a members led short life working group who can find the best way to help develop a range of approaches around raising awareness of Advance Statements.
There are many issues around spending cuts, and previous a questionnaire will be issued to obtain further feedback, and to collect individual case studies which will highlight some of the key findings. Once again there is a planned launch event, to consider the best way to spread the message and have influence (that may be a dream right enough). A report will be launched at the VOX AGM in September, and with a press release focussing on a mixture of the questionnaire findings, and individual narratives to put across the key messages.
On the Human Rights issues, at VOX Winter Members Meeting on 13th Feb (hence partial reason for delay in this report), VOX had Prof. Wayne Martin of the Essex Autonomy Project give a presentation of the work going on, and the followed by group discussions around Article 12, to gather group discussion & case studies. This was followed by a presentation around Mental Health Human Rights Pathways by Graham Morgan of the Mental Welfare Commission, and was gripping & compelling as usual.
In the afternoon the meeting looked at an overview of the outline plans for the Scottish Governments Mental Health Strategy (such as it is!). This was followed by further breakout groups looking at data (how do we know its working?) and models of managing mental ill health. There was also (throughout the day) much mention around ‘Parity’, and the areas of imbalance. There was also a look at other areas/breadth * scope of the strategy.
Dougie Pickering & Tracy Laird