Dear SCUF members,
Please see information below (and attached) on two free conferences you might be interested in attending, organised by the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), Eastern Region. SCUF can pay your travel expenses (car mileage/public transport) if you let me know in advance.
Best wishes,
Amanda Price, SCUF Facilitator

Real People Real Power – Thursday 19th March 2009. 9.30am – 4.00pm at the Fielder Centre. Hatfield. Hertfordshire. This is a specific Mental Health conference for the East of England led by the Regional Experts by Experience (EbE) group of Mental Health Service Users and Carers and is primarily for service users and carers.

Voices for Change – Tuesday 31st March 2009. 10am – 4.00pm at the Murry Edwards College (formerly known as New Hall) Huntingdon Road, Cambridge. A generic campaigning and advocacy event for the East of England. If you’ve thought about running a campaign and don’t know where to start or you’d like to develop your current campaigning and/or advocacy skills this free event could be for you.

With regards
DebbieDebbie Roberts, Programme Manager, Tel: 07920 297194. E-mail: debbie.roberts@csip.org.ukAlternative contact: Peter Millist, programme administrator. Tel:01206 287587.Email: Peter.Millist@csip.org.ukEastern Region Development Centre. 655 The Crescent. Colchester. Essex. CO4 9YQTel: 01206 287541. www.eastern.csip.org.uk
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You may be aware that The Mental Health Act 2007, amending the Mental Health Act 1983, came into effect on November 3rd 2008. The Mental Health Act is largely concerned with the circumstances in which a person with a mental health problem can be detained for assessment or treatment without his or her consent. Changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 include:
- a simplified, single definition of mental disorder.
- the replacement of the treatability test with a new appropriate medical treatment test.
- the assurance that age appropriate services will be available to any patients admitted to hospital who are under the age of 18.
- the broadening of professional groups that can take particular roles.
- the introduction of the right for patients to apply to court to displace their nearest relative.
- assurance that patients will have the right to an advocacy service when under compulsion.
- the introduction of new safeguards regarding patients and electro-convulsive therapy.
- the introduction of new provision to allow supervised community treatment (this allows a patient detained on a treatment order to receive their treatment in the community rather than as an in-patient)
- provision for earlier automatic referral to a mental health tribunal where patients don’t apply themselves.
Attached is information on a Mental Health Act workshop targeted at service users, carers and voluntary sector organisations. The workshop will be held on Thursday 12th February in Peterborough (9.30am to 3.30pm), is free of charge and organised by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE).
As a member of SCUF, if you would like to attend this event SCUF will be able to pay your expenses. Please ensure that you talk to me in advance if this you plan to do this.
Best wishes,
Amanda Price
SCUF Facilitator
Tel: 01223 566957

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The next SCUF meeting will be held on Thurday 4th September 5pm for 5.30pm (7.30pm finish) at The Wesley Methodist Church, Christ’s Pieces, Cambridge, CB1 1LG.

Rachel Hill, Cambridgehsire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Patient Experience Manager (lead for the Mental health Trust’s PALS and complaints service as well as for wider services around listening to and learning from service user and carer experiences of services), will be attending this meeting to find out people’s views on how the Trust can become more genuinely responsive to user’s needs and to discuss how SCUF can establish better links with the Trust when it comes to raising issues.

We hope to see you there!