Kensington & Chelsea
Mind
Service User Network
April 2013
Newsletter
Boroughwide Event
Thursday 11th April, 9.45 am to 3.45
pm at Essex Unitarian Church,
Notting Hill.
This event attracts a large and enthusiastic au8dience every six
months including people eligible to use mental health services
in Kensington and Chelsea and providers of these services.
Our theme for this Boroughwide Event is ‘User Involvement –
One Step Beyond’.
The aim is to explore together what user involvement can
mean on an individual and organisational level. We want to
promote the message that where there is contact with people
using services in hospital or the community , everyone should
be thinking of opportunities to involve people in planning and
managing their health and wellbeing.
User involvement should be of interest to everyone, clients
and professionals. It is not solely about attending meetings or
filling in questionnaires, although these things are important
too.
To make this effective, we need everyone’s input.
All are welcome so come along and share your views while
enjoying the entertainment and delicious food.
We look forward to seeing you there.
This month …
News & views, pages 2 5
Focus on involvement,
pages 6-7
Diary Dates, page 8
The SUN exists to create a network of
users and survivors who care about
mental health issues and who want to be
part of a dynamic and influential
movement to work to improve mental
health services.
Become a member and
receive:
A monthly Newsletter
Updates on SUN activities
Become a volunteer:
Add your voice to the network
Meet like minded people
Help us make a difference.
The Service User Network is funded by
RBK&C Adult Social Care and Kensington
& Chelsea NHS
News & views… page 2
Discriminatory mental health laws Launch of Healthwatch Kensington
scrapped
and Chelsea
New legislation scraps outdated laws that
discriminate against people with mental health
problems.
You may be aware that Kensington and Chelsea
Local Involvement Network (LINk) was replaced by
Local Healthwatch on April 1st.
The Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill will now
pass into law after completing its Parliamentary
stages and put an end to archaic laws that
interfere with the rights of people with mental
health problems from participating in jury service
and becoming or remaining a company director.
Healthwatch will play a very similar role being an
independent consumer champion for local health
and social care services.
It will also change a law that stipulates that MPs
lose their seats if they are sectioned under the
Mental Health Act for more than 6 months, even if
they make a full recovery.
Mental health charities have welcomed the passing
of the Bill.
Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of Rethink
Mental Illness, said: “We are delighted that this bill
has passed through Parliament. It's absurd that
millions of capable, intelligent people have been
excluded until now from key aspects of citizenship,
simply because they have a mental illness. People
with physical illnesses such as cancer would never
be treated in this way. This Bill makes it clear that
people with mental health illness can and should
be able to contribute to society on an equal
footing to everyone else.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, added:
"Parliament has not just repealed antiquated rules
that have no place in our society; it has send a
clear message to the wider public that
discrimination on mental health grounds will no
A key difference is that local Healthwatch will feed
into a national body called Healthwatch England (
you can visit this national website at
www.healthwatch.co.uk).
The local authorities have contracted Hestia as the
host for the Hammersmith & Fulham and
Kensington & Chelsea LINks to deliver local
Healthwatch in these boroughs and also in
Westminster forming a tri-borough structure called
Healthwatch INWL
You can contact local Healthwatch by emailing
rbkclink@hestia.org or calling 020 8968 7049. The
postal address is Freepost Plus RSRS-YUYJ-HECU,
Hestia, Unit 25, 85 Barlby Rd, W10 6BN.
If you would like to hear more about local
Healthwatch, there are three upcoming launch
events to choose from:

Tuesday April 16th from 3.30 pm to 5.30pm in St
Anne's, 55 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 6AF

Thursday April 18th 2013 from 6 – 8 pm in St
Paul’s, Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith,
W6 9PJ
longer be tolerated. We are a step closer today to
achieving true equality for the one in four of us
who have mental health problems.

Tuesday April 23rd from 11 am to 1 pm in
Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX
Contact the LINk office now to register your place.
"We look across all parts of society where stigma is
present to continue this quiet revolution - in the
workplace, in public services and in education. This
is a huge step forward, but we won't stop until
everyone with a mental health problem gets the
respect they deserve."
News & views… page 3
Changes needed if CPA is to
support recovery
Leading mental health organisations have called
for significant changes to be made to the Care
Programme Approach (CPA) if it is to be effective
in supporting service users in their recovery.
The call was made by the Mental Health
Foundation, in partnership with NSUN network for
mental health, at the launch of a new
report, Service users’ experiences of recovery
under the 2008 Care Programme Approach.
In a study for the report, participants including
some from our SUN, highlighted a desire to move
away from purely medical approaches to mental
health care and more towards a whole-person
approach. Perhaps more worryingly, the majority
of participants who had been treated compulsorily
under the Mental Health Act 2007 found that it
had a negative effect on their recovery.
The CPA was introduced by the Government in
1990 when long-stay psychiatric services were
closed and is designed to ensure that community
mental health services work well for service users.
The latest version of the CPA, from 2008, is
intended to provide support for mental health
service users who have wide-ranging needs, or are
particularly at risk. It is especially important,
Key points included:
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Recovery means different things to different
service users and this needs taking fully into
account. Services are patchy in this respect
Service users who may face particular
disadvantages in society often receive less
helpful approaches and services. African, African
Caribbean and female participants were
especially concerned about this
It is not helpful if medical diagnoses are the only
explanations of mental distress provided, but
this is too often the case
Service users want warm, human qualities from
mental health professionals to have at least as
much focus as actual services and for there to
be an increased move away from purely medical
approaches to whole-person approaches
While it is important to service users to feel safe,
services can be too bound up with risk issues.
Other important aspects of people’s lives are
then overlooked
Most participants who had been treated
compulsorily under the Mental Health Act 2007
found that it had a negative effect on their
recovery and that there was a tension between
such powers and Government emphases on
choice and empowerment
Participants wanted to be more involved in their
care plans and, frequently, to influence strategic
decisions about services as well
therefore, that services provided under the CPA
are of high quality.

Shortfalls in staffing and funding need
addressing if the 2008 CPA is to work well for
service users.
The study for the report took place between
September 2011 and late February 2012 as a result
of service users’ concerns about the support that
they were receiving under the CPA.
Service users’ experiences of recovery under the
2008 Care Programme Approach can be
The two researchers had personal experience of
using mental health services and the 81
participants had all received services under the
2008 CPA.
Hard copies of the report cost in the region of £10
and can be obtained by calling 020 7803 1100.
downloaded free of charge at
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications.
SUN members can view a copy at our office.
The report highlights a number of key issues raised
in the study.
News & views … page 4
Mental health services must improve
care, say CQC
Experts seek urgent investment in
mental health
Mental health services must do more to ensure
that the care they provide to patients in hospitals is
based on individual needs. The Care Quality
Commission’s (CQC) Mental Health Act Annual
Report found that 15% of people receiving care
under the Act are not being involved in the
decisions made about their care. Additionally, 37%
of care plans checked showed no evidence of
involvement of the person who had been
sectioned. The report also found that the number
of people subject to the Mental Health Act (MHA)
is rising.
With evidence suggesting that mental health
problems increase during recession due to service
cuts, new guidance from the Joint Commissioning
Panel for Mental Health says that investing in
effective treatment, prevention and promotion
leads to significant economic savings even in the
short-term.
Other key findings in the report included:

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Services are under increasing pressure,
especially in regards to the provision of
Approved Mental Health Professionals who
contribute to decisions about the detention of
patients under the Act. Other areas showing
evidence of pressure on services are transport
to hospital wards, increased demand for beds,
increased workloads and access to
psychological therapies
MHA commissioners are concerned about
cultures of control and containment that are
enforced over all detained patients.
45% of patient records reviewed still showed
no evidence of consent to treatment
discussions before being given medication
There is a significant gap between the practice
CQC observes and the ambitions of national
mental health policy.
The Joint Commissioning Panel is made up of
organisations including the Royal College of
Psychiatrists (RCPsych) and the Royal College of
General Practitioners. Guidance co-author Dr
Jonathan Campion, from the RCPsych, said: “Local
commissioners and Health and Wellbeing Boards
now have an opportunity to assess the size and
costs of gaps in local provision for treatment and
prevention of mental health problems as well as the
promotion of wellbeing.
“This guidance outlines a range of cost effective
ways of treating and preventing mental health
problems as well as enhancing wellbeing.”
With only a minority of people who require help
actually receiving it, the guidance explains how local
communities can determine:

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The report did note that some hospitals and wards
are doing a very good job in treating patients with
dignity and respect and, for the first time, it
highlights specific examples of good practice.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, referring to
the rise in detentions and CTOs said :

“The Government says it is keen to do more to
How many people have mental health
problems, including those from higher risk
groups
The risk factors for mental health problems –
and protective factors for wellbeing
The proportion of people who would benefit
from services to treat and prevent mental health
problems and promote wellbeing compared to
those who actually receive them – and the cost
of this unmet need
The type of interventions which can best treat
and prevent mental health problems as well
promote wellbeing
Likely outcomes from taking action, including
economic savings.
improve mental health services across the board.
This report shows just how far there is to go in
many areas and raises serious concerns about how
realistic it is to expect improvements while services
are so overstretched.”
The guidance highlights a range of cost-effective
interventions, which have been shown to make a
difference. For instance, the London School of
Economics has estimated that promoting mental
health at work results in net savings of £10 for each
£1 spent even after one year.
News & views … page 5
Peer supporters wanted
Community Development Team who are part of a
charity called Certitude also known as Fanon based
in Brent, have been commissioned by NHS Brent to
support people experiencing mental ill-health and
their families by delivering a range of recovery
based pilot projects and programmes with a focus
RBKC Housing Strategy (Older
People)
“Delivering improved accommodation based
services for older people is required to maintain the
health, independence and dignity of older people,
reduce admissions to nursing and residential care
services and encourage downsizing from family-
on black and minority ethnic communities to
inform future commissioning of services.
They are currently in the process of piloting an
Inpatient Peer Support Programme in partnership
with CNWL, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health
Tamarind Centre and voluntary sector mental
health organisations.
They are now looking to reecruit Peer Support
Workers (PSW) with lived experience of mental
health issues who are able to use their own
recovery experience to support others being
discharged from inpatient psychiatric care.
These individuals need:
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Previous experience of using mental health
services and or have been in inpatient
psychiatric care.
To participate in the 8 days City & Guilds
accredited training provided
To commit five months to the project from May
to October 2013
Live in Brent or border with Brent
Successful participants will be paid £20 for two
hours per week over twelve weeks and up to £20
additional expenses
If would like to find out more about the peer
support programme please contact
Mina Kakaiya, Community Development Worker by
emailing MKakaiya@certitude.org.uk or calling by
calling her on 020 883 01 776 or mobile number
0771 804 2760.
sized accommodation”.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has
developed a strategy outlining proposals to meet
the demands on housing and accommodation with
care services arising from an ageing population,
provide improved housing choices for older people
whether they are home owners, private tenants or
rent a home from the Council or a housing
association and improve the quality of residential
and nursing care accommodation in the borough.
You are invited to offer your views on the strategy.
The consultation period ends on Friday 10th May.
You can access details of the strategy and a short
questionnaire online at:
http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/housing.aspx
Alternatively, if you would like more information
you can contact Claire Wise on 020 7361 3328.
Benefits & work
Benefits and Work is an online resource that
provides useful guides and up to date information
about benefits.
They offer step-by-step guides to give you the best
possible chance of getting your legal entitlement.
You can subscribe to a free fortnightly bulletin
which is a source of benefits news & information.
You can subscribe by visiting their website at
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk.
The application form and relevant information is
also available at the SUN office if you would like us
to email it to you.
The closing date for applications is 24th April.
Focus on user involvement … page 6
BBC Three Mental Health
Documentary looking for BME
contributors
Clinical Reference Groups: Patient
and Carer Recruitment
The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) has
BBC Three’s upcoming mental health season will
feature a documentary investigating support and
treatment available to young people aged 16-30
with a diagnosed mental health condition.
They are looking for people to talk about their
experience of mental health services including
barriers in accessing these. This could be in any
capacity, such as experience of GP’s, children’s &
adult services, accident & emergency, or
psychiatric units. According to a 2010 report, over
two-thirds of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)
respondents surveyed felt they were unable to
access the mental health support they needed at
an early stage.
opened the application process for patient and
carer members of its 74 Clinical Reference Groups
(CRGs) for 2013/14.
Participants would first have a telephone
conversation with the programme’s producer to
hear more and to help you decide if you want to
take part. If so, the director, Colin State, would
arrange to meet at a suitable location and at an
appropriate time. He would probably film a short
piece to camera at this stage. With the
contributor’s consent this would then be shown to
the programme’s executive at the BBC.
The closing date for applications for membership is
26th April.
Once the executive give the go-ahead, the
producers would then ask the contributor to visit
their GP to get a letter of consent to say they feel
they are happy for them to appear in the
programme. Once this is complete the producers
will arrange to schedule an interview with the
participant for the documentary.
Peer workers unite
The producers have arranged for all contributors
to take part, if they want, in a “mindfulness retreat”
on the weekend of 19th April in the Lake District.
Contact Jonny Benjamin, Reporter & Researcher,
Nine Lives Media, Invicta House, 2 – 4 Atkinson
Street, Manchester M3 3HH on 0161 832 2007 or
07890 508 523.
Email jonny.benjamin@ninelivesmedia.co.uk.
Website www.ninelivesmedia.co.uk.
CRGs are responsible for providing the NHS CB with
clinical advice regarding specialised services, and
for promoting equity of access to high quality
services for all patients, regardless of where they
live.
The Guide to CRGs and Information Pack for
Patients and Carers, which are available via the
contact details below, will provide you with more,
detailed information about their work.
To find out more about becoming a patient or carer
member of one of these groups, you can call 0300
311 22 33 (Weekdays from 8am to 6 pm) or access
the relevant website at http://www.england.nhs.uk
or
Charity Together’s Peer2Peer Network links
peer workers to share information and learning.
To facilitate this, they share information, thoughts
and news exchanged at the Peer2Peer Steering
Group meetings as well as communications
amongst Peer2Peer Network members.
If you are interested and want to find out more
about the Peer2PeerNetwork contact Daniel Eichner
by calling him on 020 7780 7316 or emailing him at
daniel-eichner@together-uk.org.
Focus on user involvement … page 7
Patient-led assessments of the
care environment (PLACE)
Have you received social care in the
past year?
Good environments matter. Every NHS patient
should be cared for with compassion and dignity in
a clean, safe environment. Where standards fall
short, they should be able to draw it to the
attention of managers and hold the service to
account.
Community Care, the social work magazine and
website, is looking for mental health service-users
who have had experience of receiving social care
under the new payment-by-results system over the
past year.
This month sees the introduction of PLACE, which
is the new system for assessing the quality of the
patient environment, replacing the old Patient
Environment Action Team (PEAT) inspections. The
assessments will apply to hospitals, hospices and
day treatment centres providing NHS funded care.
This work means local people go into hospitals as
part of teams to gauge how the environment
supports patients’ privacy and dignity, food,
cleanliness and building maintenance.
It focuses entirely on the care environment and
does not cover clinical care provision or how well
staff are doing their job.
The assessments will take place every year, and
results will be reported publicly to help drive
improvements in the care environment. The
results will show how hospitals are performing
nationally and locally.
Assessment teams are a partnership between staff
and patient assessors. Ttherefore patients must
make up at least 50% of the assessment team.
Anyone who uses the service can be a patient
assessor, including current patients, their family
and visitors, carers, patient advocates or patient
council members.
If you are interested in becoming a patient
assessor, please contact Kensington and Chelsea
LINk (Healthwatch), Unit 25, Shaftesbury Centre 85
Barlby Road, W10 6BN. Call 020 8968 6771 or
email rbkclink@hestia.org.
Journalist Alex Turner says: 'My piece is focusing on
the impact payment-by-results has had on frontline mental health social work over the last 12
months, and in particular whether it's moving focus
negatively towards cost and outcomes at the
expense of patients and their needs. Most of the
article will be based on the experience of
practitioners, but it'd be great to get some
impression of service-user feedback in terms of
whether the system has improved care for
individuals, or if social workers' concerns seem to
be reflected by their clients.'
Contact Alex direct by calling 07872 943523 or
emailing misteralexturner@gmail.com if you can
help and give social workers a service-user's
perspective.
SUN Members’ Meeting 18th April
SUN members often ask about access to
psychological or talking treatments. These
treatments can help people overcome or better
manage emotional difficulties. They work by
providing an opportunity for you to talk in a way
that helps you to understand yourself better.
Having gained this understanding, you can work
out ways of living your life in a more positive and
constructive way.
Counselling provides an opportunity to talk about
whatever is troubling you, and to be heard. The
counsellor's most important skill is the ability to
listen: the aim is not to tell you what to do, or to
offer a personal opinion, but to help you to arrive at
your own solutions so that you can move forward.
Website: http://www.rbkclink.org
Alternatively, you can contact your local hospital’s
Volunteer Coordinator.
Come along on Thursday 18th April at 2 pm to hear
staff from help Counselling Centre talk about the
services they offer. We will also provide details on
other talking therapy services in the borough (see
page 8 for venue details).
Diary dates … page 8
Help us make a difference – Attend SUN members’ meetings and/or join
a SUN project group
Why not join us at our monthly meetings and/or become a volunteer and put your skills to use in
influencing change while learning new skills?
You are very welcome to attend any of these meetings. If you can, please let us know if you are planning
to come along.
For details on how to get involved, call Aidan Moloney on 020 8964 1333 ext 8 or email
sun@kcmind.org.uk.
Event
Date and time
Venue
SUN March Members’
Meeting
Thursday 18th April
2 – 4.15 pm
Migrant & Refugee Communities Forum,
2 Thorpe Close,
W10 5XL
SUN Volunteer Induction
Monday 22nd April
10. 30 am - noon
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
SUN BME Group
Monday 22nd April
2.30 – 4 pm
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
SUN Activities & Events
Planning Group
Thursday 25th April
10.30 am - noon
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
SUN Newsletter Editorial
Group
Friday 26th April
10.30 – noon
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
SUN Office Support Group
Friday 26th April
2 – 4 pm
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
SUN Campaigns & Debates
Group
Tuesday 30th April
2.30 am – 4 pm
Meeting Room
Kensington and Chelsea Mind
Disclaimer: All views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of Mind or its Service
User Network. The opinions expressed are the opinions of individual contributors and organisations.
Also, Mind is not responsible for the quality of any external service highlighted in Newsletter articles.
Kensington & Chelsea Mind Service User Network
Office 8, 7 Thorpe Close, London, W10 5XL
Telephone 020 8964 1333 extension 8
Email sun@kcmind.org.uk Website www.kcmind.org.uk