Information meeting on mental health

ORGANISERS OF ENNISCORTHY EVENT HOPE TO SET UP LOCAL FORUM

THERE will be an information meeting on mental health in Enniscorthy tonight (Tuesday, September 19) at 6.30 p.m.

The meeting which will be held in the Enniscorthy Community Youth building on Island Road beside Dunnes Stores is being held with a view to establishing a local forum for mental health service users, their families, carers and supporters in Co. Wexford.

The forum is being established by the HSE’s community healthcare services in the South East as part of working with people who use mental health services and with their family members, carers and supporters.

The local forum will serve as a resource for service users and family members, carers and supporters to voice their experiences, raise issues and be consulted and involved in mental health services developments in their area.

Speaking about the upcoming information meeting in Enniscorthy, Paul Fallon of the HSE said he hoped that there will be a large turnout at the meeting.

‘The purpose of my post is to consult and present the views of mental health service users, family members and carers through engagement and partnership and to influence decision making at area management level in the South East. I am looking forward to the evening in Enniscorthy and the consequent establishment of a forum in Co. Wexford as one of the early steps in this important work.

‘Along with my colleagues in the community healthcare services in the South East, I want to hear from people in Co. Wexford, as to how we can further develop mechanisms for engagement of service users, their family members and carers. I will be dedicated to allowing for their involvement in the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of mental health services.

‘Significant in, and to, all of this will be the local forums. On the night in Enniscorthy, I will be introducing our project and proceed from there to guidelines for the local forums – which we will be coming from the community and represent the voices of those with experience of our services. The membership of local forums will include service users, family members and carers and others may be invited to attend meetings.

‘My colleagues and I are both experts by profession and experts by experience. I will talk about my role on the evening and also my background as a family member.”

‘I look forward to a good attendance at the meeting in Enniscorthy and to working with as many people as possible in Co. Wexford and elsewhere in the South East in my role as an Area Lead for Mental Health Engagement.’

The establishment of the forums are a development following on from recommendations in the national mental health strategy ‘A Vision for Change’ and the HSE’s own national strategy for service user involvement. The HSE’s 2015 mental health division operational plan included the strategic priority ‘that Service users, families and carers are central to the design, planning, delivery and evaluation of services’.

The nine Community Healthcare Organisations throughout the state have each recently appointed an Area Lead for Mental Health Engagement, with Paul Fallon being in place to serve Area 5 which is services in counties Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.