VOX (Voices Of eXperience)

Welcome to our website!

On this website we'll introduce our organisation and highlight important areas on our site. VOX are a National Mental Health Service User Led organisation, we work in partnership with mental health and related services to ensure that service users get every opportunity to contribute positively to changes in the services that serve them. The ownership of VOX belongs with its members and by joining us your views will help to shape how our work focus develops in the future in order to influence positive changes to Scottish services and society.

***STOP PRESS***

VOX Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of VOX will be held on Saturday 6th June 2009 in the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL, the agenda is as follows:-

10.00am      Registration/tea and coffee
10.30am      Welcome and introduction
10.45am a) Mental Health and Employability Scoping Project
             b) Capacity Building

c) Group Membership, "Working together to make sure that the service user is heard"

d) Diversity Work, "The voice of the Older Generation"

             e) Leadership, the IIMHL
11.30am     Tea/coffee and networking
12.00pm     A.G.M. BUSINESS
12.30pm     Keynote Speaker: - Jonathan Naess, Director "Stand to Reason"
1.00pm       Lunch and information stalls
2.00pm       WORKSHOPS- “Key areas of work identified at the Winter Members Meeting”
2.45pm       Feedback and thanks
3.00pm       Tea and Coffee
4.00pm       Close

A range of voluntary organisations and service user led groups will have information stalls. The event is free and reasonable travel expenses will be provided. Please contact us as soon as possible to book a place, please note places are limited and will be on a first come first served basis.

hearme2 Survey

'see me' is keen to hear from you if you have experienced mental ill-health. Following our first ever national survey of stigma in 2007, 'see me' has launched its second such survey and we want it to be just as big and just as informative. In 2007, over 1200 people took part and told 'see me' if and how mental ill-health had affected your lives, where you experienced stigma and whether or not you thought that things were getting better. Those answers helped to shape 'see me's recent campaign work and now we need to know more! The questionnaire is easy to complete and can be filled in online at www.seemescotland.org/hearme2 or in paper copy. Call 0131 554 0218 if you would like a paper copy of the questionnaire and maybe you can help us to get the survey out to even more people!    It's about time that everyone who's experienced any kind of mental ill-health had their say! The questionnaire will be open for completion until May 2009 with results available from the summer.

Social Work Inspection Agency Consultation
The Social Work Inspection Agency has now completed inspections of all 32 local authority social work sevices in Scotland, they are now at the next stage which includes a number of approaches being developed with local authorities and other stakeholders. They are now looking for the views of people who use social work services and will be holding consultation events in Perth on 9th June 2009 and in Glasgow on 10th June. The meetings will start at 12.30pm with lunch and finish at 2.30pm. If you would like to attend one of these meetings please contact Marion Hughes at 0141 249 6799 or by email at marion.hughes@swia.gsi.gov.uk who will send out application forms and arrange for travel expenses to be paid. The closing date for requesting an application form is Friday 8th May 2009

At the Winter Meeting VOX members identified employment as one of the areas VOX should focus upon. We were recently involved in a group helping to develop new information leaflets for health professionals, mental health service users who want to return to employment, and potential employers. The leaflets are now available to read/download by clicking on the links below.

These are as follows:

Health Warning: Being Out of Work Seriously Damages People's Health - Professionals
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/11/26160243/0

I Want To Work But... - Individuals
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/11/26160402/0

It Pays to Look After Your Workforce - Employers
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/02/16100540/0

A small amount of printed copies are available by contacting VOX's office.

VOX Board of Directors
Currently there are two vacancies for appointment to the Board of Directors of VOX, applicants should in the first instance contact Wendy McAuslan at Merchants House, 5th Floor, 30 George Square, Glasgow G2 1EG, Tel:0141 572 1663 or email wmcauslan@mhf.org.uk with the relevant details of skills and experience.

60th Anniversary of Psychological Medicine
An invitation is extended to attend the 60th anniversary celebration of psychological medicine in Glasgow, the event is being held on Friday 5th June 2009 in the Hunter Halls, East Quad, Gilbert Scott Buildings, Glasgow University from 10.00am until 5.00pm (lunch provided) For further details contact Evelyn Smith, Section Administrator on 0141 211 3927 or email Evelyn.Smith@clinmed.gla.ac.uk There is also a web link to the poster for this event,

http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/psychologicalmedicine/newsevents/

Ash Scotland are keen to understand your experiences of trying to stop smoking in particular they would like to use some anonymous quotes from consenting service users to highlight the problems people have experienced when expressing an interest in stopping smoking, or the impact of stopping smoking for people with mental health issues. This will then be used to inform their Mental Health & Smoking Cessation Training Package. E-mail HKey@ashscotland.org.uk

VOX have been consulted by the review group looking at several aspects of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Act 2003 in addition to Graham Morgan, VOX Board Member, and Highland User Group Member, being the service user representative on the group! If you have views on Named Persons, Advanced Statements, the Mental Health Tribunals, Independent Advocacy availability and effectiveness or Legal Representation please let us know!!!

VOX have joined with SAMH and The Royal College of Psychiatrists-Scottish Division to ask for Mental Health to have parity with physical health problems in the Government setting a maximum waiting time guarantee from referral to treatment. The signs seem positive that some commitment in this area may be forthcoming!

VOX recently exhibited at the "Rights Relationship Recovery-2 Years On" Scottish Nursing Conference at which we joined others in wishing Alex McMahon former Head of Mental Health Delivery and Service Unit and Head MH Nurse well in his new job with NHS Lothian.

June 2008-VOX secures 3 year core funding!

see Summer 2008 Newsletter for more details.

Please contact Wendy McAuslan, VOX – Voices Of Experience, c/o Mental Health Foundation, 5^th Floor, 30 George Square, Glasgow, G2 1EG, Tel 0141 572 1663 or e-mail wmcauslan@mhf.org.uk to book a place.

Feel free to check out the website although it is in the very early stages and to spread this information amongst Scottish colleagues!

International Involvement- We can all learn from what is going on in Mental Health in other countries, and so VOX members will be attending conferences in Manchester and London in the next few months, and possibly further afield if we can get funding to support this useful exchange of views, experiences and ideas. We are also going to be represented on the Royal College of Psychiatrists "Patients" Forum, and the Executive Committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists-Scottish Division, so we would welcome your views about how the role of the Psychiatrist could be improved from our point of view.

Politics and Policy- We welcome the new Scottish Government's commitment to people with Dementia, by a new early-diagnosis target being set for NHS Scotland in this area. Also we look forward to working at the centre of the Mental Health Collaborative and welcome the publication of guidance on support for people with mental health problems and substance misuse problems.

A Matter of Concern- Finally this month, VOX is concerned about the Scottish Government's recently announced intention to remove National Government ring-fencing for significant monies including those previously allocated for the benefit of people with a lived experience of mental ill health. This includes Mental Health Specific Grant and Supporting People monies which support many individuals and mental health services in the community. Whilst understanding the intention of local councillors knowing the need of their local areas better than National Government, we are being asked to believe that Local Authorities will still afford Mental Health the same priority as in the past when they are free to spend their monies as they wish! Look out for the inevitable postcode lottery, where one local authority may provide the correct range of services and facilities that we require, whereas over the council border, another does not! On being asked directly about this point recently, Finance Minister, John Swinney, assured VOX that checks will be put in place to ensure all required services are available and all outcomes (i.e.what good the services are doing for us!) are met! Let us know what you think of this proposal. Thank You!

Generally, there is concern about the vast number of people in Scottish Prisons with mental health problems and the Mental Health Division of the Scottish Executive are looking into this with their colleagues in the Scottish Prison Service.

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT, ENQUIRE ABOUT OR ADD ANYTHING TO THE SITE, OR SIGN OUR NEW GUEST-BOOK ON THE NEWSLETTER PAGE.