Meetings and Agendas

Dear all,

South Cambs Users Forum invites mental health service users, their carers and representatives in the Cambridge area to its next quarterly meeting: "Working together to build a stronger voice for mental health service users in 2010".

Speakers at this meeting will include Kim Armitt, Cambridgeshire LINk Health Facilitator, who will be introducing Cambridgeshire LINk and explaining how it can support user forums to influence local mental health services.

Adele McCormack, Service User Engagement Worker, who will be introducing, as well as consulting us about, a spring Cambridgeshire service user event which will help to link and promote service user forums.

There will also be time for individuals to raise issues about local services.

This meeting will be held on:

Tuesday 16th March 2010, 6pm to 8pm at 'The Barn', St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 2BD.

A buffet evening meal and drinks will be provided. Free parking in car park nearby (please see map on attachment). Please let us know if you plan to attend.

PLEASE SEE FURTHER INFORMATION ATTACHED.

Amanda Price
Campaigns Officer and SCUF Facilitator
Lifecraft
The Bath House
Gwydir Street
Cambridge
CB1 2LW
Tel: 01223 566957
SCUF%20Meeting%2C%2016th%20March%202010.pdf

The next SCUF meeting will be held on Wednesday 11th November 2009, 6pm to 8pm at the Old School House, St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 2BD. Please see map on poster attached. There is easy parking in the car park near by and wheelchair accesss to the building. Buffet food and drinks provided.

The focus of the meeting will be on Physical Health Checks for identifying the unmet physical health needs of mental health service users.

Judy Dean, the mental health Trust's Adult Professional Nurse Lead will be talking about the importance of physical health in the mental health context, including findings from local and national research. She will introduce the PHC (Physical Health Check) - a tool developed by Rethink (the national mental health charity) and how this is now included in the Trust's Physical Healthcare policies. She will also be showing a DVD promoting the use of the PHC, produced in collaboration with Trust staff and users of services.

At this meeting we will also be introducing Adele McCormack, the new Service User Engagement Worker, who is working with service users so that they can have a more effective voice in the commissioning of health and social care services throughout Cambridgeshire.

If you plan to attend i'd be really grateful if you could let me know by phone or email.

Kind regards,

Amanda Price
Campaigns Officer and SCUF Facilitator
Lifecraft
01223 566957
amanda@lifecraft.org.uk
SCUF%20Physical%20Health%20Check%20meeting%2C%20November%2011th%202009.pdf

July's meeting has now been organised and will be held on Wednesday 29th July, 6pm to 8pm in the Jordan Room at Romsey Mill, Hemingford Road, Cambridge, CB1 3BZ - there is a map on the flier attached. Buffet food and drinks will be provided.

The focus of the meeting will be on Self-Directed Support. Self-Directed Support is a new approach for people with mental health issues who have been assessed as having social care needs. The process involves the use of a Personal Budget so that people can take control of their lives and manage their own support by identifying their goals and needs and planning the service(s) or support that suits them best.

Jane Banning, Self-Directed Support Care Lead (Adult Mental Health) at Cambridgeshire County Council, will be joining SCUF to talk and answer questions about Self-Directed Support and how it will affect people with mental health needs.

More comprehensive information on Self-Directed Support can be found at: http://www.workingtogetherforrecovery.co.uk/self_directed_support.htm

If you plan to attend I'd be really grateful if you let me know by phone or email.

Thanks and best wishes,

Amanda Price
Lifecraft Campaigns Officer and SCUF Facilitator
The Bath House
Gwydir Street
Cambridge
CB1 2LW
Tel: 01223 566957
SCUF%20Self-Directed%20Support%20meeting%2C%20July%2029th.pdf

April's meeting has now been organised and will be held on Thursday 30th April, 6pm to 8pm in the 'Lounge' at St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 2BD. Buffet food and drinks will be provided. PLEASE SEE POSTER ATTACHED

The focus of the meeting will be on the new Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Pathways to Work (PtW) scheme, with professional speakers from Jobcentre Plus and the Papworth Trust, including a questions and answers session.

This meeting has been set up because a number of SCUF members and local service users in general have expressed anxiety over the fact that ESA replaced Incapacity Benefit (IB) for new claimants in October 2008. People are confused and worried about how it is going to affect them. Attending this meeting will enable you to hear the facts from those directly involved as well as get your questions answered.

If you plan to attend please can you let me know by phone or email.

If you are unable to attend meetings and have issues that you would like to raise within the forum please do so via email or the SCUF website forum (which can be accessed by all members)

Thanks and best wishes,

Amanda Price
Lifecraft Campaigns Officer and SCUF Facilitator
The Bath House
Gwydir Street
Cambridge
CB1 2LW
Tel: 01223 566957
ESA%20Forum%2C%20April%2030th%202009.pdf

Dear SCUF members,

Starting this April 2009 SCUF meetings will be held quarterly, as opposed to monthly in April, June, September and November. The new quarterly meetings will focus on a specific topic/issue and include guest speakers. For example, April's meeting will focus on issues surrounding the new Employment Support Allowance (replacing Incapacity benefits) and the Pathways to Work scheme (practical support in getting back to work). Quarterly SCUF meetings will be widely publicised and open to all people who have accessed mental health care, members and non-members of SCUF.

In the mean time we we will continue to run monthly SCUF meetings, which will be held at Lifecraft, The Bath House, Gwydir Street, Cambridge. Their dates and times and focus are as follows:

FEBRUARY - Wednesday 25th, 5pm to 6.30pm at Lifecraft, The Bath House, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LW - at this meeting we will be looking at the SCUF action plans for 2009/10, please do come along to contribute your ideas.

MARCH - Wednesday 25th, 5pm to 6.30pm at Lifecraft, The Bath House, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, CB1 2LW - at this meeting we will be thinking about future topics for the meetings that will be held in June, September and November.

I will be in touch as soon as possible with the date, time, venue and speakers of April's meeting.

If you are unable to attend meetings and have issues that you would like to raise within the forum please do so via email or the website forum.

Thanks and best wishes,

Amanda Price
Lifecraft Campaigns Officer and SCUF Facilitator
The Bath House
Gwydir Street
Cambridge
CB1 2LW
Tel: 01223 566957

There will be a SCUF meeting in February 2009. However, we are looking at changing the regular slot (5.30pm to 7.30pm on the first Thursday of every month) because it is clashing with Coping With Coming Off (psychiatric drugs) meetings (www.cambscwco.org). Details of February's meeting will therefore be posted shortly. Much thanks, Amanda Price, SCUF Facilitator

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!