November 2009 Newsletter

The poet, Keats, celebrated autumn as the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness”. Whilst the fast pace of developments at SPN and within the wider mental health world, has been anything but mellow, we are about to experience some welcome fruits of our earlier labours this year.

So what have we been up to?

Vicky is fully engrossed in thinking up new ideas and developing strategic relationships for the Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network. One very key activity is the Parenting and Personality Disorders Study day coming up on 25th November 2009.

Both Vicky and Tayo have been very busy planning the study day which will focus on taking an engaging look at the issues around personality disorders and parenting. Book a place if you haven’t already by going to this here

Apart from working on the study day, Tayo continues to work on the tactical stuff such as SPN's new move to working virtually, actively seeking out new avenues of fundraising as well as ensuring that everyone and everything is where they ought to be - quite a balancing act really!!

Don't forget to send any fundraising ideas to Tayo at spn@scie.org.uk.

Meanwhile, their colleague Raza continues his focus on Personalisation. He is very much involved in the Recovery and Personalisation Study Day that is being held in London on 2nd December 2009. The event is being administered by OLM Pavilion. Here’s a link to the booking form if you haven’t already booked. He is also already looking to the new year and planning our Personalisation and Diversity scheduled for February 2010. One of the key ingredients to the success of these study days is the input of our members - click on this link to find out more about the event and how you can help.

A Personalisation Workbook??!!

Yet more news on personalisation recently OLM Pavilion announced that they would commission a workbook on personalisation which will be authored by SPN Executive Committee member Daisy Bogg, Director of Social Care at Bedford and Luton Partnership NHS Trust. We'll keep you posted on the details.

Personalisation and Direct Payments

Having been at the forefront of the debate around personalisation in social care, SPN is preparing to contribute to the consultation on Direct Payments in the NHS which began at the end of October 2009 and will finish in January 2010

The Department of Health is seeking views on the Government’s proposals for piloting Direct Payments within the NHS as part of its drive towards a more personalised NHS. The consultation ends on 8 January 2010 and is part of a wider pilot programme to explore PHBs announced in High Quality Care for All, the final report of Lord Darzi's NHS Next Stage Review. Click here for more information on the consultation document and links to the consultation response form

More on Personalisation

On the wider personalisation front, the Government announced the evaluation sites for the Personal Health Budgets Pilot sites, which will take a look at the ins and outs of one of the mainstays of personalisation within the NHS. Click here to read more about this story.

Bad news....and then some Good news

A bit of disappointing news came in too with the announcement that, whilst our joint bid for the SCIE tender on Personal Budgets for Older People and Mental Health was judged to be very strong, it did not make it. We are learning the lessons of perhaps playing our cards closer to the table and asking for extensions due to the short time scale after having got funding rather than highlighting these beforehand!

But with one bit of bad news concerning bids comes another good piece of news. We submitted the evaluation framework for the CPF funding and have received the green light from the funders, City Parochial Fund, to go ahead for this important piece of work, which will put SPN at the forefront of developing the capacity of voluntary and community organisation in London around personalisation, Black and minority ethnic and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. We will shortly be making a decision on how best to staff this role so watch this space!

We're at it again....lobbying that is

Finally, continuing SPN’s tradition of direct lobbying, we are writing a response to the Work Capability Assessment, which is provoking strong reactions on account of its seeming penalisation of non physical illnesses including mental. There is potential here perhaps for SPN to take a role in a campaign with other mental health organisations as well as groups which are working to promote other conditions that the WCA assessment process tends to ignore like ME.

Click here to read a response has already sent (and which he hopes might get published in the Guardian!)

Let us have your views please!

Till Next Time!!!

The SPN Team

Tayo Richards - Executive Officer

Vicky Nicholls - Joint SPN Coordinator

Raza Griffiths - Joint SPN Coordinator

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