Healthwatch Bristol publishes guide for public involvement in mental health services

Healthwatch Bristol has published a guide for patients and the public, to help them find out how they can make their voices heard on local mental health services.

The guide, called Want to have your say about mental health and wellbeing? (PDF), highlights local groups for people to get involved in, including:

• Healthwatch Bristol
• People in Health West of England
• Bristol Independent Mental Health Network
• Bristol Health Partners Health Integration Teams (HITs), including:
• Addictions HIT
• Improving Care in Self-Harm HIT (STITCH)
• Improving Perinatal Mental Health (IMPROVE)
• Psychological Therapies in Primary Care (InPsyTe)
• Psychosis HIT
• People with Eating Disorders HIT (EDHIT)
• Time to Change
• Freedom of Mind
• Mentality (Off the Record)

The guide states:

“Healthwatch Bristol works with other patient and public involvement groups in Bristol to champion the voices of people using health and social care services. There are several organisations and groups in Bristol which focus on mental health services. The organisations [included in the guide] all focus specifically on mental health and include service user and public voice as part of their work. (The list is in no way exhaustive!).”