Plans to cut health services for the most vulnerable are approved despite pleas from union over legal challenge

Plans to cut £1.6m from a Salford health service aimed at the most vulnerable in the city have been approved – despite union pleas to put them on hold.

Salford’s health improvement service has eight neighbourhood-based teams and provides a variety of community, health improvement, intervention, and support services.

MANCHESTER USERS NETWORK MUN INFORMATION MEETING Wednesday 25Th November, 2015 Time, 1:30 pm

MANCHESTER USERS NETWORK  MUN INFORMATION MEETING  Wednesday 25Th November, 2015 Time, 1:30 pm

MUN INFORMATION MEETING Wednesday 25 Th November, 2015 Time, 1:30 pm Meeting to catch up with recent events and how we will attack the cuts to Manchester Mental Health Services. We have a poster campaign and a campaign budget to vote past our members. Please come on time as it promises to be a busy meeting. NEWS VIEWS AND FEEDBACK WELCOME S.O.S SAVE OUR SERVICES

Get texting! Manchester war veterans battling mental illness need your support

People across Greater Manchester are being urged to text in feedback on how to improve mental health services for the region’s military veterans.

The text campaign, being run as a pilot, has been launched to help gather information that will hopefully shape and develop greater mental health support for ex-service men and women.

‘Counterproductive’: Mental health charity Mind calls for ‘fundamental’ government rethink on benefit cuts

The Government has ‘failed its duty of care’ to people with mental health problems, according to a senior figure in Mind charity.

The comments come after Conservative MP Priti Patel was last week condemned for claiming that there is no evidence to suggest that more people with mental health issues received cuts to their benefits than others.

Mental health cuts ‘put lives at risk’

Mental health cuts ‘put lives at risk’

Cuts to adult mental health services in England have started damaging the quality of care given to patients, a report suggests.
The review by the King’s Fund think tank found there was now “widespread evidence of poor quality care”.
Researchers linked this to the use of unproven, cheaper services in a bid to balance the books.
One mental health charity says “disappearing” services are putting lives at risk.
But the government said the amount of money being made available for mental health had been increased overall.

‘I could have slipped through the cracks’: Parents expose ‘mishmashed’ and ‘patchy’ postnatal depression support

“I’m so scared that this is a mistake and I’m not cut out to be a mother. I’m scared I’m going to resent the child and long for my old life.”

“I have some really good days where I feel very positive about life, confident in my ability as a parent and look forward to the future. Other days are just like a black hole.”

“I’ve been feeling suicidal on and off for over a year.”

Statement Release by Manchester User’s Network in Solidarity with Charter Alliance & Other Service User’s

Statement Release by Manchester User’s Network in Solidarity with Charter Alliance & Other Service User’s

To: Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust and all concerned parties including Manchester City Council Joint Health & Scrutiny Committee, under the present chair of Manchester City Councillor: Bev Craig.

We would like this statement read out at the Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust: workshop meeting at the Trust HQ at Chorton House, on Monday 9th November 2015 and that copies be made available to all present.

“The writing has been on the wall for the Trust almost since the day it was set up”.

What I want to focus on at this moment is the importance of listening to users of services – particularly at a time of change. Over the years Macc has had strong involvement in mental health work with the public and voluntary sector (all led by my former colleague John Butler who left us only a few weeks ago following funding reductions).

Manchester mental health services in deep crisis

Manchester Users Network leader and NSUN member, Alan Hartman warns of the deepening crisis in Mental Health Services that puts even more people at risk of suicide.

He states “the new round of £1.5m worth of cuts will hit more than 650 patients and a huge fear for service users is that services will not provide any therapeutic support but resort only to giving medications which can cause devastating side effects and can make people worse.”

Jeremy Hunt called on to ‘urgently’ intervene in Manchester mental health crisis

A shadow minister has called for health secretary Jeremy Hunt to ‘urgently’ intervene over the crisis facing Manchester’s mental health services. Andrew Gwynne was speaking after the M.E.N. revealed £1.5m in frontline services are to be axed after the city’s mental health trust declared itself ‘no longer viable’.