My attention was recently drawn to an invitation by the cross-party Health and Social Care Committee to users of mental health services to submit evidence of their experiences. It is the stated responsibility of the HSCC to scrutinise the work of the Department of Health and Social Care and its associated public bodies. They examine government policy, spending and administration on behalf of the electorate and the House of Commons.
I will be taking time out from posting updates to Four and Twenty Dead Crows so that I can finish collating my own submission of evidence accrued during the time that my daughter and I have been patients at CMHT The Bridge Centre. I should be able to resume posting to my blog after the 4th, February.
I have copied and pasted the actual invitation below
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/81/health-and-social-care-committee/
‘Community Mental Health Services
Inquiry
The Committee is undertaking an inquiry into community mental health services. The inquiry will examine what good looks like from the perspective of service users and their families/carers. The Committee would like the inquiry to shine a light on case studies of innovative practice and high-quality care across the country, and to undertake meaningful and impactful engagement with people accessing these services.
The inquiry will consider how service users’ wider health and social needs can be addressed, including in employment and housing, and to understand what policy interventions are required to improve how these needs are met. As part of this inquiry, the Committee also wants to assess to what extent the Community Mental Health Framework is driving improvements in the delivery of more integrated, person-centred care.
This inquiry is focussing on adults with severe mental health needs in particular, which includes but is not limited to people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. The Committee recognises the scale of the challenge in children and young people’s mental health, and plans to do further work in this area in due course, building on its predecessor Committee’s 2021 inquiry.
In line with the general practice of select committees, the Health and Social Care Committee is not able to take up individual cases or complaints. If you would like political support or advice you may wish to contact your local Member of Parliament.
Call for Evidence
Community Mental Health Services Terms of Reference
To inform its inquiry, the Committee is now accepting written evidence submissions that respond to the following questions by 4 February 2025. Please note that submissions do not need to address every question.
What does high-quality care look like for adults with severe mental illness and their families/carers?
How could the service user journey be improved both within community mental health services and in accessing support provided by other services/agencies?
How could this be measured/monitored locally and nationally?
What is the current state of access for adults with severe mental illness to community mental health services?
What progress has been made in implementing waiting time and access standards for community mental health services?
How could access be improved across the country?
Has the Community Mental Health Framework been an effective tool for driving the delivery of more integrated, person-centred community mental health services?
How can community mental health services work with social care, the third sector and local government to better address service users’ health and wider social needs that are wider determinants of mental health outcomes?
How could the funding system be reformed to more effectively drive transformation in the delivery of integrated and person-centred community mental health services?
What blockers or enablers should policy interventions prioritise addressing to improve the integration of person-centred community mental health care?
What are the examples of good or innovative practice in community mental health services?
What needs to happen to scale up the adoption of these practices across the country?’
