Nhs

This paper will inform mental health service users and carers on how a University in Wales established a service user and carer-led research group. * The group's primary aim will be to undertake its own service user and carer-led research projects. * Mental health service users have undergone empowerment and research training at a University in Wales. This is an important initiative because it is the first service user and carer-led research group in Wales. * This paper is co-authored by a mental health service user and includes transcripts of service users' stories written in their words.

The Health & Social Care (H&SC) Task Force, the membership of which is set out in annex B, was one of four such task forces established to develop proposals for measures to be included in the new Carers’ Strategy1 . This report comprises proposals developed by the group which were put to the Interdepartmental Group chaired by David Behan, Director-General Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships, Department of Health, which oversaw the development of the strategy as a whole. 

In every other industry, 'the customer is king' - so why should health care be any different? With reference to the Department of Health's newly published legislation, Real Accountability Guidance on the NHS duty to report on consultation, the author examines the importance of patient and carer input into NHS services. 

Introduction: The ultimate Vision for Assisted Living is the provision of integrated health and social care, thus allowing health and social care professionals and carers to work in harmony to maximise the people's quality of life. PEACEanywhere one of the Projects under the auspices of the Technology Strategy Board Assisted Living Innovation Platform (ALIP2) sought to progress the vision towards implementation.

The huge role of unpaid family carers is outlined in this essay, together with examples of good practices by NHS organisations to support their needs. The authors point out that with declining NHS resources there will be even more reliance on family carers. 

It is possible that effective information-sharing strategies to improve the quality of care can be developed. Service users, carers and professionals should all be involved in generating such strategies. The ideal information-sharing strategy can be tailored to individuals' needs and requires professionals to make carefully weighted judgements. Professionals need training to help them to understand the roles of carers and to work with carers effectively. Training should be accredited in order to encourage attendance.

The term leadership has been often applicable within the work domain, where development programmes are aimed at managers and lead organisations. However the government has recognised that changes in public services require the collaboration of many stakeholders working together in partnership and has placed at the core of its policies the need to include users and carers.

This paper is based on a presentation delivered by the Special Interest Group for Education and Training (SIGET) at the annual Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA) conference. Service user and carer involvement in all aspects of health care delivery, including the educational process, is a key element of the government's modernisation programme. This paper considers the policy context that requires nurse educationalists to seek the views of service users and carers in planning quality healthcare education programmes.

On the 1st of April 1999 Somerset Health Authority and Somerset County Council established a Joint Commissioning Board (JCB) to commission mental health services. Simultaneously, the Somerset Partnerships Health and Social Care NHS Trust was set-up as a combined health and social care services provider; for the first time in England, the majority of social services mental health staff transferred their employment to this Trust. The JCB commissioned an evaluation of the impact of these innovations on users and carers, staff and senior officers and members in the organisations concerned.

Background The General Household Survey 2000 shows that approximately 6.8 million adults in Britain provide care to sick or disabled relatives or friends, or the elderly. Carers report high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as general health problems and physical injuries such as strained backs associated with lifting. The more demanding care, the less likely it is that carers will have time to attend to their own health care needs.