SOUTH WEST YORKSHIRE MENTAL HEALTH TRUST ASKS FOR HELP IN DEVELOPING SERVICE CHARTER
People who have used mental health services, and their carers, in Calderdale are being asked for their help in setting standards for the South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust.
The Trust, with input from staff, service users and carers, wants to develop a service charter – a set of explicit standards describing what people can expect when they come into contact with the Trust and what staff can expect from them.
To support the development of a Charter, the NHS Modernisation Agency has agreed to fund a series of workshops. In total there will be eight workshops – four for service users, two for carers and two for staff, lunch and refreshments will be provided.
The workshops in Calderdale are: Service user workshop: 12-4pm, 26 February, Heath Training and Development Centre, Free School Lane, Halifax
Carer workshop: 1-4pm, 5 March, Briar Court Hotel, Halifax Road, Birchencliffe
Everyone who attends the workshops will be invited to a stakeholder conference in April 2004, when everyone will work together to draw up a list of standards which will become the South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust Charter.
If anyone is interested in attending a workshop, or wants further information, please contact Ellen Priestley on 01924 327018, or email ellen.priestley@swyt.nhs.uk more…
The aim of the Charter is to help people who use services, carers and staff to assess whether the Trust is behaving in a way which is consistent with it’s vision, values and goals. It will also help teams of staff evaluate their own performance.
For example, the Charter will describe standards about people’s involvement in developing their own care plan, what the Trust will do to involve and support carers and what it will do to make sure services are able to meet the needs of a diverse population.
Speaking about the importance of developing a charter, Ruth Unwin, Director of Public Affairs, said, ‘Developing a charter will help to make our vision, values and goals meaningful, and ensure that these filter into all Trust strategies, policies and procedures. A charter will also provide a framework for measuring the performance of the Trust, in terms of providing the things service users and carers tell us they want’.