The Movin’ On Up campaign moved on up to Aberystwyth today.
Hafal Aberystwyth Practice Leader Ruth Wilson tells us: "It’s great to have the Measure but will it really make a difference? It’s no good having a law which is good in theory but which doesn’t deliver what service users and carers want. If the Measure 'does what it says on the tin' then it will be a real step forward. The important thing is that there are some good systems in place to check that we can make the most of the new law."
Ruth is right to sound a caution about assuming the new law will just work - we definitely need good monitoring on implementation and Hafal will be both celebrating good quality Plans and also blowing the whistle if people don't get their legal rights fully met.
Ruth goes on to explain the potential for the new Measure: "In terms of my illness I was pre-Care and Treatment Plans; my recovery from serious mental illness was more by luck than design. The Measure means users of secondary mental health services will finally have a legal right to an holistic Care and Treatment Plan covering all eight life areas (accommodation; education and training; finance and money; medical and other forms of treatment including psychological interventions; parenting or caring relationships; personal care and physical well-being; social, cultural or spiritual; work and occupation). If Plans like these were around when I was younger my process of recovery would have speeded up phenomenally. In fact if holistic Care and Treatment Plans were available when I was ill I think my recovery would have taken six months as opposed to the five years it actually took."
Hafal will launch a new publication designed to help service users get the most from the new Care and Treatment Plans (which will be introduced on June 6th) next month. You can get a preview of the guide here - Care and Treatment Planning: a step-by-step guide for secondary mental health service users. The guide will be launched alongside the Code of Practice for Parts 2 and 3 of the Mental Health (Wales) Measure by Health and Social Services Minister Lesley Griffiths AM at the Pierhead Building, Cardiff, on June 11th.
