Great fun had - and good work done - yesterday at the first of the Lights! Camera! ACTION! events which received much public and professional attention at its prominent location in Castle Square, Swansea. Lots of use made of the mobile studio including these film blogs...
• See service user Richard Timm talking about how physical exercise helps to ground him here.
• Service user Paul Bevan explains how he used his Care and Treatment Plan to commit himself to an ambitious training course here.
• And the Leader of Swansea Council David Phillips talks to service users about his own experience of depression and his Council's commitment to mental health services here.
And we were lucky with the weather - bright sunshine and warm too, hopefully a good omen for the rest of the 22 county events taking place every week until the end of September. I might open a book on how many of these will experience some rain (meaning for betting purposes any rain I suppose, even a drop, in the course of the event, typically a few hours either side of lunch-time): I would put my money on only 5 out of 22 but that may be optimistic.
Plans are now well in hand for the official launch of the campaign in Cardiff Bay next week. Health Minister Mark Drakeford will be doing the honours and no doubt we will get more excellent film blogs from users and carers - and professionals and politicians.
A reminder of what this user and carer-led Campaign is promoting:-
• High quality Care and Treatment Plans for everyone receiving secondary mental health services
• Full choice and control for service users on the content of Care and Treatment Plans
• Prompt delivery of quality mental health services in response to those Plans and to the needs of people with a serious mental illness using primary care services
• Further reform of services which increases service user and carer control over the choice and commissioning of services
• A longer-term move towards full equality in Welsh society for service users and carers including equal access to health and social care, housing, income, education, and employment.
