Welcome to another blog post from a carer in south London. Just a quick update, one of the projects I am interesting in helping to run is to be involved and help chair carer forums. I am hoping to write a blog at a later date regarding the importance of carer forums, but for now, this blog post is an update from the Carers Lewisham Mental Health Carer forum.

A brief description is that a carer forum focuses on issues raise by the forum, we seek to engage with those who run the mental health services, health professionals and health commissioners. Our forum members are mainly carers of those suffering from mental ill health. We also have some former carers who are a wealth of experience. I am hoping the Mental Health Carers Forum can extend to other boroughs, but that will take some time.

For a video of the report from the forum. see below

The reason for such a forum is as follows.

• Carers need to know updates regarding service provision that involves carers.
• There ought to be carer involvement and empowerment.
• To give carers the platform in order to engage with health professionals.
• The Mental Health Carers forum especially under Carers Lewisham centre is interested in Carers as a whole in that borough.

There are many more reasons I had pushed for the MH Carers forum to be set up, I do expect a lot of difficulties and challenges, one mainly involved getting the word out there and recruitment.

The update for March is under the following link. https://caringmindblog.com/carers-lewisham-mh-forum-march-2017/

Up for discussion was the following.

Lewisham Wellbeing day 2017.

Updates on what the day was about, feel free to check out my video

The Service user and carer advisory group for London’s crisis care programme.
How I joined the group and its objectives.

Some SLaM carer committee updates.
Mainly on carers strategy, serious incident updates, new SLaM carer booklets and more.

Updates on the Triangle of Care.
What the Triangle of Care is about and SLaM’s process on joining.

What happens next when the Lewisham Carers Support officer leaves
Discussion on agenda’s for the forum.
FInding a date when speakers can attend.

Another forum member who could not attend, left us the following updates

When the SLaM carers Listening event would take place.
Plus updates on carers assessments.

The forum members are grateful the Carers Lambeth attended so they can work on their own carers forum.  We are also very grateful for the support of Carers Lewisham.  As a note, representatives from the “E-support for Families and Friends”, could not attend, but they will attend at the Carers Lewisham Carer support group on Wednesday 26th of March from 14.00 pm to 16.00 pm at the Institute of Psychiatry.