Welcome back and here is the update for the Lambeth Mental Health carers forum for July 2017. This probably the second time the forum took place, since the last Lambeth Mental Health carers forum was more of a planning meeting to structure the forum.

As a form of carer empowerment, I chaired the forum and hope we can have a rotation of carers charing for the following months. Chairing a forum can give carers more confidence at meetings, leadership and being involved.

To see the video update, click on the video below.

The agenda for the Lambeth Mental Health carers forum was going through the minutes of the last forum. Details raised on understanding the staff structure of SLaM from management to service structure.

We also discussed the new SLaM carers charter, which was very important because out of the four Mental Health carer forums I chaired this month, this was the most attended (being that the room was packed). Those in attendance were practically carer representatives as well as also caring. So they had a lot to say about the new charter.

Another important issue raised by a fellow carer member of the forum was how Mental Health support is provided through the judicial system. They explained about the problems they experienced when supporting someone going through the criminal system and who is diagnosed with mental health problems.

Also on the agenda was examining who the Lambeth Adult social carer Mental Health leads are and how to engage with them.

We lastly looked at how to continue promoting the forum. Plus the new copies of the carers handbook were past around.