Monthly Archives: February 2026

Carers Connect Southwark – Why Co-Production Matters

Carers Connect Southwark – Why Co-Production Matters

By Matthew McKenzie, A Caring Mind

Today I had the privilege of speaking at Carers Connect Southwark, part of the engagement programme shaping the new Southwark Adult Social Care Carers Strategy 2026. The room was filled with unpaid carers people supporting loved ones, friends and family members every single day, often quietly, often invisibly, and too often without recognition.

I was invited to encourage carers to use their voice. Because this strategy refresh isn’t just a document it is the unpaid carers strategy for Southwark. And if carers do not shape it, it will not truly reflect their lives.

Why This Event Matters

Southwark Council is developing a new carers strategy that will set out the vision for universal and statutory support in the borough for people caring for loved ones and friends .

The engagement process – supported by the Institute of Public Care (IPC) – is designed to:

  • Understand carers’ real experiences
  • Identify gaps in services and resources
  • Raise awareness of existing support
  • Encourage people to identify themselves as carers and seek help

This isn’t consultation for consultation’s sake. This is about influence.

Speaking From Experience

As someone who has cared and continues to work alongside carers through my mental health carers group for Southwark, Lambeth & Lewisham, I know first-hand how isolating caring can be. Many carers don’t even identify as carers they see themselves as “just a mum”, “just a son”, “just a partner”.

But caring changes your life. It affects:

  • Your physical and mental health
  • Your employment and finances
  • Your relationships
  • Your identity

When I spoke today, my message was simple: Your experience is expertise.

Professionals bring policy knowledge. Councils bring structure and statutory responsibility. But carers bring lived reality.

Without that reality, strategies risk becoming well-meaning but disconnected from daily life.

The Power of Co-Production

Co-production means designing services with people, not for them.

In the focus groups, carers were asked about:

  • What support works well
  • What doesn’t
  • What matters most
  • What priorities should shape the future strategy

That is very powerful.

When carers speak honestly about navigating assessments, accessing respite, struggling with mental health, or juggling work and care, they are not complaining – they are building a better system.

True co-production shifts the balance:

  • From passive recipients to active partners
  • From assumption to lived evidence
  • From policy written about carers to policy written with carers

Why Feedback Is Not Optional, It Is Essential

Too often carers are exhausted. After a long day of caring, attending a focus group can feel like another task. I acknowledged that today.

But I also said this:
If carers do not feed back, decisions will still be made.

The difference is whether those decisions are informed by reality or by assumption.

The Southwark carers strategy will influence:

  • Funding priorities
  • Service design
  • Eligibility awareness
  • Communication approaches
  • Long-term vision for carer support

That makes these conversations crucial.

A Call to Carers

If you are an unpaid carer in Southwark and you see opportunities like this – attend. Speak. Share.

Your feedback:

  • Shapes policy
  • Influences services
  • Challenges blind spots
  • Creates accountability

Most importantly, it ensures that future support reflects real lives, not theoretical ones.

Final Reflections

Leaving the event, I felt hopeful.

Hopeful because carers showed up.
Hopeful because they spoke honestly.
Hopeful because the strategy refresh process appears to be genuinely seeking lived experience.

But hope must be matched with action.

Are You a Carer? Help Improve Care Under the Mental Health Act

Post shared by Matthew McKenzie

When someone you care about experiences a mental health crisis, the system needs to work quickly, safely and compassionately. But for many families and carers, the reality can involve delays, uncertainty, and distress especially when assessments or admissions happen under the Mental Health Act.

Now, there is a meaningful opportunity for carers to use their lived experience to shape research that aims to improve this care.

The importance of the Research

In times of crisis, timely support can prevent someone from becoming more unwell or needing more restrictive interventions later. Researchers at King’s College London want to better understand:

  • Experiences of delays in Mental Health Act assessments
  • What happens during admissions to hospital
  • How care pathways could be made safer and more responsive

Crucially, they want carers and service users at the heart of this work.

A Paid Opportunity to Share Your Expertise

Family members and carers of young people or adults who have received care under the Mental Health Act are warmly invited to join a Lived Experience Advisory Board.

As a carer, your insight is invaluable. You will help:

  • Shape the direction of the research
  • Share your views on how care could be improved
  • Ensure the work reflects real-life experiences

Meetings will take place both online and in person (London), making it accessible to a wide range of participants.

Participants will receive £27.50 per hour (plus expenses) in recognition of their time and expertise.

Who Can Get Involved?

The research team would like to hear from:

  • Adults aged 18+ with experience of detention under the Mental Health Act
  • Family members and carers of young people or adults with experience of care under the Mental Health Act

If you have supported someone through assessment, admission, or crisis care, your perspective could directly influence how future services are designed and delivered.

Be Part of Making Care Safer

This work is funded by the Better Health & Care Hub at King’s College London and is focused on improving safety and outcomes for people in crisis.

Your lived experience can help ensure future families face fewer delays, clearer communication, and safer care pathways.

To get involved or find out more, visit:
tinyurl.com/MHAcarepathways

If you have any questions, you can contact Phoebe at:
phoebe.averill@kcl.ac.uk

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026: The Power of Community

By Matthew McKenzie & Christine

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026 has begun, and this year’s theme is Community a reminder that no one should face an eating disorder alone.

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that affect people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and body sizes. They include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder (BED) and other specified feeding and eating disorders. Despite how common they are, stigma and misunderstanding still prevent many people from seeking help early.

Community plays a vital role in changing that.

In recognition of Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026, I have shared a video raising awareness about:

You can watch the full awareness video here:

Recovery is not something most people achieve in isolation. It happens through connection through families, friends, carers, clinicians, workplaces, schools and peer networks coming together to provide support, understanding and hope.

Supporting someone with an eating disorder can be emotionally exhausting and overwhelming. Unpaid carers, parents, partners and loved ones often carry an invisible weight. This week is also about recognising their role and ensuring they, too, have access to support and community.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please remember: help is available, and recovery is possible.

This Eating Disorders Awareness Week, let’s strengthen our communities, challenge stigma, and ensure no one struggles alone.

Beat Eating Disorders
UK’s leading eating disorder charity.
Helpline, youthline, online support groups and carer support.
📞 Helpline: 0808 801 0677
🌐 https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

Samaritans (24/7 emotional support)
📞 116 123
🌐 https://www.samaritans.org

Carers UK
Advice, financial guidance and peer support for unpaid carers.
📞 0808 808 7777
🌐 https://www.carersuk.org

YoungMinds (for parents)
Support for parents concerned about a child or young person.
📞 0808 802 5544
🌐 https://www.youngminds.org.uk

Black Minds Matter UK
Connects Black individuals with free mental health therapy.
🌐 https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com

BAATN (Black, African & Asian Therapy Network)
Directory of qualified therapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean heritage.
🌐 https://www.baatn.org.uk

Muslim Youth Helpline
Faith-sensitive support for young Muslims.
📞 0808 808 2008
🌐 https://www.myh.org.uk

Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline
Support for LGBTQ+ individuals.
📞 0300 330 0630
🌐 https://switchboard.lgbt

Putting the “C” (Carer) into PCREF: A Call to Action for NHS Mental Health Services

The Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) is a landmark policy designed to improve racial equity in NHS mental health care. But if it’s going to deliver meaningful change, one key voice must be placed at its centre: the carer.

Watch the video

Putting the “C” (Carer) into PCREF

In this vlog, I explore why unpaid ethnic minority carers — who are often the backbone of support for people with mental health needs — are still too often excluded from decision-making, planning, and implementation in services designed to support both them and their loved ones

A Shared Movement

Integrating PCREF and Triangle of Care is a commitment to transforming relationships in mental health care.

Carers are not just an add-on. They are central to safe, equitable, and culturally competent services.

Watch the video above, share your thoughts, and join the conversation.

#PCREF #TriangleOfCare #MentalHealth #RaceEquality #Carers #NHSEngland #HealthEquity #EDI

Why Race Equality Week 2026 Still Matters and Why #ChangeNeedsAllOfUs

By Matthew McKenzie

Race Equality Week 2026 and Black History Month 2026 (US) is at a time when conversations about inclusion feel more important and more urgent than ever.

I have created a short video to explore why this week matters, what this year’s theme #ChangeNeedsAllOfUs represents, and how each of us can play a role in building fairer workplaces and communities. Rather than focusing on awareness alone, the aim is to encourage honest reflection and meaningful action that lasts beyond a single week.

Recent events have reminded us why race equality cannot be taken for granted. Incidents circulating online including a widely criticised video that portrayed the Obamas using racist imagery highlight how harmful stereotypes and dehumanising narratives still appear in public discourse. Moments like this reinforce why challenging racism, promoting respectful representation, and standing up for equality remain essential.

Race equality is not about blame or division. It’s about recognising lived experiences, understanding that fairness is not the same as sameness, and ensuring everyone feels valued, respected, and safe.

Real change doesn’t happen because of one campaign or one voice. It happens when many people take small, consistent steps listening more closely, questioning assumptions, and choosing inclusion in everyday decisions.

Because progress must be driven by all of us doing something, not just the few.

Change starts with all of us.

World Cancer Day 2026: Standing with Unpaid Cancer Caregivers

Every year on 4 February, World Cancer Day brings people together to raise awareness, inspire action, and support everyone affected by cancer. This year’s theme, United By Unique, reminds us that every cancer experience is different yet no one should face it alone.

Behind many cancer journeys are unpaid caregivers. They are partners, friends, parents and family members who provide emotional support, organise appointments, manage daily routines, and help loved ones navigate some of life’s most difficult moments. Their contribution is invaluable, but too often it goes unseen.

To mark World Cancer Day 2026, I have created a short video highlighting the vital role of unpaid cancer caregivers and the importance of fair, person-centred care across the UK. The video also reflects key messages from Macmillan Cancer Support, including the urgent need to address inequalities in cancer care and ensure that everyone receives the support they need, when they need it most.

Also for World Cancer day 2026 comes alongside the newly released National Cancer Plan for England, which outlines ambitions to improve early diagnosis, treatment and personalised support so more people can live well with and beyond cancer. You can read more about the Plan here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cancer-plan-for-england

Macmillan Cancer Support has also shared its perspective on the Plan, welcoming the focus on person-centred care while continuing to advocate for fairer cancer experiences and stronger support for everyone affected. Find out more here: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/about-us/news-and-media/news-releases/a-new-national-cancer-plan-for-england.

At least every 75 seconds, someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer. In that moment, lives change not only for the person diagnosed, but also for those who step into caregiving roles. By recognising caregivers and amplifying their voices, we can help build a more compassionate and supportive future for everyone affected by cancer.

This World Cancer Day, we invite you to take a moment to reflect, learn, and share. By raising awareness and working together, we can support unpaid caregivers, challenge inequalities in care, and help create a future where no one feels lost or alone.

Together, we are #UnitedByUnique.