Tag Archives: carer confidentiality

South London Mental Health Carers Forum – August 2026 Update

By Matthew McKenzie – Carer forum facilitator

On Monday 24 August, I facilitated another meeting of the South London Mental Health Carers Forum. The forum brings together unpaid carers and carer representatives from Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark and Croydon, giving people a space to share experiences, learn about their rights and influence the development of local mental health services.

We welcomed carers with many different experiences, including parents supporting adult children with serious mental illness, autism and substance misuse, as well as people involved in advocacy, peer support, staff training and service development. Some members had been navigating the mental health system for many years, while others were newer to caring and looking for guidance.

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Ethnic mental health Carer Forum Update May 2025

Quick update on ethnic mental health carer group

The meeting focused on carer involvement and representation across different regions, with participants discussing their roles in supporting carers and addressing discrimination. The main focus for this meeting was on “What does good look like?” when it comes to Triangle of Care and PCREF.

The group explored the Triangle of Care initiative and its five key elements, including discussions about medication-related challenges and the need for better communication between healthcare providers and carers. The conversation ended with conversations about improving carer support systems, including the importance of advocacy, training, and creating safe spaces for carers to share concerns confidentially.

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Caring – What it means to me

I was so chuffed to be asked by Matthew to do a guest blog. Matthew is such a star raising awareness about carers’ issues that I feel honoured that he has asked for my views!

I regularly do a slot at Corporate Induction for South London and Maudlsey NHS – “What it feels like to be a carer?” . It is great to have a “captive audience” to get the message across about the valuable work that carers do and how involving them has a real potential to make the medical professionals’ job easier – not more complicated as is often believed to be the case.

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