Last week, McPin gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee at the House of Commons chaired by Layla Moran MP on the opening day of a new inquiry.
Last week, McPin gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee at the House of Commons chaired by Layla Moran MP on the opening day of a new inquiry.
Alongside lived-experience experts and other mental health charities, on Wednesday 17th February we shared what we believe good community mental healthcare looks like.
Our testimony stands alongside the written evidence we supplied, as did others with over 240 individuals and organisations submitting views to this Committee.
With a focus on adults with severe mental health issues, the inquiry aims to shine a light on innovative coproduction work across the country and uncover what service users, carers, practitioners and commissioners think is good quality care.
As part of this inquiry, the Committee wants to assess to what extent the Community Mental Health Framework is driving improvements in the delivery of more integrated care.
The inquiry opened with a lived experience panel who shared their experiences navigating community mental health services.
Themes that came through centred around frustrating and re-traumatising experiences with fragmented and fractured services, the need for true person-centred care and access to culturally appropriate support.
Harry Dyson, peer researcher at McPin, gave evidence on McPin’s behalf and brought his unique lived experience of accessing these services, combined with his work in research.
He told the Committee that we do know what good mental healthcare looks like – we have the lived experience testimonies – but noted that the current gap exists between the aspirations and the delivery of the healthcare.
Francesca, a lived experience expert, highlighted that a significant barrier to effective, rapid and informed care is the lack of continuity between services. She shared with the panel how she has had to recount her history and personal circumstances to each new professional she encountered in her care journey.
On the day, McPin shared space with panellists from NSUN, Rethink, the Centre for Mental Health on one panel, and lived experience experts on the second. Both panels spoke about the importance of the voluntary sector or ‘buffer’ services in mental healthcare.
McPin’s hope is that our collected evidence can move us closer to compassionate, person-centred care that empowers and funds local services to deliver the support they know their communities need.
Read McPin co-founder and research director Vanessa Pinfold’s reflection from the day on her LinkedIn post.
Watch this panel, the first of several in this inquiry, on Parliament TV: Parliamentlive.tv – Health and Social Care Committee
