Service User Advisory Network

Service User Advisory Network

We believe that people who engage with our services, and have direct experience of mental health recovery and mental health services bring an important and unique perspective to the development of services. Your expertise, ideas and opinions will be invaluable in shaping the future of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services.

What are the plans and projects?

Jonathan Swift Mentally Healthy Living Hub – The current St. Patrick’s campus will be transformed into a national centre for mentally healthy living. It will be the first in the world to provide a full range of mentally healthy living initiatives for the general population, alongside comprehensive recovery-based treatment services. It will include:

• A Mental Wellness Centre – A tranquil and positive centre for all our day services. A range of wellness activities and events for the general public, schools, community groups and carers will also take place here.

• Centre for Innovative Mental Health Technologies – A centre focussed on developing cutting-edge approaches to mental health care. For example, exploring ways that computer and smart phone technology can help with managing our mental health needs.

• Mental Health Matters Advocacy Centre – A centre focussed on promoting a greater understanding of mental health difficulties, and promoting the rights of people experiencing them. Learning what issues are most important to you will inform the work of the centre.

• Modernised inpatient facilities – To ensure the highest standard of care, and increase access to support when it’s needed, we need to improve and expand our inpatient facilities.

• International Centre of Excellence for the treatment of mood disorders – A dedicated centre to the treatment of mood disorders such as depression.

• Expanded outpatient Dean Clinics – Developing and expanding our outpatient services around the country to increase people’s access to care when and where they need it.

• A National Referral and Assessment Service – We know that mental health difficulties don’t happen on a 9 to 5 basis. This service will provide a free-of-charge assessment 24 hours a day, via the telephone and internet to help people access services in a timely way.

We’re excited to share these plans with you and hear your thoughts and ideas. You can learn more by reading our strategy – Changing Minds, Changing Lives

To achieve these ambitious plans, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services is setting up a Service User Advisory Network to allow us to consult with and seek the views and opinions of people who have used our services.

Once you have registered your interest, we will provide you with more detailed information and let you know of opportunities to take part as they arise. We will let you know what is involved, for example what level of commitment might be needed. There is no obligation to take part, and you can opt out at any time by just letting us know.

How can you take part?

You can take part in any or all of the following ways:

• Being a member of a Service User Advisory group for a project
• Taking part in a group discussion or focus group
• Giving feedback online
• Completing a survey
• Speaking to someone one on one, in person or by phone

If you have previously used our services as an inpatient or outpatient, we would like your inputs on our different plans and projects. As it’s important to focus your energy on recovery when in hospital, you need to have been discharged from inpatient care to take part. If during your involvement you need to come back into hospital, we would ask that you take a break to focus on your recovery and rejoin us when you feel able.

Many of our projects will be ‘business sensitive’ – this means we need to keep information about the project confidential, and  you may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement about a project you are involved with.

Our Commitment to You

St Patrick’s Mental Health Services is committed to empowering service users. If we ask you to become involved or to take part in a particular project, we will provide you with the required support to do so. We are committed to listening to and including the views of service users in all aspects of service design, delivery and development. We will provide you with a nominated contact for any project that you are involved in, and address queries and questions you may have in a timely manner. If you have any particular needs or requirements we will strive to provide accommodation for these.