october 2008
2008 OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Cliff Le Clercq, renowned local Psychotherapist [and current candidate for political office], will be giving a talk on his work at our next Friends of FOCUS meeting which is to be held at the Poplars Day Centre on Tuesday 14th October at 7.30pm. Everyone is most welcome to attend. This talk has been held over from last monthís meeting which unfortunately Mr. Le Clerk was unable to attend as originally scheduled.
We are also pleased to confirm that Dr. Leigh-Howarth, one of the Islandís new Consultant Psychiatrists, as agreed to give a talk on his work at the next Friends of FOCUS meeting to be held at the Poplars Day Centre on Tuesday 11th November at 7.30pm. Everyone is most welcome to attend these monthly informal meetings.
NEWS:
1. User Involvement Co-ordinator Post: It is with great regret that we have to report that Lorraine Lewis, our User Involvement Co-ordinator, has tendered her resignation. It is with great sadness that Lorraine decided that she had no option but to return to England for family reasons. We thank Lorraine for all her hard work and efforts to help us to develop user involvement locally and we wish her all good fortune in all her future endeavors.
For the moment the Refocus Project will be put on hold for the moment but we would like to thank not only Lorraine but also Steph de la Cour who worked so hard to establish this innovative resource. The Adult Mental Health Service and the Charity remain committed to looking at means by which we might deliver the Partnership Programme, which Lorraine helped to develop during her time with us. Members / readers who have applied to join the Partnership Team will be contacted once we have determined a way forward and are thanked for their patience.
There are no immediate plans to recruit to the vacated post for which there was no specific funding other than a grant of £20,000 given last year by the Association of Jersey Charities towards the costs of the project.
2. The Jersey FOCUS on mental health Annual General Meeting: was held on the 29th September at the Welcome Centre, St Thomas Church and we were delighted to welcome the Minister for Health and Social Services, Senator Shenton and his wife who attended to learn more about the work of the Charity. The current Committee was re-elected un-apposed. Anyone wishing to have a copy of the AGM report and a set of accounts for the 2007/2008 are asked to contact Anton Skinner on telephone 851124 or via email: antonskinner@googlemail.com and we will be delighted to either send a hard copy or to email the documents to you.
3. Edward Bailhache, gifted multi-instrumentalist and 2006 PWC Jersey Musician of the Year, gave a wonderful piano recital on behalf of Jersey FOCUS on mental health at the Jersey Arts Centre at 8.00pm on Saturday 13th September. Edward performed the programme, including works by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Bartok, with great skill and natural charm to a full house. A delightful evening, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended, was made complete by a unique encore of Postman Pat delivered with great gusto in a bewildering array of piano styles! The recital, which was sponsored by Baker Platt, raised £3822 for the Charity. Our sincere thanks go to Edward for all his hard work in preparing for the concert and to all those who came along to support the event.
4. 10 Winchester Street: As reported in last monthís newsletter The Committee decided to review future plans for this unit with senior staff of the Mental Health Service to determine the best use of the accommodation in the long term. Concerns focused on the possible risks posed to residents due to the fact that we could not afford to staff the unit and had to rely solely on the good services of our housekeepers Luisa and Enmanuel Fernandes to oversee the operation.
We are pleased to report that following discussions with Ian Dyer, manager of the Mental Health Services Directorate and Jim Ward, Manager of the Community Support Service, it has been agreed that the latter Service will allocate support duties to two of their professional staff team who will visit the Unit on a daily basis to help to support the residents living there. This is in effect the same level of support provided by the Mental Health Service to their own community homes so the Charity is very happy to agree to these new arrangements, which were put into effect at the beginning of this month.
5. Advocacy: The Patients Advocateís annual report will be presented to the Committee at its next full meeting and thereafter will be posted in full on our website: www.jerseyfocus. Com.
6. Adult Mental Health Joint Steering Group: In 2000 Jerseyís Adult Mental Health Services in line with significant stake holders introduced the Adult Mental health Joint Steering Group whose aim was to support the development of services for people with adult mental health needs. The group was evolved over time and the most recent membership has identified a need to review the constitution and membership of the group.
One of the reasons for this is the change in service structure with the reintegration of the Mental Health Directorate, which includes Adult Mental Health, Old Age Psychiatry, Psychological and Therapy Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Alcohol and Drug Services. With this in mind it has been proposed that the membership reflects these changes and the task of the newly proposed Secretariat will be to review and update the current constitution and to develop an action plan for future pieces of work. The Charity, which currently has two representatives on the current Steering Group will join other stakeholders at an initial workshop on the 14th November.
TREASURERS REPORT