Task Group Questions Mental Care

Members of a Devon County Council task group want to hear from people who have had experience of mental health care and support in the community.

The task group, which is part of the council’s health overview/scrutiny committee, is investigating whether local community-based services are adequate to supportpeople and deliver the care and treatment that they need.

Chairman of the group, Cllr Stuart Barker, said: “We are not questioning the principle of supporting people in the community, but we do want to look at the support available to people with mental health needs and their carers and assure ourselves that it is adequate and an appropriate alternative to care in an inpatient setting, such as a psychiatric hospital.

“We would like to hear from service users, families and carers who have had recent experience of the local mental health care system, particularly those people that are now receiving support in the community but were formerly being treated in some form of residential setting. We want to ask them what support they are getting from the agencies concerned, and what support they’d like if they’re not already getting it.”