News

 

  • The Delivering Race Equality Mental Wellbeing Roadshow will be present at the following upcoming events:

    - Gypsy & Traveller History Month Event on 1st July 2010
    at the Butterfly Project, Old Bowling Green, 75A Rosehill Street, Derby DE23 8FZ

    - Derby Caribbean Carnival on 18th July 2010
    at Osmaston Park, Derby

    There will be displays, traditional cooking, music, dance and information stalls.  There is no need to book, just come along and bring your service users, carers and anyone you think would benefit from this event.  For more information, click here or email cheryl.mason@sdvsmhf.org.uk or call 01773 599995.
  • Our Annual General Meeting will be on Tuesday 6th July 2010 from 2pm to 4pm at YMCA Derbyshire (click to reveal a map), 770 London Road, Derby DE24 8UT.  We will be joined by Paul Rowlands from Derbyshire Mental Health Services Trust who is a Consultant Psychiatrist and the Darzi Lead for Derbyshire (clinical lead for mental health).  His presentation is entitled 'Working Together to Improve Mental Health Outcomes"

    The Agenda for the meeting is available here and the flyer is here.  Please return your reply slips to confirm you attendance or send your apologies to cheryl.mason@sdvsmhf.org.uk or telephone 01773 599995 if you are unable to attend.  We hope to see you there! 

  • Derbyshire Mind in partnership with Kaleidoscope are, once again, offering free singing workshops (in May and June) and drumming workshops (throughout July).  For more information, click on the links or email sinead.dalton@derbyshiremind.org.uk.

  • Relate Derby have some new leaflets and posters which promote and inform on a range of Relate's services.   To order a supply, please email bev.miller@btconnect.com or call 01332 349177.  Additionally, the Relate for Parents website has recently been launched at www.relateforparents.org.uk.

  • Connect 4 the Newsletter of the Southern Derbyshire Health & Social Care Forum is available here.   

  • The DCAN Newsletter Issue 22 is available here.

  • A new 'Directory of Venues' has been developed by Links: the Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire Council for Voluntary Service and Action Limited (CVS).  This really useful resource provides information on meeting/ training venues in Derbyshire.  If you would like to add any venues to the directory, please email linkscvs@btconnect.com

  • The first Countywide Joint Meeting with SDVSMHF and NDVA members was held on the 30th March 2010 at the Coney Green Business Centre in Chesterfield. The meeting included a presentation from Sharon Lovell on Suicide Awareness Training and we were joined by Derby County Commissioners, David Gardener and Georgina Horobin. 

    You can see Sharon's Powerpoint presentation here and if you would like to view to the 'Update on Suicide in the East Midlands', please click here.
  • The Mental Health Strategic Partnership Group have now agreed the revised structure for engagement between Derbyshire County PCT commissioners and the mental health voluntary sector.  Please click here for a copy of the new structure.
  • The latest copy of Mhag-zine is available here
  • The County Council has recently developed its draft Council Plan 2010-2014 and it is available here. 

  • Walkabout Issue 6, the bulletin for the East Midlands Development Centre, is available here.  Past issues can be found here.

  • The Derbyshire Disability Action Network (DDAN) Newsletter, Issue 1, is available here. 

  • Count Me In 2009  The results of the 2009 national census of inpatients and patients on supervised community treatment in mental health and learning difficulties services in England and Wales.

    The full report can be found here.

  • Issue 6 of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) bulletin produced by and specifically for the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in Derbyshire can be found here.

  • The Department of Health has issued new guidance to Primary Care Trusts stressing the importance of grant funding to charities.  The guidance says it is a common misunderstanding that the move towards increased procurement and contracting means there is no longer a role for grants.  It says contracts "should not inappropriately replace grant funding" and grants are particularly appropriate for organisations that care for people with long-term conditions.

    To view the document, please click here.
  • “New Horizons” final policy document has now been released This document will form the basis for mental health care for the next ten years.
    The Department of Health states: New Horizons is a cross-government programme of action with the twin aims to:

    • improve the mental health and well-being of the population
    • improve the quality and accessibility of services for people with poor mental health.

    New Horizons sets out an intention across a wide range of agencies to move towards a society where people understand that their mental well-being is as important as their physical health if they are to live their lives to the full. It describes some of the factors that affect well-being and some everyday strategies for preserving and boosting it. It also sets out the benefits, including economic benefits, of doing so.

    Please click here for full document.  Alternatively please visit www.dh.co.uk


  • A summary of changes to direct payments - What is changing? From 9 November 2009, important changes will take place. New regulations will extend the direct payments scheme to people who lack the capacity to consent, and to people with mental health problems who are subject to mental health and certain criminal justice legislation. Guidance for councils on direct payments has been updated to reflect these changes.

    For more information click here

  • ACEVO announce the winners of Full Cost Recovery Awards - June 19, 2009- ACEVO are delighted to announce Southern Derbyshire Voluntary Sector Mental Health Forum (SDVSMHF) as the winner of ACEVO’s Full Cost Recovery Awards.

    ACEVO launched its Full Cost Recovery programme in 2006. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the programme has resulted in 15,000 front line third sector organisations being trained in the principles and methodology of Full Cost Recovery.

    SDVSMHF were found to have tailored the training extremely effectively, catering for the regional and sub sector’s needs. By training commissioners alongside third sector organisations, SDVSMHF gave both parties the opportunity to share their concerns over how full cost recovery principles would work in practice and to suggest mutual solutions.

    For more information click here
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2008 Annual General Meeting

The Forum held its 7th Annual General Meeting in The Bridge Centre at Langley Mill on Tuesday 15th July 2008.

Once again, it was a hot and humid day for our Annual General Meeting but, despite this, there was a good attendance of Forum members, perhaps attracted by the wonderful selection of home made cakes.















Sumptuous cakes supplied by The Bridge Centre

















Angela Kerry prepares to present the 2007-2008 Annual Report and Business Update


A new Executive Committee was elected for the next twelve months. Existing Committee members Mark Simms (P3), Audrey Essex (British Red Cross), Dorothy Lane (Amber Trust), Christine Lawrence (2Care Trevayler) and Kathy Kozlowski (Amber Trust) will be joined by Sam Smith (P3) who will replace Dale Wilkins as Treasurer, Rachel Boden (Life Matters) and James Lee (Derbyshire Chinese Welfare Association). This means that the committee will achieve full capacity again this year and we look forward to a productive year’s work together.

The meeting also received presentations on the Annual Report, Business Plan Update and Annual Accounts.

The meeting ended with a presentation from Nick Whitehead of Derbyshire LINk entitled "Local Involvement Networks - Working in Partnership Presentation." Please click here if you would like a copy of this presentation.

If you would like more information about Forum Meetings or a copy of the 2007-2008 Annual Report
 Independent examiners report on the account,
 Page 2
Page 3
 Page 4
Business Plan Update
click on the links or contact cheryl.mason@sdvsmhf.org.uk





Changes to Voluntary Sector Involvement in Mental Health Planning Structures – We Need Your Views

Mental Health Strategic Commissioning Group (MHSCG)

A proposal was put to the July meeting of Derbyshire Mental Health Strategic Commissioning Group suggesting a radical shake-up in the way that partners are involved in the planning and commissioning of mental health services in Derbyshire.

The proposal followed on from a previous meeting of the MHSCG which examined the functions of the group, but was also influenced by Primary Care Trust re-organisation and government guidelines for commissioning.

The paper is linked for information.

The main proposal from this paper was to split the current MHSCG into two – to separate the Strategic and Commissioning functions of the group. This was agreed.

Voluntary sector (along with other service providers) will no longer be involved with commissioning of services. These decisions will be taken by commissioners, users and carer organisations.

All current partners - including the voluntary sector - will be part of Strategy development and this will be overseen by a group which meets three times a year, and organises and participates in the annual stakeholder event.

Two requests were made; that Supporting People commissioners are asked to join the Strategic level group, and that mechanisms are put in place to ensure that those people at the commissioning table are completely independent of provider arms of the same organisations.

Review of Existing Sub-Groups of Mental Health Strategic Commissioning Group

Alongside the above proposal was a document reviewing the sub-groups of MHSCG. This has been prepared by commissioners, and we were told that groups affected have been consulted.

Click HERE to see this document. The impact of the recommendations for the voluntary sector in this report is mainly focussed upon the proposal to disband locality Mental Health Forums in the county (the City Mental Health Forum would remain.) Due to the short notice period in receiving this report, the Voluntary Sector Liaison Officer had not been able to consult SDVSMHF membership about their views on this proposal, or to speak directly to all voluntary sector representatives on Locality Mental Health Forums. We were however assured at the meeting that all Locality Forums had been consulted on this proposal at meetings.

Given this uncertainty, a request was made by voluntary sector, user and carer representatives to consult with our constituencies on the implications of the disbanding of locality based Mental Health Forums. We have been asked to report back on this consultation at the next Strategic Level group meeting on 23rd October 2008.

SDVSMHF will consult in two ways – by questionnaire and by discussion at our next Forum meeting in September.

I am therefore linking a short questionnaire about your involvement and opinion on Locality Mental Health Forums, which I would ask you to return to the Voluntary Sector Liaison Officer by Monday 1st September 2008. We will then use these results to inform further discussion about our response at the SDVSMHF meeting on 9th September 2008, to which you are also welcome to contribute.

Please note that separate arrangements will be made by user and carer organisations to consult with their membership on this issue, so this response focuses on the views of voluntary sector service providing organisations.







Derbyshire Funding Information Service

Helping to find funding for your voluntary or community group

If you are a voluntary organisation, charity or community group, Derbyshire 4 funding is a new, free service to help you search for sources of funding for your organisation, venture or project.

Derbyshire 4 Funding is an online database containing details of over 4,300 funding schemes and information on over 4,500 trust funds. This information is continuously researched and updated, and has a number of useful features for the local fundraiser. These include:

    * A dedicated “Local Support” section useful to those wanting to know about local grant makers and support organisations

    * The latest published information on national government, trust and lottery funding

    * An easy to use print function for detailed grant information

    * Advice on how to write successful funding applications provided by Funder Finder

    * Free online access to the Funder Finder list of trusts

    * An A-Z guide to funding jargon

Derbyshire 4 Funding has been set up as a partnership project between voluntary sector umbrella bodies in Derbyshire (for example your local CVS and the Rural Community Council) and funded through ChangeUp, the government initiative to improve the quality of support that frontline voluntary and community groups can access.

Please click on the link to go the the site.

derbyshire4funding.info

June 2007
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Opportunities for Volunteering Funding
Local community organisations in England with plans to involve service users or ex-service users as volunteers in the delivery of health and social care projects could benefit from the latest funding round from the Opportunities for Volunteering Scheme. See the Volunteering England website

www.volunteering.org.uk and follow the 'Apply for funding' link.

The focus of the new programme on working with service users may make this round of funding of specific interest to mental health organisations.

The Volunteering England guidance states:

All applicants for the 2006-2009 funding round must involve services users or ex-service users as volunteers. This can include:

  • an organisation’s existing or ex-service users volunteering to support other service users OR
  • people who have previously used similar services in one organisation volunteering to support another organisation’s service-users.

    All the volunteers must be existing or ex-service users and they must volunteer to support users of similar services. For example:

  • mental health service users volunteering to support other mental health service users
  • survivors of domestic violence volunteering to support those experiencing domestic violence.

    Organisations that apply for funds must be separately constituted organisations. They cannot be in receipt of an Opportunities for Volunteering Grant from another body, or in the process of making an application to another body. (there are 16 national bodies that administer Opportunities for Volunteering grants, including National Mind.)

    The project applied for must be new or significantly new.

    A proportion of funds will be targeted at projects that benefit:
  • Women
  • Lesbians, gay men or bisexuals
  • People living in rural communities
  • Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities including refugees and asylum seekers. Volunteering England particularly encouragse BME-led organisations to apply.

    Grants range from £10,000 to £35,000 per year over three years. Competition is fierce, and there is a closing date for preliminary applications of Monday 18th July 2005.



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    January 2009
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