Chelmsford For Families: The 555 Project - Essex Mental Health Services

Each year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. For Essex, that’s around 375,000 people - enough to fill Colchester Stadium over 300 times.

But what do people think of the mental health service they get?

And what can we learn from their experiences to help services improve?

The ‘555’ project is an exciting piece of work to make the voice of Essex mental health services users heard by the people who commission the service. It’s run jointly by patient voice organisation Healthwatch Essex and disability organisation ecdp.

Demand for services is rising and financial cutbacks are increasing, so mental health services face a real challenge. How best should they spend their budget to improve the lives of service users in Essex? Listening to today’s service users can help shape some of tomorrow’s solutions.

Over the summer, we are running five focus groups all around Essex to gather the lived experience of mental health services. We’d like to hear from as many people as possible. From people who may only have used the service once to be referred for counseling, to those who regularly receive care in the community, or those who have experienced care as a mental health in-patient in a hospital. We’re also interested in people’s experiences of specific conditions, such as post-natal depression. We’ll use these focus groups to develop a picture of where mental health services are working well in the county, and where they could be better.

Join a focus group

Stansted
Stansted Holiday Inn Express, London Stansted Airport, Thremhall Avenue, Essex CM24 1PY
Tuesday 19 August 2014, 6pm-8pm. Refreshments from 5pm.
This group will focus on people who have used secondary mental health services. Secondary (or 'acute') care is the healthcare that people receive in hospital or in the vicinity of hospitals.

Braintree
Braintree Town Hall, Market Square, Braintree, Essex CM7 3YG
Wednesday 20 August 2014, 6pm-8pm. Refreshments from 5pm.
This group will focus on people who have used natal mental health services, during or after pregnancy.

Rayleigh
The Mill Arts and Events Centre, Bellingham Lane, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 7ED
Thursday 21 August 2014, 6pm-8pm. Refreshments from 5pm.
This group will focus on people who have used secondary mental health services. Secondary (or 'acute') care is the healthcare that people receive in hospital or in the vicinity of hospitals.

Clacton-on-Sea
Essex Hall - Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 1SE
Tuesday 26 August 2014, 6pm-8pm. Refreshments from 5pm.
This group will focus on people who have used primary care mental health services. Primary care is the local healthcare that we receive from GPs, NHS walk-in centres and includes IAPT services.

Brentwood
Brentwood Theatre, 15 Shenfield Road, Brentwood, Essex CM15 8AG
Wednesday 27 August 2014, 6pm-8pm. Refreshments from 5pm.
This group will focus on people who have used primary care mental health services. Primary care is the local healthcare that we receive from GPs, NHS walk-in centres and includes IAPT services.

We can support travel costs if necessary.