Open Minds

Would you like to have more of a say in how we run your local mental health services? We're looking for members of the community to sit on our council of governors and help us to shape the future of our services. Please see below dates of our upcoming information sessions and let us know if you'd like to come along.

Are you going to this year's London Mela? It's Europe's largest outdoor, south Asian festival and is being held in Gunnersbury Park on Sunday 1 September. We'll be there recruiting new members and talking to people about mental health, come and say Hi!

Ruby Wax, another celebrity who is helping to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Talking, drinking tea and changing lives, doesn't sound like a bad combination!

Did you see Hilary Devey on the Million Pound Drop? She won £50,000 for the Carers Trust! We're sure that such a generous donation will go towards helping and supporting many carers. Well done Hilary!

Julian Golley, a Commonwealth gold medal winner and Olympian attended our male inpatient sports day. He spoke to service users about the challenges he faced and the commitment and determination it took to help him achieve his goals in life.

Service users in our Tony Hillis Wing are getting ready for a sports day on Friday with a special guest appearance from Julien Golley, Olympian and Commonwealth gold medal winner. We're all looking forward to hearing his inspirational story.

We're delighted for Kate and William on the birth of their new baby boy. Unfortunatly, many new mothers experience ill mental health during and after their pregnancies. We're proud to offer a perinatal psychiatry service at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital so support women needing specialist mental health services during pregnancy and birth. Read more in this sneak preview of our forthcoming magazine, Mental Health Matters.

Thanks to Tea & Talk for this great picture! When was last time you asked someone how they were feeling?
If you like tea and want to talk, make sure you give these guys a like and keep up to date with their events.

Amazing figures to show that people are starting to talk about mental health. Help put and end to the stigma and ask someone how they are. Everyone has a part to play in making the change.

If you would like to know more about the redevelopment of Broadmoor Hospital then head over to the Morgan Centre, Wellington Road, Crowthorne, RG45 7LD on Thursday 25 July at 7.30pm.
A special presentation will held with a scale model of the expansion, talks on how the redevelopment will impact the local economy, employment, public safety and changes to the community from now until 2017.
Guest speakers include:
... Steve Shrubb, chief executive, West London Mental Health Trust Leeanne McGee, director of high secure services at Broadmoor Vivienne Mowatt, Broadmoor program director
This is an opportunity to meet and ask questions of the people who are helping to redevelop this very important facility.
See More

The Depressed Cake Shop is a unique pop up shop where every cake sold will be grey, colour will only be revealed once you've taken a bite! Opening in London on the 2 - 4 August in Suzzle, 47 Brick Lane, the pop up store aims to provide a unique platform to raise awareness and generate disucssion abour mental health issues whilst trying to raise funds for charity. We can't wait to get our hands on a yummy grey cake!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/…/can-baking- improve-mental-healt…

We're really proud of staff from our Hounslow services who were described in a recent CQC report as being "skilled and competent to make sure patients received safe and appropriate care and flexible to ensure that people had positive outcomes". The report also included great feedback from young people who said they were "listened to, treated with dignity and respect". A big congratulations to all involved.
http://www.wlmht.nhs.uk/…/patients-prai se-staff-in-hounslo…/

We love this story about Kaspa the labrador being trained to help those suffering with dementia.
http://www.independent.co.uk/…/uks-firs t-dementia-dog-gives…

http://ow.ly/i/2vTfW we love this picture which represents what should always be at the heart of #mentalhealthnursing

Yesterday we had an inspirational meeting with a service user from our womens ward who is working to create and launch our new service user and carer newsletter. We've been lucky to have a sneak preview of the first edition and it already looks amazing, we can't wait to see the finished magazine!

Last weekend we officially opened a new shop and picture framing unit which provides better work opportunitites for service users. Come and check out the community shop at 134-136 The Broadway, West Ealing, W13 0TL.