Central Auckland 4U Forum, 28 February 2007

 "When I arrived I thought ‘here we go again, it's someone telling US about mental health' but WOW I was pleasantly surprised, and also challenged by what I saw and heard. I felt listened to and I will definitely have a closer look at the Te Pou website and follow Te Pou work closely" - Forum visitor

The first of our Auckland forums had a cordial, neighbourly feel to it, and the warmth in the room made up for the Auckland rain. For the first time allied health staff attended a 4U forum; we welcomed a number of occupational therapists and social workers.

The day drew some excellent and well-informed feedback, so much so that we have drawn up quite an extensive list of their needs and desires:

• MH-SMART to keep reminding clinicians about the utility of information being collected, and linking the information to the "big picture" and other information collection initiatives, eg, KPP and KPI.

• Supporting both families and family advisors.

• Train staff on how to work effectively with families.

• Develop links with the Support Workers Association of NZ (SWANZ).

• More solution-focussed therapies, eg, CBT/psychological therapies.

• Models of practice that are family inclusive.

• How to implement training initiatives effectively back in the workplace.

• Developing career pathways for support workers.

• Challenges of the HPCA Act and the NGO sector and related funding aspects.

• Undergraduate nurse training needs more service user involvement.

• Review the content of postgraduate nurse training.

• Develop an awareness of Asian mental health issues.

• Grow the capacity in the Asian mental health workforce.

• Raise awareness of mental health among Asian communities.

• There is an interest in the creation of networks (activities at both organisational level for NGOs and PHOs, and individual occupational groups) to share ideas and provide avenues for joint venture and innovation.

• A significant interest in our Wings Innovation Fund.

• Te Pou staff available to talk to organisational groups about the bigger picture.

• Mechanisms for facilitating cross-organisational development.

• Development of generic management tools and templates to make life easier, reduce administrative burden and allow managers to better concentrate on core business activity.

 

 

 

Page last updated: 9 March 2009