Mental health

UNISON is at the forefront of campaigns to highlight issues affecting those working within mental health. We campaign to ensure that the unprecedented changes that are happening within mental health services in England do not adversely affect our members.

We do this through direct input from our members via our mental health forum. UNISON's mental health forum is a long-established group that reports directly to UNISON's nursing sector. The mental health forum concerns itself with all aspects of mental health, including issues affecting mental health workers (the care provider) to those affecting users. The forum helps to influence UNISON’s policy decisions and campaign issues.

UNISON also ensures that our members are able to feed into Department of Health consultations affecting mental health services. We recently responded to the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s review of mental health nursing. Forum members give advice and comments on discussions and consultations. The forum works closely with the nursing sector developing policy and mental health strategy. Via the nursing sector, the mental health forum is able to influence and shape the NHS framework for mental health. The forum aims to be proactive and innovative in the widest sense, and has a seat at many board levels in various organisations with an interest in mental health.

UNISON is involved in establishing the National Mental Health Nursing Conference. This conference offers mental health employees a unique opportunity to share information and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing those working within mental health. UNISON also works closely with the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) on standards of care and issues such as violence within mental health.

The forum is going from strength to strength. All elected members have a strong mental health background and are committed to seeing through the changes that will help those with mental health problems and those who care for them.

An important objective of the government is to enable people with mental health issues to make the most of their abilities in society, and that includes the workplace too. In order to do this, mental health care providers will play an essential role.

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