Capturing the views of carers to help with mental health service improvement

Whilst cruising the twitter highway I came across this article from the Wesley Mission ‘Mental Health: national study reveals that family carers carry long term cost’

Below is a section from the report:

‘It also recommends that professionals are not only informed about the experiences of the patient but also about the experiences of the family in the caring role. This could be implemented in the workplace and during the tertiary training of health, teaching and allied professionals, by ensuring a working understanding of appropriate responses.

Frontline service providers should be aware of family and carer needs as they treat a person with a mental health issue and facilitate appropriate support and responses.

“Wesley Mission asks both state and federal governments to ensure the capacity of intervention and respite services so that all carers have access to visible and culturally appropriate support when it is needed,” Dr Garner said. “We also recommend greater cross-centre information sharing to provide more effective care for both caregivers and those in their care.”

It relates to Patient Opinion and how our platform can assist mental health professions see through the eyes of a carer to help improve services and support for carers. They play such an important role in caring for loved ones and are often not recognised or paid as well as some health professionals even though as a carer their job is often a 24hrs 7days a week.

If you are a carer or know someone who would like to share their experience on Patient Opinion we (and the Australian public) would love to hear from you so we can help get your story to the right people and let others see through your eyes what it is really like to be a carer.

One thing is for sure on Patient Opinion you will be heard.