Powys Patients' Council is a voluntary organisation committed to giving a voice to Powys residents wherever they are offered aculte mental health services. 

We hold regular, patient-only meetings which give people an opportunity to express their views on the services they receive. These views are then passed on anonymously to staff so that solutions can be found.

We currently hold ward visits at Bronllys Hospital in South Powys and at Shelton Hospital (just over the border in Shrewsbury, England) in the North. The Powys Patients' Council does not deal directly with specialist or individual issues, but works by referral to the advocacy service to ensure that patients receive the support they need.

The Alliance provides direction and support to Powys Patients' Council by :

• Overseeing the arrangement of ward visits.
• Co-ordinating feedback to the hospital staff.
• Providing support to the volunteers who form the team.

Since October 2010 we have welcomed two new volunteers to the team. Greg and Janet's input has been vital to the work of the Patients' Council. They join Kelvin, who has been involved in the Patients' Council right from the beginning. 

New volunteer Janet Hopkins says "I’ve been a patient within the mental health service for many years.  I’ve been diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder since 1997 although I am no longer on any medication for it because I choose to self-monitor my ‘illness’.

I started to volunteer for Powys Patients' Council in December 2010. I heard about the Patients' Council through the Independent Advocacy Service from the Community Health Council. This is where I was encouraged to join the PPC as I took a great interest in learning about the mental health system. My knowledge up until December 2011 was self-taught as I had purchased my own books and magazines, gone to libraries and used the internet. I believe joining the PPC has enabled me to learn more about mental health law as it has given me opportunities to receive training that I would not have had if I was just a patient.

I hope I can be of good help to in-patients, as I have experienced what it is like to be in hospital myself."

We are the longest running Patients' Council model in the UK and hope to continue to provide this opportunity for participation for a long time to come. To make sure we are doing the best job we possibly can, we recently reviewed the progress of the Patients' Council to identify the ways in which we could improve.

The following changes are being made as a result:

• We are improving our feedback system to ensure that patients' views are heard by hospital managers and adequate time is given to discussing possible solutions.
• We identified training needs and recently had a training session with a mental health advocate to improve our understanding of advocacy.
• We are planning further traiing on subjects such as active listening skills, facilitation, and areas of relevant law.
• We updated our publicity materials and introduced feedback forms for the patients to report back anonymously on their ward experience.

The Stronger in Partnership network has offered us support through its commitment to involve people with lived experience of mental distress in the planning, deisng, delivery and evaluation of mental health services.

The network can offer potential solutions to problems that may be outside the control of hospital staff, for example, by looking into alternative ways of accessing resources, or simply by sharing the skills and expertise that are so often found when working in parternship with like-minded people.

Would you like to hear more about the work of Powys Patients' Council?

If you are interested in volunteering with us or would like to be added to the mailing list to receive the minutes from our meetings, please contact Eleanor Barrow - eleanorbarrow@gmail.com or on 07712 107 211.

Powys Patients' Council flier - English

Powys Patients' Council flier - Welsh

PPC feedback form - English

PCC feedback form - Welsh

October 2011 minutes

September 2011 minutes

A summary of a report into patients' experiences of the First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health).