Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Morningside Terrace
Edinburgh
EH10 5HF
Fax: 0131 537 6409
This is a significant time for advocacy in Scotland, as the implementation of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act gives every person with a mental health difficulty, learning disability or personality disorder the right to access advocacy services.
The Patients’ Council aims to give people a voice in situations where they may feel disempowered and isolated. As a collective, it can represent the views of patients from a position of strength. It also provides support when people are in psychiatric hospital and might find it helpful to come to a group which safeguards their interests.
There are a number of ways to access the Patients’ Council and these are designed to ensure that as many people as possible are included and can take part:
• Open meetings (six each year) where people bring concerns, raise issues and elect representatives
• Informal ‘drop-in’ sessions
• Regular newsletters, reports and information
• Small groups for patients in various venues around the hospital
• Workshops on topics of interest in mental health
• Joint working partnerships with the hospital and with Napier University
If you would like to know more about the Patients, Council, including how to join it or to support its work, please contact Maggie McIvor.
Click here to read the Patients' Council aims and objectives
The Patients’ Council is a registered charity - Scottish Charity No: SC021800