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Tony Russell is co-director of Breakthrough, an independent organisation offering a service user perspective to qualitative research and training.

Viewpoint

Health services in general have taken a bit of a battering recently, and mental health services are not immune from criticism. The fact that you still have to wait nine months for cognitive

behavioural therapy in my part of South Yorkshire proves there is still much to done.

I have said it before, and make no apologies for repeating it; the rhetoric does not match the reality when it comes to the provision of mental health services in some parts of the country. Since I last wrote for Mental Health Today in the November/December 2012 issue, two of the people I considered to be supportive of mental health services have left the National Commissioning Board, Jim Easton and Ian Dalton. The NHS can ill afford to lose people like them who have vast experience.

Nevertheless, there is much to be positive about and I look forward to the future with a fair degree of optimism. A few months ago, I listened to a speech by Norman Lamb, and for the first time in a long time I thought that at last we have a minister with a genuine commitment to mental health. In my book, Commons People, I say that you should judge an MP by the sincerity of their actions: I believe in Lamb we have a sincere champion of the mental health cause.

I am also optimistic because this year will see the re-launch of The National Positive Practice in Mental Health Awards. Thanks to the support of Roche we are able to bring back this celebration of all thats positive in mental health after an absence of far too many years. This comes at a time when a positive approach has never been needed more, as services come under so much more pressure thanks to the recession and the constant increasing pressures on the NHS and those working within it.

Also partnering us at Breakthrough in the awards are: The NHS Confederation, NHS Employers, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, The Mental Health Network and The Mental Health Foundation, with the ceremony taking place on Thursday, December 5 in Sheffield.

There are 12 awards in total. Three are aimed at individuals: lifetime achievement, making a difference, and mental health leader. The other nine are for teams/services: mental health and criminal justice; mental health and primary care; innovative services; partnership working; dementia care; patient experience; art, health and mental wellbeing; commissioning for outcomes; and caring for the emotional health and mental wellbeing of staff.

The awards are open to those working in the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors as well as those using services and caring for those who do. Judging panels will be made up of people working in and using statutory and voluntary services, and will be co-ordinated by Breakthrough.

Judges will include: Mike Farrar CBE, NHS Confederation; Paul Farmer, Mind; Charles Walker MP; Damian Hebron, London Arts in Health Forum; Professor Andre Tylee, Kings College London; Steph Palmerone, Barchester; Nicky Morgan MP; Victoria Bleazard, Rethink Mental Illness; Stuart Bell CBE, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Professor Louis Appleby, University of Manchester; Dean Royles, NHS Employers; Simon Barber and Duncan Barber, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust; Andrew McCulloch, Mental Health Foundation; Professor Heather Tierney-Moore, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust; Martin Barkley, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation Trust; Stephen Sandford, South West London & St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust, Linda Stewart, Mental Health Strategy.

The application process is simple and can be accessed through the website www.positivepracticeinmh.com. Alternatively, if you are unable to complete the process through the internet, please print a copy of the form off and return it to us full contact details are listed on the website. The closing date is June 7.

Too often we have a tendency to concentrate on how much progress is still to be made and what is wrong with mental health services. This is an opportunity for a celebration of all that is positive in mental health across the country, and believe me, there are some truly inspirational people working really hard out there!

All positive practice identified through this process, be it the work of individuals or teams, will be highlighted on the website, as well as the work of all shortlisted and winning entries being disseminated through the NHS Confederation and NHS Employers networks and through a celebratory learning publication.

So please support us in our wish to celebrate the positive in mental health, and get involved by volunteering as a judge, submitting your practice or nominating a special individual.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n p l e a s e e m a i l breakthroughmh@hotmail.co.uk, contact us through www.positivepracticeinmh.com, or follow us on Twitter at @PositivePracti1. n

All too often people focus on what is wrong with mental health services, so it is time to celebrate the great practice that is out there, says Tony Russell

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