National Service Users Executive - Supporting your Vision

NSUE stance on amendment of the 2001 Mental Health Act in relation to the administration of Electro-convulsive therapy.

In summary the NSUE position is this:

The phrase 'or unwilling" should be removed altogether, and strong capacity legislation introduced as a matter of urgency in order to protect those who are unable to make decisions for themselves.  This conclusion is inescapable if the European Court of Human Rights decisions are to be upheld, which ireland is bound to do.

See the full text in the Documents Section of this website.

(It is interesting that after the NSUE position became known, both the Mental Health Commission and Amnesty Ireland make their positions public.  Both of these followed closely the NSUE stance.  Indeed, the Mental Health Commission asked NSUE to bring thier postion to the Oireactas during the NSUE presentation.  Isn't it good to hve an organisation that is not afraid to lead the way.)

The following were elected as the Western representatives to the Executive.

Angela Dooley (Panel B -Family member/Friend), Michael Kilgannon, Susan Morley and Barry Buckley (Panel A - Service User)

 Vision for Change which is the document which explains National Mental Health Policy, describes an inclusive model, which envisages that:

In order for this to happen, service users and their families, friends and carers must have a means of becoming actively involved in this process. The National Service Users Executive has been established in order to make progress on this commitment.

We cannot do this properly without the support of individuals who know, from their everyday experiences, what works best for them.

Elsewhere on this site, you can find information on the background to the establishment of NSUE and other sections where we try to give as much information as we can about the issues that we feel are important.

We also need your feedback on what else you feel is important, and you can register as a member (it's free) so that we can hear your views and respond to them as best we can.

We believe in accountability at all levels and every member will get a chance to vote for people who they believe will represent their views most closely. In this way, we can help the government's vision fit more closely the vision of all those who care about improving mental health services, promoting recovery and active citizenship, and having their hopes and ideas included.

If you don't wish to become a voting member, then we hope that you will find this site a help, support and source of inspiration.