This was the first meeting since October 2002, and was well attended. It is now two years since CMHF was formed.

The sad passing of Pete Shaughnessy was acknowledged, and Jan had some copies of the Big Issues article that was written about him. A memorial event may be happening in the summer, and there is to be an inquest into the circumstances of his death in April.

There had been a book reading at Calder’s bookshop by Jason Pegler from his book "A can of madness: autobiography on living with manic depression", which is published by Chipmunk Publishing. Chipmunk Publishing are apparently keen to publish material written by service users. The book "The world is full of laughter" by Dolly Sen was also recommended.

A ward round code of practice has been developed in North West London NHS Trust through service user input. Users involved recently presented the code of practice to the all-parliamentary group on mental health, and next month will be presenting their work at a conference in Melbourne.

The Maudsley Debate on Wednesday 29^th January: "Schizophrenia: the ultimate delusion?" Supporting the motion that schizophrenia does not exist will be Professor Jim Van Os and Richard Bentall; opposing the motion will be Dr. Peter McKenna & Professor Anthony David.

At 6pm at the Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill. Refreshments from 5.30pm.

For more info. - 0207 848 0787

Audiotapes of previous Maudsley Debates can be obtained for £20 each from the Media Support Unit at the Maudsley.

The organisation "Justice for Patients" are organising a conference on Human Rights and the NHS, with emphasis on the draft Mental Health Bill. This is going to be held on Friday 21^st March, at the GLA building, City Hall. It will probably run from 10am – 4pm, but times are not yet confirmed. They are negotiating on price, but hoping that conference attendance will be free. If you are interested, contact Laura on 0208 761 1625 for more information and to register.

10^th April – conference about setting up Hearing Voices groups. More info to follow.

The Critical Psychiatry annual conference will be on Friday 13^th June, all day, at the Church House, Westminster. Speakers will include David Smail, Rufus May, Valerie Sinason, Joe Berke and others…

ISPS are holding a conference on 26^th June at Bart’s Hospital. More info to follow.

• It was discussed whether we should introduce ourselves at CMHF meetings. On the whole, people were not in favour of this, preferring not to identify ourselves and each other with particular roles, such as service user or health professional. There was a concern that this could potentially be restrictive.
• It was decided that there should be a rotating chair for the CMHF meetings.
• Janet kindly offered to take over the room booking from Kerry.
• An initial small group has been set up to come up with some ideas for topics for the next few meetings. The idea being that the members of this small group will change every 3 – 4 months, so there will be a variety of people involved and it will not be a lifelong commitment! Also, people from outside the small group who have ideas can e-mail any ideas in.

1. When people with mental health problems get caught up in the criminal justice system
2. What helps people stay well, sharing positive experiences
3. Discussion of the NICE guidelines on self-harm

• The function of the group was discussed. Many people are keen for CMHF to build on its campaigning role, but people also value the group as a space to think and debate issues as well.

Simon Foster, a solicitor from MIND, led an interesting talk on the Human Rights Act and how it relates to mental health legislation and practice. He manages the legal unit at MIND, which gives advice to service users, professionals and lawyers. See MIND legal briefing on Human Rights Act 1998

Monday 17^th February. Mike to chair. Topic to be decided. Any ideas for topics for this meeting and future meetings, please e-mail Louisa: Louisa.Mackrell@slam.nhs.uk

Please note this meeting is on a Monday (this is due to a room not being available on the Wednesday).

Agenda item: The small group rota for deciding meeting topics

Wednesday 19^th March. Robin to chair. Topic to be decided.