Separate regional meetings for users and carers are held quarterly. Delegates attend on behalf of their partnership user or carer groups and they provide updates to the NTA team on current issues from their areas. The groups provide a forum where delegates share best practice, provide support to new groups and improve interaction with partnerships. The NTA uses this opportunity to highlight current work programmes and to notify users and carers of any projects that would benefit from their involvement. This ensures that both users' and carers' input into national and local programmes is enhanced and that they receive feedback on current research findings.

External partners are often invited by the groups to deliver presentations on themes of importance to the network members and past topics have included hepatitis C, preventing drug-related deaths and housing.

The past few years have seen a positive growth in the number of user involvement groups and family/carer networks and the NTA expects users and carers to be part of planning, commissioning and treatment monitoring at a partnership level.

Further details can be obtained by contacting Liz Butcher, Deputy Regional Manager.

Service users promote recovery through film
Wasted Years, filmed on location in Doncaster, involved current and ex service users in the planning, filming and production of the film. Read more.