With the rallying call of 'action, not words', local stakeholders led by users and carers have agreed a set of five priorities for public action in Middlesbrough over the coming six months.

The Open Forum was highlighted in local media and through posters and MHID Director Ray Rowden was interviewed live on Radio Cleveland to promote the event.

In the coming weeks an Action Group of over 30 people representing a wide range of stakeholder groups will be taking action to make change happen in Middlesbrough. Action will include lobbying, campaigning, events and service development.

The event was supported by the Mayor of Middlesbrough Ray Mallon and the new Chief Executive of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust. Both emphasised the need for services and organisation to listen more to the concerns and experiences of people at the grassroots and to recognise the expertise of the service user and carer.

The five issues are:

PRIORITY ONE: To raise awareness and education about mental health and the service user perspective with employers, GPs, young people, schools and other stakeholders in Middlesbrough

PRIORITY TWO: To improve the effectiveness, accountability and potential of the Local Implementation Team (LIT) for mental health by empowering service users and family members to have a stronger voice and real participation in the decisions of the LIT and the evaluation of the effectiveness of its work.

PRIORITY THREE: To work with employers and stakeholders to develop more employment for people who use mental health services to deliver real jobs and real pay

PRIORITY FOUR: To empower users through more effective relationships with professionals that can deliver what the user actually wants. To rethink the person-centred approach to make sure that professionals are properly trained and skilled to empower people and that interventions and support are based on the service users reality and personal experiences.

PRIORITY FIVE: To create a strong user led project in Middlesbrough that demonstrates that real user involvement is possible and to inspire the community to see mental health in positive new ways.