What ISU does
ISU publish a quarterly progress report which contains details of ISU's work over the last quarter, in particular service user attendance at key meetings in Norfolk. It includes reports from service users who have been involved in a variety of ways, influencing services locally.

This report is sent out to both service users and to the managers of local services, including Norfolk Primary Care Trust and Norfolk Adult Social Services directorates. Thus ISU endeavors to pass views back to the managers within Norfolk’s mental health care services, both statutory and voluntary with the intention of influencing their decisions.

Regular ISU Questionnaires – these are sent out to new and current service users, and are handed out at events in order to collect service user views on a range of key topics.

Supporting Service Users attending Planning Meetings across Norfolk  – service users are supported to be involved in important mental health board and committee meetings, where new ways of working are agreed. A representative can provide an all-important service user perspective.

Consultation Team -  individuals can assist with designing methods of seeking people's views, interview individuals and groups and help with the collating of all service user feed back.

Forums and Workshops - are held around Norfolk on topical mental health issues. Please contact us with your own ideas of issues that need reporting and seeking service user feed back.

ISU Aims & Objectives
ISU aims to act as a means for communication between service users and service providers to improve the mental health services in Norfolk.

ISU believes in the value of those who have experienced mental ill health having a major say in what happens to services in the future.

Users of mental health services will always have some key issues in common and the promotion of easy networking is important to ISU.

ISU hopes to: -

• Further develop positive communication between service users and mental health providers
• Further support service user participation on mental health boards and committees, so offering perspectives based on: -
  
  • their personal experiences and views
  • feed back gained from a wider service user population in Norfolk that has been gathered by ISU consultations
• Develop a service user consultation team
• Make available the ISU office facilities to enhance service user understanding of current service-planning
• Produce progress reports, available to both service users, commissioners and providers
• Provide support and training to service users who become actively involved with the work of ISU