Influencing policy
Raising your voice
Welcome to the section of the site that can help you make a difference to the way mental health care in the UK is shaped and delivered.
The aim here is twofold: first, to offer you a quick summary of key policy documents emanating from the government and from other central stakeholders in the mental health arena; second, to encourage you to feed back your views which in turn can help shape the RCN's position on topics relevant to service users, mental health nurses and mental health care.
The first of those aims will be helpful to you and the second invaluable to the RCN. The summaries of relevant material that you see here are in a form that allows quick and easy digestion and dissemination of the key points from selected documents and policy initiatives. Where appropriate, please click on the link to the original consultation document and feed back your views in the way requested.
But more importantly we ask also that you spend a moment to email the RCN mental health adviser (ian.hulatt@rcn.org.uk) with your thoughts on the position the RCN should take in response to a particular policy initiative, along with any other views you may have on that area of mental health care.
As the voice of nursing, the RCN depends on its members to make their views known - so please, tell us what you think and help influence mental health policy and practice locally and nationally.
The links on the left will take you to quick summaries of the named document. From there you will be able to access the original version and feed back your views. Also included is advice from the RCN's parliamentary and media departments on lobbying your MP and using the interest of journalists to your advantage.