The Gibraltar Mental Welfare Society says it welcomes Minister Sacramento's announcement of the survey which will be available to service users, on mental health provision, these last two months.

A statement continued: “The Society strongly advocates for the need of regular feedback from those using the service and so thinks that this is a very important step to take.

“A reliable survey will be able to measure what improvement there might have been since the introduction of the New Mental Health Strategy.In order for the survey to accurately reflect what has been happening these last two months, it is crucial for as many service users as possible to engage in the process.

“Seeing as many of the most vulnerable service users will very likely not even have heard of the survey, a strong outreach programme from the Community Mental Health Team, involving voluntary advocates if necessary, should be put in place to ensure that their voices are also heard. 

“Service users, in the community and in Ocean Views, need to be encouraged to participate in this very useful exercise and to feel free to say the truth. They also need to be supported when necessary to fill in the forms. 

“If this doesn't happen, the survey will not reflect the reality on the ground accurately but will present a skewed view of present services.”