The Gibraltar Mental Welfare Society held its Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall.

A statement from the GMWS follows below:

The GMWS held a public meeting on Monday 30th May. It was very pleased to host the newly appointed team charged with implementing new strategies in the mental health system. The team made up of Dr Ashim Bettadapura, Natasha Cerisola and Darren Cerisola spoke about their vision for mental health provision in Gibraltar. It was acknowledged that there was much to be done to improve mental health care but felt it was possible to achieve a “5 star” system for Gibraltar if services were properly prioritised, resources effectively used and all relevant departments worked together efficiently.

In the course of the meeting, many areas of mental health were discussed: the Child and Adolescent service, the need for good aftercare in the community, the introduction of a proper system of supported employment, more beds in supported accommodation, respite care, the need to focus on those service users with serious and enduring mental health illness, and more..

There was an open and frank discussion between the mental health team and those attending. The point was made that many promises have been made in the past about improvements to the system which have then failed to materialise. The GMWS would like to believe that this new team will actually bring about the changes they spoke about. Having said this, we are aware that they have a huge task ahead which will only be successfully completed if they get the support they need from all relevant departments, within the GHA, and also within other government agencies.