We are absolutely delighted to have you here with us to launch and share the Mental health and Wellbeing Commission's inaugural lived experience plan. Through this plan the commission strives to contribute to a shift and power towards consumers families carers supporters and kin.
Nobody understands our mental health and well-being system better than those who have experienced it first hand. The voices of lived experience are essential to delivering effective and meaningful reform in the mental health system.
It's really great to see the enthusiasm and commitment and ongoing expectation that lived experience will continue to be central to the reforms that we're seeing it's on the back of a lot of hard work from people who've been really generous with their time. They've been really willing to share with us so much of their own stories so that we can build a plan that is really meaningful it's a good plan to act as a guiding star it's simple in its presentation although complex in its application and it’s a very accessible document for people to read. I think and that its very important to create dialogue if consumers before they're coming into the service or actually have a better understanding of the value, the benefits of having lived experience supports they can articulate for those they can ask for them and I think you engage better with services and end up with better outcomes.
At the heart of our lived experience plan are two core commission values that the reformed mental health system must prioritise - a rights based approach and partnership with lived experience is essential to a well-run mental health system. A rights-based approach recognises that all people experiencing treatment have a right to shape their care for so long lived experience has been looked at as a a complimentary add-on it's not an add-on. It's a core part of a system that fully integrates lived experience Must In the End create a better experience and outcomes for the people who use the services.
The plan recognises that there are many forms of prejudice and historical context that have impacted the experiences of people across intersectional groups. The plan will see us seek out purposeful conversations with diverse communities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.
It is our hope that this work will go on towards restoring and rebuilding confidence in the system and in the complaints process.
What I would like to see is that people can come into the service knowing there will be a lived experience person that will walk alongside them in the journey. My Hope for the future is that we'll get to a point where we don't have to talk about including lived experience… that lived experience will be the leadership… I think it's time to break through the glass ceilings for people and for them to be accepted in as capable competent knowledgeable with the relevant expertise and skills to fulfill those roles.
Hopefully lived experience would be well staffed so that we're not just having part-time roles but we have lived experience workers available throughout the whole period that the service is open. I'd like to see significant changes in the culture of care from one of benevolence to one of power sharing so that people get supported in their decision making process to be as autonomous as they possibly can… be given their circumstances it's really about individuals having a say in their care having the ability to really shape their treatment shape their recovery and ultimately shape the system and I think
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