Visiting a mental health friendly activity group

Below is a summary of the things people told us about. There is a printable version at the bottom of this page if you would prefer.

Sexual health 

People told us about sexual health access and education: 

• There was a lack of knowledge about where to go for contraception and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) testing 
• It was thought that word of mouth is usually how people find out about access to sexual health services 
• Travel and expense are barriers to accessing STI and pregnancy testing 
• There is a lack of sexual health education for groups like the mental health friendly activity group.

People would like to see: 

• Sexual health outreach events with a wide range of groups 
• More information posters and leaflets in general community areas 
• Sexual health education delivered at their group 
• Older people being included, not ignored.

Mental health support 

People shared their views on mental health support and what is needed to make it better for people. They told us: 

• Mental health access is quite good, but complicated terms can exclude people 
• Being judgemental means people are less likely to access services. Train staff to be less judgemental 
• More long-term support is needed 
• Mental health services are not patient-centred care 
• Services should see the person more than the illness 
• Mental health should be more care based and empathy based - just because people aren’t a danger it doesn’t mean they don’t need help or shouldn’t be prioritised 
• People need help getting out of bad environments 
• There is no mental health support for people fleeing from domestic violence 
• There are lots of hoops to jump through when you have a history of drug use from years ago and need ‘PRN’ (when required) medication for anxiety.

Other services 

Some people talked about other services that are important to them. They said: 

• Social care takes too long for things to happen, a lot of people don’t know how to access it 
• Disability services require lots of proof for support, this can be detrimental to mental health 
• People need support to work, it helps mental health.