Brighter Berkshire wellbeing in Wokingham event summary

Healthwatch Wokingham Borough ran a “Wellbeing in Wokingham” event which aimed to help reduce stigma about mental health & improve local opportunities. 80 People attended the event, which had speakers from Wokingham Borough Council and from Brighter Berkshire among others, and there were 20 stalls from different organisations.

Lots of feedback from the event was recorded. Means of doing so included via feedback forms, post-it-notes from activities, Facebook comments, emails and even tweets & texts. Healthwatch Wokingham Borough state that it highlighted the need for regular events of this type.

The take-away message was that:

"The “Wellbeing in Wokingham” event really highlighted the importance of holistic health care when it comes to mental health. The whole person needs to be taken into consideration including the emotional, physical, social and spiritual states of wellbeing. Unlike traditional medicine which addresses the symptoms of a condition, holistic medical practitioners look at all aspects of a person’s life before determining a plan.

Wokingham Borough Council and Clinical Commissioning Group, over the past few years, have been exploring the possibility of setting up a Recovery College in Wokingham, which takes much more of an educational approach to addressing mental health and equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to get on with life, despite mental illness. This event adds huge weight to alternative more holistic, person centred, integrated models of mental health care being considered by Wokingham Borough commissioners and providers."

The report does not include any recommendations.