'The MHN has and continues to play a critical role in ensuring that the mental health agenda not only remains in the sights and minds of policy makers, but that through the breadth and seniority of its membership its views are taken seriously.’
Shaun Clee, Chief Executive, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust

The Mental Health Network (MHN) provides members with a strong influencing voice in Government, parliament and the media, and ensures that they are kept up-to-date with the changing agenda. We are the only network to bring together organisations from across the statutory, private and voluntary sectors which makes our voice exceptionally powerful.

We represent our members views through regular meetings with stakeholders including senior civil servants. We also represent and lobby on behalf of our members in the national media and bring their views to the wider public debate.

We are a member-driven organisation committed to involving our members in developing and shaping our work programme.

Influencing and Lobbying

We work to influence policy and help develop solutions that will enable our members to play a full role in delivering mental health and learning disability services. We work hard to ensure that our members' views are heard at the key stages of policy development and implementation.
Our extensive influencing programme includes:

• regular meetings with Government ministers, shadow health teams, the Department of Health (DH), regulators and other influential bodies involved in developing and implementing mental healthcare policy.

We are actively engaged in informing and developing a number of initiatives and have representation on the following external Department of Health programme boards:

• NHS Standard Contract
• Social Care Reference Group
• Mental Health Payment by Results
• National Mental Health Policy Development Oversight Group
• National Acute Pathway Board
• New Horizons Programme Board
• System Reform Board
• Mental Health Commissioning Programme Board

We also offer a full-service, in-house team with policy and media relations expertise, dedicated to Mental Health Network priorities.

Networking

We offer a wide range of networking opportunities to help members build relationships with key influencers in mental health and engage with provider organisations from across the different sectors. Formal and informal events throughout the year include:

• four independent sector forums focusing on issues relating specifically to independent sector providers
• four general meetings providing opportunities to get updates on key and emerging mental health policy
• an annual mental health conference in the autumn
• A learning disability subgroup with a dedicated programme of work which meets four times a year
• opportunities to engage directly with key influencers throughout the year at a series of dinners and meetings.
• links to the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) for exchange visits, conferences and newsletters to help improve exchange of information and networking for UK mental health leaders.

Communications

 We keep our members up to date with the latest news, views and developments in mental health through a range of communications including:

• monthly In Touch e-newsletter with information, hot topics and opportunities to get involved
• ten policy briefings per year keeping members up to date with key and emerging policy
• a range of reports, consultation documents and discussion papers
• access to ‘member-only’ areas of the Mental Health Network website where members can download information and documents on current mental health hot topics.

How to join

Mental health and learning disability providers that are member organisations of the NHS Confederation can also join the Mental Health Network.

The cost for joining the network for 2009/10 is a flat fee of £5,095 per year for all mental health and learning disability trusts. Please note that this is in addition to the NHS Confederation membership fee.

For more information about joining the Mental Health Network, please contact Christina Heap - christina.heap@nhsconfed.org.