GAMIAN-Europe has organised an expert workshop addressing the relevance of the empowerment of people affected by mental health problems, taking place in the European Parliament on 7 March. The meeting, hosted by MEPs Tomas Zdechovsky, Francesc Gambus and Cristian Busoi, and kindly supported by Ferrer, was the first and most crucial step in the development of a Call to Action on patient empowerment.
The issue of empowering patients has increasingly been the focus of attention over the past decade, mainly due to effective advocacy by patient organisations themselves. There is widespread recognition of the need for patients to be at the centre of all health care decisions that concern them, ranging from high level policy development to decisions that directly concern their individual treatment on a daily basis.
However, this increased (and increasing) recognition does not mean that empowerment of patients is now an established fact. This particularly holds true for patients affected by mental health problems. More needs to be done to move the situation from recognition of the importance of empowerment to a more practical reality for patients, their families and their caregivers.
The workshop therefore will:
- explore the current situation in relation to patient empowerment and the ability to self-manage care and treatment;
- identify the barriers to empowerment and self-management of treatment;
- come forward with recommendations to improve the situation.
A detailed agenda will be finalised in the short term.
Please note that this event is invitation-only.