David Norman

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Hello, my name is David Norman I am a retired widower aged 66 with three grown up sons and I live in Sandon.

In 1994 I was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and have lived with the condition medicated with lithium for nearly thirty years. Over the past year both my son and myself (the condition is hereditary) have suffered severe bipolar episodes and in both cases have been looked after outstandingly by the EPUT Urgent Care Team through a combination of medication, daily home visits, reviews and psychiatric support, which crucially kept us both out of hospital a route we were both desperate to avoid. Put simply, EPUT saved both our lives. It also supports the effective delivery of care in the community which benefits everybody, the Mental Health Services and patients alike.

So my family owes a huge debt to the Essex Mental Health services, and I now want to give something back. I have intimate knowledge of how the system works and what it does well, but am also conscious of the shortcomings notably lack of public awareness that it even exists, how to access it and of course chronic lack of resources priority etc. This should be rolled out across the country, and I will be campaigning vigorously in my role as public governor to make this happen.

As a Governor I would bring my experience to the table to explain what is good about it and what needs to improve. I will represent my fellow service users and see they get the best treatment possible from EPUT.