THE mentally ill will have more of a voice thanks to a new council of governors, says a charity leader.

Jacqueline Nuttall, chief officer of the Worcestershire Mental Health Network, will accept an appointment to sit on the council once Worcestershire’s mental health trust becomes a foundation trust.

Ms Nuttall will be one of eight nominated representatives to sit on the council, the key body which will hold the county’s mental health bosses to account. In total there will be 30 seats on the council, including 16 publically elected councillors taken from a membership recruited by the trust.

Representatives from West Mercia police, the University of Worcester, Worcestershire Primary Care Trust and Worcestershire County Council will also be nominated.

The council will be formed if the trust is successful in becoming a FT which will give mental health chiefs more independence from central government and more power to decide how their budget is spent.

Ms Nuttall said: “I think we need to be there. I do think it will give us a clearer voice. At the moment we are already working closely with the trust and we have a good working relationship with Worcestershire Primary Care Trust.”

However, Ms Nuttall did have reservations about people as young as 14 being able to sit on the council. She said: “I have a 16-year-old daughter and I know her workload from college. I question whether a teenager would be able to cope with that.

“It depends how much work is going to be involved and that’s not clear.”

Ms Nuttall wants to see more music and art therapy which she said provided an important social aspect to the recovery of many people with mental health issues which can be as important as medical treatment.

Your Worcester News has already reported on the benefits and opportunities available through the Shrub Hill Workshop in Worcester, a safe environment where people with mental health problems can express themselves.

The trust hopes to become a FT by July next year. The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is also applying to become a FT and so far has more than 1,000 members despite initially disappointing numbers signing up.