This week, I was fortunate to spend two days at a conference where the Global Collaborative for Rural Mental Health (GCRMH) was launched. This is a membership network open to anyone with an interest in mental health and wellbeing within remote and rural areas. Its objective is ‘tackling isolation and fostering connections’ and is run jointly by the University of the Highlands & Islands (with the Scottish Rural Health Partnership) and Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
It was inspiring to hear of the similarities within Highland, Japan and Texas in work such as supporting people who are isolated, or who have dementia. So often the solutions were seen as lying within their own communities. Advances in digital work include supported self-help and enabling access for people who live in the far flung corners of the various areas discussed.
Something to share, in case people are not aware of it, is that there is an NHS Credit Union with a membership of 17,274 at the end of its 20th year (2018). It’s available to NHS staff and their family members living at the same address. More information is available at on the NHS Credit Union website.