New website for the Mental Welfare Commission

The Mental Welfare Commission has updated its website with aims of making it more user friendly, and including a wider range of information.

Kate Fearnley, executive director (engagement & participation) at the Commission said:

‘People tell us they value the information on our site, and we wanted to enhance that and make it easier to use. The structure of the site was becoming outdated and in need of replacement, particularly around security.

‘We’ve made a number of improvements in the design which should make it easier to use. We also plan to increase the amount of information we publish on what people with lived experience, and relatives and carers, tell us about their views on care and treatment.’

The main changes in the new website are:

• New quick routes into the site for people whose interest is personal, and for people whose interest is professional. While the whole site remains accessible to everyone, analytics told us that these two audiences are more likely to be looking for specific information. For example, professionals regularly seek legal advice or forms, for example, and people with a personal interest often look for information on particular diagnoses, or about a patient’s rights.
• A new section called What People Tell Us, where we will publish reports that gather the views and experiences of people from around Scotland who have spoken to our engagement and participation team about different aspects of care and treatment.
• An improved search function.

The new site also uses a slightly modernised branding for the Commission, which reflects our current work and means that documents can be published from the site more efficiently, for people wishing to have hard copies.

M Mowat