Panel Terms

Professional Reference Panel - Terms of Reference

• Hafal is managed by its members - people with severe mental illness (clients) and their carers - and this is reflected in its Board of Trustees which mainly comprises clients and carers. |
  
• The Charity will remain unambiguously controlled by clients and carers but at the same time Hafal wants to ensure that the personal mental health experience of our members is balanced and complimented by an advisory Panel with professional expertise from the mental health and other relevant fields.
  
• Hafal has realistic expectations of the Panel and has therefore agreed that it will operate by email.
  
• Panel members are asked for occasional support in the form of responses to consultation by email either individually (where a Panel member's particular expertise would be relevant) or collectively (where for example a general policy of the Charity is under development and a range of views is sought).
  
• To ensure best use the Panel will be approached only by the Trustees as a whole or by the Chair, Chief Executive or Company Secretary as appropriate.
  
• Panel members are asked to respond directly to the sender rather than copy in all other Panel members: this is simply to avoid a large volume of messages but we will of course summarise Panel responses as necessary. Panel members can obviously correspond with each other when this has a specific purpose.
  
• Although the Panel would function mainly as an email group Hafal welcomes Panel members' input to our events, conferences, and similar but this is not essential of course.
  
• It is accepted that any input by Panel members depends on their available time.
  
• Membership of the Panel does not imply support for or endorsement of Hafal's policies, publications or campaigning, though Hafal hopes Panel members will be comfortable with Hafal's general position. Panel members are welcome to raise areas of disagreement and this is one means by which the Panel can assist the Charity.
  
• Panel members need not be members of Hafal but they are welcome to join if they wish