PEOPLE with mental health problems and their carers are being offered a chance to influence future services at an event next week.

The two-hour meeting at the 2D Business Centre, in Crook, next Wednesday, from 10am is for adults in the Wear Valley and Teesdale districts.

The event has been organised by County Durham and Darlington Mental Health Service, the Durham Dales Primary Care Trust and the Dawson House Support Group to get opinions from the public that will help them plan for the future.

Kate Harrington, from the User and Care Involvement team at the mental health service, said: "We are working with mental health users and carers to find out what they want from the services.

"Last year, users and carers launched a charter, which sets out standards of care for people who have a mental health problem and the NHS organisations in the area signed up.

"We recognise that people are looking for more control and flexibility over the way they are treated. We hope that by getting more people involved in having their say we can help to influence the quality of services."