A number of exciting new partnerships with voluntary and community organisations have been established as part of the transformation of adult community mental health care in North Staffordshire.
Contracts have been awarded by North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust to several successful organisations, each for a period of up to three years, to provide services to help enable adults with severe mental illness to access care and support in new ways.
Patients under the care of Community Mental Health Teams at Combined Healthcare are being supported with a new Future Focus Support Service from Changes Health and Wellbeing.
The Stoke-on-Trent based charity has been appointed by the NHS Trust to manage and deliver the Future Focus Support Service as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme, a new proactive model of community-based mental health care which is currently being embedded across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Wellbeing Support Workers have been recruited to the Trust’s Community Mental Health Teams. Alongside this, there is also a Volunteer Liaison Officer role. The roles will work in an integrated way with the Trust and will deliver recovery-focused support on a group and individual basis across community settings. Changes staff will deliver psycho-educational, activity and peer support groups across North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Dave Wheat, CEO, Changes Health and Wellbeing, said: “Working within Community Mental Health Teams, Wellbeing Support Workers will enable service users to join together to support each other’s recoveries – sharing insights, learning how to manage their conditions and building recovery capitals that will enable them to live meaningful, healthy and productive lives.
“Based on Changes understanding that ‘the best way to hold on to something is to give it away…’ through supporting volunteer placements throughout the Future Focus Support Service, the Volunteer Liaison Officer will also enable individuals to share their recoveries and to support other service users.”
Everyone Health has been appointed by the NHS Trust to manage and deliver a Health and Lifestyle Service, also as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme. Patients under the care of Community Mental Health Teams at Combined Healthcare will be supported with this new service.
This service will see three specialist staff delivering a robust offer. The introduction of a nutritionist, health trainer and physical activity specialist will ensure that Everyone Health are able to fulfil the vision for the service which was set to provide a holistic offer to support weight management, health promotion and lifestyle support for individuals receiving care within the Trust’s Adult Community Mental Health Teams.
Louise Needham, Service Manager, Everyone Health, commented: “We are really excited to deliver this 18-week programme. During the programme, patients will learn all about nutrition, including how to eat more healthily, how to prepare healthy meals on a budget and all about portion size.
“It will teach them how to exercise taking into consideration their medical needs and show the positive impact physical activity has on our mental health. We are looking forward to working with the Community Mental Health Teams; together we will support patients to lead healthier lives and manage their mental wellbeing.”
Sarah Newton, Senior Service Manager for Transformation, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, added: “The vision of the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme is that we work in collaboration with partners, such as with organisations in the VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) sector, to create mental health services that are inclusive, accessible, values people as they are and are responsive to their needs.
“We are delighted that Changes Health and Wellbeing and Everyone Health have been appointed to deliver these services for the transformation programme, following a competitive tendering process across the VCSE sector in North Staffordshire.”
The three-year Community Mental Health Transformation Programme, taking place between 2021 – 2024 across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, supports the priorities set out within the NHS Long Term Plan and will be delivered across 24 PCNs (Primary Care Networks) in the region. A new proactive model of community-based mental health care, will be created with mental health NHS trusts working in partnership with GPs, commissioners, local authorities and voluntary and community organisations – alongside people with lived experience, their families and carers.
There will be work programmes focusing in particular on transforming personality disorder, eating disorders and community rehabilitation for adults. North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is the NHS trust delivery partner for North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust delivering across South Staffordshire.
To find out more about the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme, please visit https://staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk/our-work/mental-health-2/adult-mental-health/