CHS Mental Health Strategy2015-2018

Deborah Latham

Head of Community Support Services

People experiencing mental ill health 1 in 4 people in their life time 1 in 6 at any one time 1 in 10 children (of 5-16 years) Nearly half of all ill health is mental The other half is physical People with mental illness die on average

20 years younger than other people Stigma, discrimination, isolated, alone “Mental health is everyone’s business”

Definitions Mental illness diagnosed medically Undiagnosed mental health issues General anxiety, stress, depression Many CHS customers are not ‘formally’

recognised as having mental illness, but do have issues and needs

We won’t necessarily ever know exactly We should be working in a way that

promotes mental wellbeing

Mental Health Strategy - Why Better meet people’s needs, better outcomes A lot of mental health issues – so address Address young people’s emerging ill health Keep people engaged, not let them down Prevention of crises, ASB, evictions, arrears Better for our local communities Manage risks more effectively – at all levels Makes all round business sense, added value Increase our MH expertise, win more bids

Customer feedback

People like it when staff listen and act People hugely appreciate supportive staff Supportiveness makes a massive

difference to people’s sense of wellbeing Supportiveness is essential to enable

people to cope with difficulties People feel anxious and stressed if staff to

not talk with them and only send letters

MH Strategy objectives 1-3

1: Further integrate best practice principles into existing service delivery and improve the quality of our mental health support in our care and support services.

2: Support all customers with common mental health problems, including in our General Needs Housing and Community Investment Services, to access appropriate services and treatment.

3: Promote community resilience and help to prevent illness by promoting mental wellbeing and improving people’s understanding of mental health.

Strategy Objectives 4-6

4: Develop the mental health skills and capabilities of our workforce

5: Promote positive mental health and mental wellbeing in the workplace at CHS

6: Develop our offer and extend our mental health services to new partners in Cambridgeshire and the NHS

Actions…. Staff trained, more skilled and confident Build on existing hubs of expertise MH Floating support into General Needs Improve access and agree referral pathways for

customers to external mental health support Look to develop a Peer Support programme for

customers – informal support is ‘resource light’ Improve data collection and identification of

mental health support needs, to enable better resource targeting

Wellbeing promotion through activities

… Actions Work based on Life Course Approach, Recovery

Principles and the promotion of Wellbeing Develop our Psychologically Informed approach in

service delivery Cultivate greater understanding of mental health

needs amongst customers, and encourage neighbourly understanding, acceptance and support in communities for people with MH needs

Identify how CHS services can adapt/form to meet health commissioners’ needs

Mindful Employer to better support staff

‘Psychologically informed’ (PI)

Ways of working informed by psychological insight, tools and models

Staff are equipped with insight into the psychology behind behaviours and a range of tools (from therapeutic and psychological theories) to use in their attempts to positively address each situation

PI also means

Working with the challenging behaviour ‘Elastic tolerance’, tackle issues creatively

and flexibly, address behaviour… not rejecting

‘Reflective practice’ in staff teams Analysing actions to learn from incidents

and improve effectiveness of response to each service user

PI approach is followed to: Enable people to make changes in life,

e.g. behaviours/emotions, reducing drug and alcohol use, establishing/maintaining relationships, feeling less depressed or fearful, by removing psychological barriers

Make a difference – e.g. reduced chaotic behaviour, evictions or hospital admissions; increased engagement with staff, less abandonment/evictions

Achieve movement towards aspirations

Conclusion The Strategy will support staff to work better

to help: Prevent unnecessary worsening of illness Promote mental health Promote feeling of wellbeing Please support the Strategy Anyone who would like to be involved in

taking forward actions to promote wellbeing is very welcome – please tell Deborah!