MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK: Clinical Service Transformation in Manchester
As Mental Health Awareness Week 2017 gets underway, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust has published further details of its plans to transform mental health services in the city of Manchester.
The Trust has set out its key transformation priorities, which will be shaped in collaboration with service users, carers and staff, to ensure the provision of the highest quality care and to support the wider mental wellbeing of Manchester citizens.
Among the proposals are a number of Transformation Working Groups, which will feature service users and carers, selected following an open recruitment process.
The groups will lead on reviewing how services currently operate and recommend and implement changes that will deliver more effective services.
Booklets have been produced and a webpage created, to provide more information on the key priorities.
Five key areas have been identified for transformation and they are:
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, or IAPT.
IAPT services work with people who have common mental health conditions. Through clinical transformation, GMMH is making steady progress to reach national targets for referral to treatment waiting times and increase the overall number of people accessing these services.
The Acute Care Pathway
This priority looks closely at a service user’s journey through services - ensuring that they are able to access the right care for their needs in a timely manner and that they don’t experience multiple assessments.
There will be a focus on access to services and on developing Enhanced Community Mental Health teams, who will be able to provide a seven-day service and work closely with other parts of the care system.
Urgent Care
This priority focusses on how mental health teams and other services support people in crisis 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Home Based Treatment Teams will play a key role in providing the most appropriate treatment response for people when they need it.
Another aspect of Urgent Care is considering how mental health services operate in A&E departments and hospital settings.
The Trust will develop a dedicated suite for service users arrested by the police under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act. The suite will provide a place of safety for people suffering from mental health problems.
Reduction of Out of Area Placements
Too many people have been placed outside their local area for inpatient mental health treatment. This can be unsettling and cause problems maintaining contact with family and friends. GMMH wants to ensure people receive treatment as near as possible to their homes.
The Trust also wants to develop the Rehabilitation Pathway, making sure high quality rehabilitation services are available and that service users receive the most appropriate care and achieve the best possible outcomes.
Community Engagement
The Trust will make sure that community groups and activities across Manchester that contribute to mental wellbeing are supported.
GMMH will emphasise the importance of self-care, while collaborating with voluntary sector partners and community groups, supporting the ‘One Team’ neighbourhood model.
To look at these priorities in detail, and for more information on how to get involved, please click HERE.
To download our booklet 'Shaping the best mental health care across the city of Manchester', please click HERE.
For more information on Mental Health Awareness Week 2017. please click HERE.
