Mental health services that are available in the community to support people with severe mental illness are changing and improving.
We are developing a new way of working and modernising community mental health services for adults and older adults, taking into account the particular needs of our local areas. In Derbyshire, we are calling this the Living Well programme. In Derby, it is called the Derby Wellbeing programme.
The animation below shows how someone's journey will change after the community mental health transformation.
Why is the change being made?
It is a transformation happening across the country, following the publication of the Community Mental Health Framework. The overarching aim of this framework is to find ways to provide high-quality mental health care and support within a community setting. The framework emphasises the importance of improving people’s quality of life. This includes by supporting individuals to:
- Contribute to and participate in their communities as fully as possible
- Connect with meaningful activities
- Create or fulfil personal hopes and aspirations.
Learn more about the Community Mental Health Framework on the NHS England website.
How will it work in Derbyshire?
Living Well Derbyshire and Derby Wellbeing will build on the existing Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) that are in place. Instead of just being teams of mental health professionals, though, the teams will be multi-agency teams, consisting of colleagues from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VSCE) sector, social care and health. They will also include the voices of those with lived experience.
The model offers short-term care packages (up to 12 weeks) for people who may be too unwell to be supported by existing primary care teams, but do not meet the threshold for current Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) intervention.
We know this has been an area of improvement that has been needed for some time to support our community services in assisting those who fall through our ‘gaps’, or people who need support with different aspects of their life that can affect their mental health, such as housing advice, loneliness support or physical healthcare needs.
How can I find out more?
For more information on the programme in Derbyshire, visit the Living Well website.
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