Making an ‘Impact’ with a new care model
Work is continuing to develop a new and improved way of providing care to adults in secure mental health services in the East Midlands.
The aim of Impact (East Midlands Adult Secure Care Services) is to provide better support in the community and reduce reliance on inpatient services to achieve improved outcomes for service users and their families. Secure beds and specialist placements are often many miles away from the person’s home and family. Impact wants to provide care closer to home and reduce admissions to inpatient services. Where it is necessary for someone to be treated as an inpatient, the aim is for their length of stay to be shorter.
Better pathways of care where different services work more closely together will be developed as well as improved community infrastructures through partnership working including third and voluntary sectors and non-NHS services.
As part of the development process a number of co-production workshops have been held for all parties involved to share their experience, views and ideas.
The third co-production event for this new care model was held on 24 April at St Andrews Healthcare Northampton, one of the nine partner organisations in the programme. It focused on discharge from secure services and support in the community and was attended by more than 80 people from organisations across the region including NHS, independent providers, Police, the voluntary sector, along with service users and families.
The day was facilitated by Julie Repper, Programme Director - ImROC (Implementing Recovery through Organisational change). Key note speakers included Jacky Chapman from Nottinghamshire Healthcare and Mark Grigg from Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust who jointly presented a review of the work of the Community Task and Finish group including a proposal for a new Assertive Transitions Service. Ian Callaghan, National Service User Lead for Recovery and Outcomes from Rethink Mental Illness and Gayle Flounders from Turning Point also spoke at the event and two service users and peer support workers from St Andrew’s Healthcare presented powerful stories around their recovery journeys which were extremely well received.
Feedback from the event was very positive with many people noting that the service user stories were a highlight and that they strongly advocated the use of peer support in forensic services and would like to see this developed further. Comments included: “I’ve received good feedback and (my) opinions have been listened to.”, “Mental illness is just an illness. We learn from people we care for. The patient is the champion.” and “Positive group discussions, great connections and more opportunities for shared understanding of the challenges for forensic services.” A staff member said they have a: “Greater understanding of the challenges patients face at each stage in secure services.” A couple of service users commented that the workshop offered them “hope”.
The next co-production event to be held on 13 June at Trent Vineyard in Nottingham and will look at improving experiences of transitioning within adult secure services and focus on carers/ families. Details of how to book a place will be posted on the website
