North Somerset mental health voluntary sector network meeting
6-2-20
Present
| Elaine Borthwick | Alliance Homes |
| Christine Rogers | Clarity North Somerset |
| Cathy Mounsdon | Addaction |
| Ana Balseiro | Richmond Fellowship |
| Jeanette | Richmond Fellowship |
| Alison Blackhall-Wright | Vita Health Group |
| Kieran Bright | Leonard Cheshire |
| Jen McLamb | Second Step |
| Justine Keeble | Clarity North Somerset |
| Paul Bent | Clarity North Somerset |
| Morag Watson | Clarity North Somerset |
Apologies
| Tom Renhard | Independent Mental Health Network |
In attendance
| James Picardo | The Care Forum |
Introductions (highlights)
- Alison Blackhall-Wright from Vita Minds, the providers of the IAPT contract:
- She represents North Somerset
- Vita took over from Second Step and AWP on September 1
- There are ~7500 people on waiting list, many of whom are waiting for an inappropriate period of time.
- Vita have taken on an external admin team with the approval of the CCG – from 1 January people will now be being treated within 3-6 months
- Her role is partnership liaison which unfortunately wasn’t in place at beginning.
- Vita are trying to recruit 20-25 psychological practitioners
- Q – will therapy be just delivered over the phone?
- A – yes for low intensity work
- There are also psychological wellbeing groups
- These differ from the courses offered by Positive Step as now people are assessed to see if they are appropriate for the course
- For higher intensity work or for people who can’t do the phone it’s face to face
- Still the problem of people with severe issues coming to IAPT – because secondary services are bouncing them.
- Alison’s role is to go out and talk to CCG, stakeholders, GPs, 3rd sector, Curo etc and start talking to people about Vita’s work.
- Cathy Mounsdon from Addaction:
- changing name to We Are With you
- will be using more peer groups
- are offering out naloxone for people who may have had an opiate addiction
- Jen McLamb from Second Step:
- The Safe Haven centre:
- They are currently recruiting for a start date of 4 May
- Safe Haven is the new name: previously it was known as the crisis and recovery service
- There is also a recovery cafe being set up by North Somerset Wellbeing Services at Cafe Marina but this will be one session rather than a whole café.
- Safe Haven uses a Crisis Cafe model – this is a big new initiative nationally to increase alternative crisis provision – they’ve visited The Junction in Swindon and The Cavern in Gloucestershire
- It’s a welcoming non-clinical space for anyone 16 or over in acute emotional distress
- There are recovery navigators there so people can talk about their feelings – or people can just sit on their own.
- Q – What background and training do the navigators have?
- A – They’ll be a step above a support worker with a requirement that they have experience of working with people with mental health problems
- Q – When Friend was open there were people that used it regularly – how do we define what the target group is? There could be people who use it who are very well but just lonely
- A – It’s time limited. There will also be signposting, looking at the wider determinants of mental health and helping people to find their own ways of coping.
- Second Step also deliver the hope project for middle aged men (paid for by national suicide funding), this takes place via outreach and by phone – she will send some information out with the notes
- Second Step also deliver the North Somerset wellbeing service (CCG funded)
- Justine Keeble from Clarity NS:
- Planning to look at the crisis pathway across BNSSG
- planning to take an interest in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) across North Somerset
- Problematic at the moment because the records are all on paper and can’t be searched automatically
- These will be moving to IAPTUS
Belinda Wilson presentation on social work placements
- Windows
- October placement for the three year UWE degree
- February placement for the Bristol masters
- late offers are still helpful for people who perhaps struggled on their first placement
- Requirements
- 70 day placement, full time
- 3 days training for the host organisation
- You need to provide fortnightly supervision
- social work students are meant to have a diverse learning experience
- Need to ask yourself ‘are their enough learning opportunities within our setting to help the student meet their targets’?
- it’s not really shadowing
- you need to have lone contact with service users
- Cathy Mounsdon from Addaction shares her experience:
- Trainees do everything a recovery worker will do:
- motivational solution focused case-working
- linking in with partner agencies
- it’s valuable to have them – they can do service user feedback as well
- Funding
- Funding is there for younger people or people with degrees
- Q – Do you have just one person on a placement or would it be possible to have a cohort
- A – there has been talk of learning sets
- we tried it but their needs and styles were so different that it didn’t work that well – more assertive students were getting the learning opportunities
Discussion following group exercise
- Participants were asked to reflect on and rank the following topics that emerged from responses to the VCSE survey.
- Mental health and housing
- Lack of meaningful secondary Mental Health provision in North Somerset
- Alcohol use by women
- The gap between primary and secondary mental health services
- The integration of mental health with physical/social care/drug services
- Care Connect
- The new IAPT contract
- Unsafe discharges
Care connect
- needs to know about the new IAPT contract
The gap between primary and secondary services
- the voluntary sector has almost disappeared – these are the services that previously have bridged the gap – for example the peer support/buddy schemes etc that the voluntary sector used to provide
- 1 in 4 has left a big gap – nothing like 1 in 4 exists now
- service users have been handled by Vita Health and gone back to primary – people are having to rehash stories – this has a negative impact on wellbeing. the problem
- There’s too much emphasis on having to prove where money’s has been spent.
- Floating support is now time limited
- Elaine Borthwick says that Alliance Homes do brief intervention now we can’t do long term. With benefits advice we can only take people a short way down the line – then they’re on their own.
Unsafe discharges
- result from the gap between primary and secondary services
The new IAPT contract
- often people in crisis don’t want to talk on the phone – not everyone has access to a computer or is computer literate
Other points
- With PIP there is a bias towards people with physical rather than mental health problems – it’s about how you present.
- social prescribing has not really come together yet across North Somerset
Possible topics for future meetings
- gap between primary and secondary services
- work with Mary Adams to get CCG speakers who can say what the CCG is up to in general
- reviewing the crisis pathway
- benefit forms
- may be useful to get speaker from Citizens Advice Bureau
- Get Second Step in to talk about what they do
- Rachel Austin team leader of the North Somerset Wellbeing Service
- Chris Kinston – in charge of North Somerset mental health services
- social prescribing
- Get Curo, Alliance Homes and the Council in to discuss this
- Also Kirstie Corns from the North Somerset branch of the CCG
- resource guide
- like an up to date Well Aware
- this perhaps something to discuss with Mary Adams rather than have meeting about
- get Team North Somerset to come to a meeting to find out what they do
- worth getting VANS to come to this meeting in general
Feedback
What was the most significant outcome of the meeting for you?
- Networking x 4
- Hearing others’ information about mental health services/organisations in North Somerset
- Focusing on what’s next.
- Meeting with the group. Hearing feedback about IAPT.
- Information exchange
- Setting the potential speakers and networking across North Somerset organisations
- meeting other agencies – networking discussions
Are there any particular topics you would like to see covered in future meetings?
- Housing
- Gap between primary and seconday mental health services. Lack of meaningful secondary mental health provision in North Somerset.
- I am happy to keep the group updated and/or bring along a clinician for future meetings – to update on how IAPT is doing.
- Mapping services, including the voluntary sector
- Looking at a directory of places and campaigns that help to bridge the gap between services.
- Discussed at the end of meeting.
- Gap between primary and secondary sources – and the other priorities agreed in meeting.
Are there any other comments you would like to make?
- Very good meeting.
- Keep it focused.
- Thank you.
- Useful meeting and discussions.
- I would like the care forum for mental health to happen more Koften.
- Very well presented.
- It’s really good that these meetings have started again as they are essential.
- Thank you for running. Good after gap.
Marks out of five
| AREA | AVERAGE |
| Your understanding of subject at start | 3.5 |
| Your understanding of subject at end | 4.2 |
| Pre-event information | 4.1 |
| Facilitation | 4.8 |
| Organisation on the day | 4.7 |
| Speakers | 4.4 |
| Workshop | 4.4 |
| Access | 4.7 |
| Refreshments | 4.2 |
| Standard of room | 4.9 |