“It has been life changing for me” - Service creating new ways of helping people with their mental health is successful, report finds
Living Well Salford, one of only four original pilot sites in the UK, saw 83% of service users reach one or more of their goals
Living Well Salford - a community mental health service delivered in partnership between Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), Mind in Salford, Wellbeing Matters, and START; funded by National Lottery; and supported by the Innovation Unit - has been hailed a success in a recent external evaluation report.
The service, which was set up as one of only four national pilot sites in the UK, as part of the Living Well UK programme, offers holistic support for people struggling with their mental health in Salford. It listens to people and connects them with the support they need in the community, based on their individual needs, which could include areas such as finance, housing, employment, loneliness, and/or mental health support and treatment.
The final evaluation report undertaken by the Innovation Unit, found that Living Well Salford has supported people to achieve improved outcomes, including recovering from mental health problems and staying well enough to live the life they want to achieve.
The report, published on 15 August 2022, found that 83% of people that have been supported through the service have successfully reached one or more of their goals. It found that over half have experienced a ‘meaningful Improvement’ in their recovery and quality of life.
Since the service launched in July 2020, over 30,000 ‘interventions’ have been delivered through the service, including: community activities, trauma-specific support, employment support, mental health treatments and peer support.
The report also found that people were able to access the service quickly. On average, people waited only 14 days from being referred to Living Well Salford to their introduction to the service.
This comes shortly after the announcement that Living Well Salford has been shortlisted for ‘Mental Health Innovation of the Year’ in the prestigious national Health Service Journal awards 2022.
Peer support is offered by Living Well Salford’s Peer Support Workers, who are ‘experts by experience’, able to connect with people from a place of understanding as they know what it is like to walk in their shoes.
Sarah Buckley was first introduced to Living Well Salford as a service user a number of years ago. She is now a Peer Support Worker at Living Well Salford. She said:
“You wouldn’t think that your dream job could ever exist, but mine does. I love every aspect of my peer mentoring role – it is all about using my lived experience to help other people. It’s so empowering to be involved in the decisions of how the service is going to work.
“This service is person-centred – we ask people what they want, what they like, and what keeps them well, and sort this for them. I spend time with people on a range of activities to help them move forward, from gardening, to art and sometimes we’ll just have a coffee and share stories.
“The feedback we’ve been getting has been really positive. Getting people involved in the social side of things keeps them well, and it’s so exciting to be a part of it.”
One person who was supported by the service, and is quoted in the report, said:
“I got matched up with someone who had the same condition as me, it was a peer mentor, and this made me feel at ease. Being with them made me see I could have this condition and still live a normal life.”
Another said:
“Living Well has been life changing for me, they have helped me to understand why my brain moves so fast, and how to cope with it.”
Tammy Young, Service Manager at Living Well Salford, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust said:
“Living Well Salford is a new and innovative approach that has been co-designed with service users, voluntary organisations, local authority, health, and mental health service providers.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team and the way we have worked together with our local communities to create this service. There’s a real spirit of community and togetherness, where all stakeholders are valued equally and their views shape the way we do things.
“I am delighted to see the success of the service reflected in our final evaluation report; alongside our Health Service Journal Awards shortlisting. Going forward, we will prioritise implementing the recommendations to make our service the best it can possibly be to serve the needs of our communities.”
You can read the full report here.
