New £3m model of mental health support agreed in Salford
‘Living Well Salford’, jointly funded by NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust (GMMH) and Salford Primary Care Networks, is the name given to the new local system designed to meet the needs of adults with mental health problems that require more support than primary care can offer, but don’t meet the criteria for secondary care mental health services.
The Living Well model is a new offer of support co-designed by people with lived experience of mental health problems, it offers multi-disciplinary, multi-agency team support comprising Peer Workers, Recovery Workers and Mental Health Practitioners along with a range of other colleagues in areas such as psychology, psychiatry and housing.
GP Dr Nicholas Browne, clinical lead for Salford CCG, said:
“Mental Health services have historically been underfunded and oversubscribed. Salford has led the way in investing more into mental health services than the nationally prescribed budget. Despite this, we all know more needs to be done.
“At last week's CCG Governing Body meeting, the business case for the roll out of the Living Well model across the city was agreed. This will be a £3m annual, recurring investment into an award-winning model which has shown great success in Broughton over the last three years.”
This new service has been developed as part of a national three-year programme to think differently about mental health support.
Over the past three years, Salford has worked with the Innovation Unit, a not-for-profit social enterprise to co-design the support offer.
Nick Webb, Director of Mental Health Innovation at Innovation Unit, said:
“Innovation Unit is absolutely delighted with the news that Living Well Salford now has the backing it needs to spread person-centred support across the whole city. We have been privileged to have worked with such a brilliant team over the last three years.
“Their unwavering commitment to people, to lived experience, and to changing mental health services for the better is truly inspirational. We are excited to see what they do next!”
A pilot has been operating across Broughton to test out the model which has shown tremendous benefits, focusing on people’s skills, aspirations, and experiences to build a different way of offering mental health support to the people of Salford.
Simon Johns, Interim Head of Operations at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) said:
“Salford Living Well has been a 3-year journey from inception to where we are currently which has involved service users, carers, the voluntary sector, commissioners, the local authority, and mental health services from the very beginning.
“Working closely with the Innovation Unit we have developed a real understanding of the needs of Salford people by truly listening to them and have designed the service to specifically meet their requirements. Our team is open and willing to try new and innovative ways of working whilst learning along the way. We can work with people who previously may have been unable to receive care and treatment via more traditional approaches in the health and social care system.
“We have a whole range of practitioners making up our multi-disciplinary team, including most importantly, peer support workers who are experts by experience and steer the way our new service will develop.
“Following an incredibly successful pilot in Broughton this investment allows us to branch out across the whole city ensuring the all the population is well served in the places where they live.”
The service is expected to be rolled out across the city during summer 2022.
