You Said, We Did: Adult Mental Health
We put out an invitation to join a focus group and arranged a meeting with our Adult Social Care Manager, who had been working with the Mental Health Trust on a crisis care pathway, and had an interest in better early support.
5 people formed the focus group and the first meeting considered:
- What works and who provides this?
- What have you expected and hoped for from a particular service and how have these expectations been met?
- What is missing/what would help?
- What message would you like to send to the people who plan and provide services
This was followed by a second meeting with our Senior GP and one of the Practice Nurses. This meeting started to look in depth at current barriers, suggested alternative models of provision, and produced a number of recommendations for immediate actions and longer term planning.
As a direct result, the adult mental health pathway was taken up as a priority by the local integrated health and care programme board.
Group members subsequently participated in a clinical forum on mental health provision.
Notes from the focus group meetings were shared, with members permission, with service providers and commissioners.
We also followed up the recommendations of the focus group with service providers.
Allocation of funds from the 'Better Care Fund' was agreed to improve access and co-ordination of mental health support. A report to the March 2017 meeting of the IOS Health and Wellbeing Board states that: 'Positive discussions have been held with the mental health service provider, Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, about enhanced Mental Health Services; however there has still been no formal commitment to delivering the project.
