Agenda item

A copy of the Charter is attached to this agenda. The Select Committee will also receive a brief presentation at the meeting.

Caroline Mellers, Charter Lead, St Mungo’s / New Hope and Ralph Lillywhite, St Mungo’s Bridges to Wellbeing Manager gave a presentation to the Select Committee on the Mental Health & Wellbeing Charter for Bath & North East Somerset.

A copy of the presentation can be found on their Minute Book and as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the presentation is set out below.

Background

·  Why the Charter was developed? - The aim of the Charter is to inform those who work with people with mental health issues about the key areas which support wellbeing. It promotes a shared approach between those using services, their families, friends, groups and professionals to support each person’s unique mental health needs.

The idea of Charter was introduced and led by Caroline Mellers, initially as a St Mungo’s and New Hope volunteer. Caroline has a personal and professional background in mental health, having used crisis, and inpatient services. She worked for the District Health Board in New Zealand as a service evaluator and now works with a number of local statutory and 3rd sector organisations in B&NES.

·  What supports people’s mental wellbeing? - The Charter supports the key aims of New Hope which are to ‘affect positive change in treatment and support services’ and to ‘give service users and carers a voice’.

·  Scope of the Charter - The Charter highlights the 10 Guiding Principles that reflect the support people need for their mental health and wellbeing. Local organisations are invited to sign up to these principles.

St Mungo’s Bridges to Wellbeing

·  New Hope - New Hope is an organisation of volunteers working to improve mental health services in Bath & North East Somerset. We focus on co-production: working together with other groups to produce great work.

·  How the Charter fits with the multi-agency services approach – Worked alongside many organisations including Healthwatch, Council and the recent Your Care, Your Way consultation.

·  ‘Bridging the Gap’ report – This report currently underpins mental health commissioning strategy. One of the key findings of the report was the impotance of ‘statutory services and other support networks working together to optimise support for the individual’.

·  Building Bridges to Wellbeing – Our service works with people with low to moderate mental health needs in Bath and NE Somerset.

Our aim is to enable clients to have more independent and fulfilling lives by developing peer support networks and groups.

Creating the Charter – How it happened

•  Led by people who have used services

•  Steering group – local organisations

•  Initial Charter design – Two Focus groups

•  Consultation - Ten focus groups, over 100 people who had received support for their mental health

•  Final Charter & ‘In Practice’ document

What is the Charter?

•  In 2 parts: i) 10 point Charter

    ii) In Practice document

•  Increases awareness of mental health needs

•  Integrates the views of people using services into service delivery

•  Supports staff to understand and follow the philosophy of the Charter

•  Charter has been written into the Mental Health and Wellness Pathways

What’s happening now?

•   Recruiting facilitators with lived experience to  deliver  training

•   Training-the-trainer course for facilitators

•   To train organisations working in mental health

What’s next?

B&NES - Statutory and 3^rd Sector Groups

•  Establishing with organisations who have signed up to the Charter the most effective way of implementing it. 

Peer Evaluation Tool (establishing a pilot)

•  A small funding grant  has been secured from Quartet

•  Establish 2 pilot schemes, one for statutory and one for a 3^rd sector organisation

•  Ideally this would set a baseline which could be reviewed in the future

•  The Peer Evaluation Tool could provide Commissioners and organisations with a more a comprehensive understanding of the needs of people accessing services

The Charter is dedicated to the memory of Andrea Morland, Senior Mental Health Commissioning Manager B&NES. We have been deeply heartened in B&NES by the true collaborative working within the sector.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson praised the work as a significant step forward. She asked if they had considered approaching Parish Councils to make them aware of the Charter.

Ralph Lillywhite replied that they were keen to tell as many groups as possible about the Charter.

Councillor Lin Patterson commented that she was deeply impressed with the work they have done.

Councillor Bryan Organ asked if the Charter had helped in terms of the transition period from being a Young Person to an Adult.

Caroline Mellers replied that she felt it had as the Charter can be used a tool within services to highlight issues for individuals.

Councillor Paul May said that he supported the brilliant work that had taken place so far and asked the Select Committee to commend the Charter to the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health so that all efforts are made to support it in all areas of work within the Council.

Councillor Vic Pritchard, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health said that he first became aware of the Charter through a presentation at a Your Health, Your Voice. He stated that he was impressed then and remains to be impressed by the work undertaken.

He said that he would like to see, when relevant, the Charter considered in reports that come before bodies such as the Council, Cabinet, Panels and Committees.

Dr Ian Orpen stated how important it was to raise the profile of Mental Health and would welcome the Mental Health Charter coming to a future Health & Wellbeing Board meeting. This was particularly relevant to the expanded membership of the board.

Councillor Lin Patterson suggested that it could also form an agenda item for the Bath City Forum.

The Select Committee RESOLVED to commend the Mental Health & Wellbeing Charter to the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health so that all efforts are made to support it in all areas of work within the Council.

The Chair thanked Caroline and Ralph for their work and attending the meeting on behalf of the Select Committee.