Introducing Community Mental Health Hubs
We are very excited to announce the launch of the new integrated community hub model in Kensington and Chelsea and the Queen’s Park and Paddington area of North Westminster.
Community Mental Health Hubs
The move towards Community Mental Health Hubs is part of a national direction of travel to bring together primary and secondary care mental health services providing a more joined up and seamless experience, both for people receiving services and their carers.
Over the past year, teams in Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster have worked closely with local stakeholders – GPs, local authorities, service users, carers and the third sector – using learning from other CNWL boroughs who are working to the new model and the NHSE framework, to design and implement this change.
Specialist mental health care
Under the new model, we’ve created integrated and local Community Mental Health Hubs, which promote community resources working together as one team, centred around local Primary Care Networks, to deliver care based on the needs of the population. The Community Hubs will provide access to a range of mental health specialists, such as GPs, nurses, therapists, social workers, pharmacists and employment support and navigators, all of which will work together to help people on their journey to recovery by providing interventions-based care (like psychosocial interventions, medicines management, and more).
Additional funding has been used to expand the offer, with the addition of more Community Navigators and Peer Support workers, and staff that will help provide dedicated support to those with Complex Emotional Needs.
The model is set up to promote simple routes for GPs to obtain mental health advice and support for patients, as well as triage led by highly-qualified mental health staff to make sure patients get to the right person first time. This closer working with local GPs will help to share learning, improve communication and avoid siloed care, and builds upon the work done by the current Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs).
This will better the lives for our patients by:
- helping service users access/receive mental health treatment faster when required, preventing relapse
- ensure care is more personalised as service is tailored to local need of the population
- increasing the consistency of care
- making the process to get help simple with no need to repeat their story.
Community Living Well is the current provider of primary mental health care in the area. The Hubs join Community Living Well to deliver the integrated service. This improved service recognises the importance of community and will be working in collaboration with local charities and voluntary organisations to help people connect and make use of their local assets, as well as address social needs such as housing, substance misuse, carers’ support and financial advice.
This is the beginning of an exciting journey where care is joined up and centred around the service user to help them achieve the best outcomes and enjoy their lives.
For more information…
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental or emotional distress, speak to your GP. You can find out more about Community Living Well and the Community Mental Health Hubs, including how to self-refer to some services, at communitylivingwell.co.uk
Author: Stewart Gillespie
Posted on: 1st November 2021
