North Yorkshire's mental health strategy 2015-2020 'hope, control and choice'
North Yorkshire has, for the first time, set out a new strategy to champion mental health and wellbeing, created in close collaboration with users of mental health services.
The strategy, called 'Hope, Control and Choice' sets out a new vision and new priorities for mental health services as well as a series of commitments for the next five years.
It signals a new determination for agencies to work together to improve services and outcomes for people, to promote wellbeing and resilience in communities and to tackle head-on the issue of the stigma that still too often surrounds mental illness.
The strategy acknowledges that people want services close to where they live as well as more emphasis on wellbeing - on approaches that help them to avoid becoming ill in the first place. It draws on national beast practice as well as taking into account the particular needs of North Yorkshire with its large rural areas, significant urban pockets and the UK's largest garrison.
It has been created by the North Yorkshire health and wellbeing board in partnership with service users and professionals and draws on the work of North Yorkshire County Council, the NHS, North Yorkshire Police and voluntary sectors. All in all the strategy takes into account over 1,000 responses.
'Hope, Control and Choice' sets out a series of commitments under three priorities - building resilience, being responsive and reaching out to users and partners. Commitments include:
- Public health awareness-raising campaigns to tackle stigma and discrimination;
- Working through the county council's stronger communities programme to introduce a range of local wellbeing initiatives;
- New programmes to promote good mental health from birth onwards to help children and young people stay strong;
- Working with employers to promote good mental health in the workplace;
- Improving access to "talking therapies" in North Yorkshire;
- Timely diagnosis of dementia and the introduction of dementia-friendly communities across North Yorkshire;
- Working in new ways in both health and social care to take into account the full range of people's needs, including their physical health; and
- Bring together annually North Yorkshire mental health champions to share best practice and to offer challenge.
Delivering the strategy
The implementation of the strategy will be overseen by a programme board, comprising of senior management leaders from the NHS and social care. Initially the programme board will provide oversight of a one year delivery plan for 2016-17 to take forward key mental health challenges for the North Yorkshire County Council area. Further strategy delivery plans will be developed throughout the course of the strategy lifetime.
Supporting the programme board will be a mental health strategy implementation group, comprised of relevant officers from the NHS and social care. The implementation group will undertake work on behalf of the programme board in developing plans for strategy implementation and driving the delivery of these.
All work undertaken will align with the existing programmes of mental health service improvement; e.g. future in mind (transformation planning), crisis care concordat, dementia strategy development and all age autism strategy implementation group. It will also consider and reflect the recommendations in the independent mental health taskforce's 'national five year forward view for mental health in the NHS'.
Mental health strategy - general documents
Strategy update to health and wellbeing board 6 May 2016
North Yorkshire's mental health strategy 2015-2020 'hope, control and choice'
Mental health strategy delivery plan
Review of mental health services
North Yorkshire County Council commissions a range of community support mental health contracts which provide support to people with mental health issues in North Yorkshire. To find out more about how these are currently being reviewed please visit our Adult Social Care Mental Health Care Services Review page.
