Humber, Coast and Vale has been chosen as one of the first areas in the country to pilot new integrated mental health care services for adults.
NHS England has identified Humber, Coast and Vale, along with 11 other areas in the country, as pilot sites to test new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care. These sites will collectively receive more than £70million in additional funding during 2019/20 and 2020/21.
Community mental health teams consist of different mental health professionals with health and social care backgrounds, including psychiatrists, psychologists, community psychiatric nurses, social workers and occupational therapists. They provide support to people with moderate to severe mental health problems in their communities.
The new models of care will more closely align community-based mental health teams to the emerging Primary Care Networks, helping to remove barriers between primary care and secondary care to create a seamless service. This will enable people to receive appropriate care from community mental health services within four weeks from referral to treatment in all areas of Humber, Coast and Vale.
All of the pilot sites have made plans to develop ways to increase access to services by removing arbitrary thresholds, maximising continuity of care, improving quality and choice, optimising data and information sharing across organisations, and improving mental health outcomes in local communities.
All of the pilot sites will test specific new models of care for young adults (aged 18-25) with mental health problems, while new workforce configurations will also be tested to better address the needs of diverse local communities.
The Humber, Coast and Vale model will also include an additional focus on adults with complex mental health difficulties who are diagnosed with a personality disorder, and adults in need of mental health rehabilitation services.
The NHS Long Term Plan, which was published in January, emphasised the need to transform community health so that, over the next five years, at least 370,000 adults with moderate to severe mental illnesses could access better quality care across primary and community teams, have greater choice and control over the care they receive and be supported to lead fulfilling lives in their communities.
Michele Moran, Chair of the Humber, Coast and Vale Mental Health Partnership Board, said: “I am delighted that Humber, Coast and Vale has been chosen as one of 12 community mental health pilot sites in the country. The decision to locate one of the pilot sites here is recognition of the strength of our collaborative working with partners to transform and improve mental health services in our area.
“We have been awarded the funding during 2019/20 and 2020/21 to implement a pilot site in Hull and East Yorkshire to test new integrated primary and community models of care for people with moderate to severe mental health conditions.
“Our model will also include an additional focus on care for adults with complex mental health difficulties who are diagnosed with a personality disorder and adults who require mental health rehabilitation services.”