The local health and care system in Humber and North Yorkshire is raising awareness of mental health challenges and the importance of accessible care to mark World Mental Health Day (10 October).
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership aims to better support the health and wellbeing of the local population, delivering safe and quality mental health, learning disabilities and autism services.
Working with stakeholders from across the region, the Partnership has been able to more effectively collaborate and plan. This ensures that services can meet the needs of communities and investment decisions are aligned to longer term strategic goals.
Ryan Nicholls, Urgent and Emergency Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Programme Lead for the Partnership, said: “As we mark World Mental Health Day, we are committed to building stronger connections between our communities and services, ensuring that support is accessible to those in need.
“We are proud of the progress we’ve made through initiatives such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools, as well as our partnerships with local businesses, but we know there is still more to do.
“The voices of people with lived experience remain at the heart of our efforts to save lives and create lasting change.”
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is committed to continuing to improve mental health, learning disabilities and autism services in across the region, and a number of key priorities have been developed.
World Mental Health Day is an annual awareness day which aims to raise awareness of mental health matters, mobilise efforts in support of mental health and to reduce stigma.
This year’s theme is about poor mental health and burnout in the workplace. More information and resources are available on the Mental Health UK website.
A summary of the key achievements for 2023/24 and priorities for 2024/25:
Successes 2023/24:
Learning Disabilities and Autism
- Hosted an international conference on Autism with 400+ attendees.
- Established an Autism and ADHD Project Group to create a system-wide referral criteria and pathways.
- Progressed the 3-year Oliver McGowan training plan, training professionals to deliver specialized training.
Priorities 2024/25:
- Refine autism and ADHD dashboards and launch new pathways.
- Improve inpatient and community facilities and address workforce challenges.
Children and Young People’s Mental Health
Successes 2023/24:
- Improved collaboration between services and data reporting for mental health access.
- Rolled out Mental Health Support Teams in schools and worked on health inequality issues.
- Initiated research to address disordered eating (ARFID).
Priorities 2024/25:
- Focus on prevention, early intervention and improved mental health service access.
- Develop suicide prevention pathways for children and improve transitions from youth to adult services.
Community Mental Health Transformation
Successes 2023/24:
- Expanded community mental health services, including neighbourhood hubs and new roles in psychological professions.
Priorities 2024/25:
- Improve care quality, reduce waiting times and enhance access to psychological therapies.
- Focus on complex needs through intensive case management.
Severe Mental Illness (SMI) Physical Health Care
Successes 2023/24:
- Increased annual health checks for people with SMI (69.9%) and improved smoking cessation and cancer screening access.
Priorities 2024/25:
- Improve cancer care and screening for people with SMI and reach a 75% annual health check completion rate.
Suicide Prevention
Successes 2023/24:
- Established a priority plan aligned with the national strategy, enhanced partnerships with VCSE services and improved postvention services.
Priorities 2024/25:
- Train more people in suicide prevention, improve workplace prevention pledges and integrate lived experience in decision-making.
Urgent and Emergency Care Mental Health
Successes 2023/24:
- Fully mobilised NHS 111 mental health crisis support and added a mental health response vehicle.
Priorities 2024/25:
- Maximize the use of mental health response vehicles and focus on crisis prevention and reducing service variation.
Dementia
Successes 2023/24:
- Accredited Memory Assessment Services, launched dementia research collaborations, and coproduced a Five-Year Dementia Strategy.
Priorities 2024/25: Continue monthly dementia community discussions, improve diagnosis rates and advance research on accessible information for people with dementia.