Message from the Director
As Director for the Neighbourhood Mental Health Division, I’m really pleased to be sharing this first issue of our Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams Update with you.
Many of you told us you’d value a regular, straightforward way of staying connected to the development of the neighbourhood teams. I hope that with this monthly newsletter, alongside more face-to-face events, we can do better in keeping you informed of where we are, what’s changing, and what it means for you. We’ll also be highlighting further opportunities to get involved.
Looking ahead, the move towards neighbourhood teams is a significant shift, and I know this has brought a level of uncertainty as things take shape. Thank you for the commitment and professionalism you continue to show, particularly while things are still evolving. Our aim remains to strengthen how we support people locally, working more closely with partners and building something that is sustainable for both staff and the people and families we support.
I’m particularly keen to hear what would make this work better in practice, so thank you to everyone who has already shared with us your ideas, feedback and questions, and please continue to do so.
Georgina Foulds – Director of Neighbourhood Mental Health
Get involved: Staff Advisory Group
We’re setting up a Staff Advisory Group to support the next phase of our move from community services to neighbourhood teams.
This group will play an important role in shaping the new teams. It will:
- Provide a clear route for staff views into decision-making
- Sense-check plans and proposals before they are finalised
- Highlight practical considerations from frontline delivery
- Help ensure changes work across different roles and settings
We’re looking for a broad mix of roles, professions and localities, so that the group reflects the diversity of our workforce.
You don’t need prior experience of projects or transformation – just a willingness to contribute your perspective and represent colleagues.
If you’re interested in being involved, please contact: CMHTPOneTeam@sabp.nhs.uk
Programme Delivery Team
Thank you for attending Staff Engagement Events
A big thank you to everyone who attended the staff engagement events in April. It was great to see such open discussion across sessions, and to be able to share the progress on developing the clinical process with you all.
We heard thoughtful reflections, practical questions, and honest feedback. There was a huge amount of input for which we are immensely grateful. While we continue to work through constructing these into actions, we wanted to share with you the top themes that have been emerging:
- To support effectiveness in the new approach, we need clear communication, training and stronger joined up working.
- Roles, pathways, thresholds, and responsibilities are all areas that need more clarity, alignment and focus.
- Challenges around capacity, resourcing and system barriers may get in the way.
We’ll continue to build your feedback into the work we’re doing and into future sessions and updates.
Casey Byrne – OD Consultant
Staff Mapping – Where we are now
Work on mapping staff to the new structure is progressing. This is a key part of making sure we have the right people, skills and capacity in the right places as services evolve.
Current position: We are now reviewing staff mapping by professional group rather than locality to ensure decisions are made fairly and consistently across teams.
What’s happening next: We aim to confirm everyone’s status by the end of the month, with any required selection processes expected to take place in June.
What this means for you: The additional time is helping us maximise slotting opportunities, meaning more colleagues may be matched directly into posts and fewer may need to enter a formal selection process.
We’ll continue to share updates as this develops, with opportunities to ask questions and get more detail.
Jo Barnett – HR Business Partner
What To Expect Next
As neighbourhood teams take shape, there will be a steady build of activity to support the transition and help teams feel confident in new ways of working.
Over the coming months, the focus will be on making changes practical and well-supported.
You can expect:
- Training and development tailored to new roles, responsibilities and ways of working
- More engagement events to walk through processes, test ideas and answer questions
- Opportunities to connect with partners across neighbourhoods, including primary care, social care and VCSE
- Regular, clear updates so you know what’s happening and when
We’ll keep building this with you – focusing on what’s useful, what’s needed, and what will make the biggest difference day to day.
Programme Delivery Team
Help us improve our website
Please take a moment to share your thoughts and help us enhance our website by completing our short survey here.