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Transforming Community Mental Health Care

Working in partnership to improve access and support recovery

Community mental health services are transforming in our communities to offer a new range of support for adults and older adults in Surrey and north east Hampshire experiencing a wide and potentially complex range of mental health and emotional well-being issues.

What has happened so far?

GP practices, our Trust, Surrey County Council, local charities, people who use services, and their carers have been working together to help shape new specialist services now available when you seek help from your GP.

These new services, described below, are open to people experiencing difficulties in life that significantly affect their general emotional well-being and mental health to the point of impacting on levels of everyday activity and personal relationships.

At the first point someone seeks help from their GP they can be referred to a range of new services in their local community. They don't even need a formal diagnosis of illness.

As a result, throughout our local communities, thousands more people in need have been supported more quickly, and easily, than ever before.

What is happening next?

These new services are forming stronger partnership relationships with traditional community mental health teams, adult social care and support services, and other health and well-being services to better meet the physical health, mental health and social care needs of local people in a timely way.  

New services available 

A new specialist workforce of mental health practitioners, community connectors, psychologists, occupational therapists, mental health and well-being practitioners, and lived experience staff, is working alongside mental health pharmacists and psychiatrists to help people in our region manage their emotional well-being and mental health while remaining in the care of their local GP. These new teams serve clusters of local GP practices in an area known as a Primary Care Network. Because of this early access to additional specialist support in the community, the chance of recovery is increased, and the chance of a condition worsening is reduced. 

These new teams serve clusters of local GP practices in an area known as a Primary Care Network. Because of this early access to additional specialist support in the community - the chance of recovery is increased, and the chance of a condition worsening is reduced.

These new services also think about the support family and carers need in looking after their loved ones, when arranging personalised care plans based on the needs of the individual.

If you go to your GP because your symptoms or negative thoughts/feelings are getting in the way of functioning in your daily life, you may be referred to a new primary care mental health service known as  MHICS (Mental Health Integrated Community Service) if you live in Surrey Heath, Farnham, or north east Hampshire. The same service is known as GPimhs (GP Integrated Mental Health Service) if you live in the rest of Surrey. 

When being seen by a GPimhs/MHICS team, they may also arrange for extra support from new Lived Experience Practitioners who offer emotional support, share knowledge, teach skills, provide practical assistance, and connect people with resources, opportunities, communities of support, and other people - to help achieve long-term recovery.

Some GP practices have also opted to have new Mental Health Practitioners join their own staff teams to provide extra support to help alleviate distress in a timely way for people contacting their GP, making it easier to get the right care from the right person.

Find out more about your local GPimhs teams.

Find out more about your local MHICS teams.

Some GP practices have also opted to have new mental health practitioners join their own staff teams, to provide extra support to help alleviate distress in a timely way for people contacting their GP, making it easier to get the right care from the right person.

A new service called AEDimhs (Adult Eating Disorder Integrated Mental Health Service) is working with local GP practices to provide specialist support for adults with low medical risk, or early onset diagnosable eating disorders. 

Find out more about the AEDimhs.

 

If you are experiencing rapidly fluctuating and intense emotions that significantly impact your well-being, relationships, and quality of life -  GPimhs or MHICS team will refer you to the new Managing Emotions Programme (MEP). 

MEP offers psychoeducational courses designed to equip people with a range of tools and skills to enable them to manage their emotions more effectively.

Find out more about the MEP.

Another service that helps people cope with complex emotional needs, often associated with personality disorder, is the Service User Network (SUN).

SUN is a self-referral, confidential peer support group aiming to empower individuals to get the support they need and gives them the opportunity to share their experiences to help others.

Find out more about SUN.

The Lived Experience Practitioner service provides peer support and practical assistance to help people regain control of their lives and support them to achieve a better quality of life despite their mental health difficulties.

Find out more about Lived Experience Practitioners

An entirely new approach to multi-agency working and personalised-care planning called HOMEFirst is enabling people with complex and long-standing mental health needs and a history of repeat admission to an acute/specialist inpatient unit to live well at home - preventing any future deterioration in their mental health, or the need for in-patient admission.

Find out more about HOMEFirst.

Whole-person care

Because we are working in partnership with leading community organisations as never before, we can seamlessly plan and coordinate care between a range of different agencies. This means the new specialist teams serving GP practices, and our established community mental health services, working alongside Adult Social Care and Community Connections, can offer truly whole-person care, providing care plans addressing immediate mental health needs and any difficulties in day-to-day living affecting mental health. 

Whole person-care plans can help with problems including: 

  • Financial struggles: e.g., support managing rent arrears, debt, and financial insecurity 
  • Employment concerns: e.g., providing resources and assistance to find meaningful employment opportunities 
  • Safe and secure housing needs: e.g., assistance with accommodation and home security concerns 
  • Social care: e.g., accessing social care services and peer support 
  • Alcohol and drug dependency: e.g., accessing programmes to help people with dependency
  • Loneliness and isolation: e.g., access to support networks and peer support groups.

United in making a difference

Our new services include staff employed by local charities, Andover Mind, Catalyst, Mary Francis Trust, Richmond Fellowship, and Action for Carers. We also have community partnerships with Surrey County Council, NHS Surrey Heartlands and NHS Frimley. People with lived experience of significant mental health needs, and their carers, have a central role in shaping and developing our new services throughout Surrey and north east Hampshire.