Provider and Location North Dorset
community Mental Health Team (CMHT): Dorset
Who will benefit?
Anyone with
a mental health issue in North Dorset.
Key features.
Dorset was one of the first Pathways
to work for long term condition
management (LTCM). Details
of this work can be found here
Condition Management - This programme was formed as part
of the Dame Carol
Black review. As a result this has a range of cognitive behaviour based
groups on offer as part of their conditions management programme. Click
here for the findings.
The key
features of the LTCM programme are the establishment of a Jobcentre Plus Personal Adviser who works within a GP surgery. The
adviser provides return to work advice to patients and acts as a gateway to
further provision on offer through Jobcentre Plus. The main role is to help
patients who are currently in receipt of incapacity benefit and who are
thinking about returning to work at some point in the future. The service is
entirely voluntary Click
here for the published findings from these pilots.
The North Dorset
CMHT also invested in their own Website development which
signposts people to many of the community resources, available to support
inclusion of people in the area.
The Mindful employer network is another key feature to support good practice in business. Employers in the network
in N Dorset include the PCT, The Local Council
and the NHS Trusts.
How they are being delivered.
The pathways scheme The potential customers for this
service are those already claiming Incapacity Benefit or those coming to an end
of their Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) entitlement. The role of the Adviser is to
engage with the GP and practice staff to increase awareness of the links
between health promotion and work. The Adviser will offer a wide range of
options of provision depending upon an individual's circumstances. This will
include provision under Pathways to Work, general Jobcentre Plus provision, or
provision offered by external organisations. Advice from general benefit
questions to debt counselling can also be given.
On the 11th
May 2009. The North Dorset Community Resource Team in partnership with Enham
employment services and Maximus employment and training
launched an employment service for people in mental health recovery across North Dorset.
This
service is free, independent and support is individually focused to enable
people to reach their employment goals. Support may include help with benefits,
access to specialists, practical help, on job coaching, interview skills, CV
writing. There is no time limit on this support so people are able to work at
their own pace.
They are also
developing individuals' stories of recovery around employment, which will aid
spreading positive stories locally and promoting peer support. These stories can
be found on the raisin website. They are also exploring developing social
enterprise. This is in keeping with the moves nationally to increase local
solutions through growing social enterprise. Their hope to grow gardening business is the first example of this in practice.
They also have
access to the Expert Patient Programme, which includes people with mental
health issues. This whole approach is based on the idea of co-production and
self help. Click
here to view what is being offered in this area.
What is unique about this service?
The
entrepreneurial work of the community mental health team demonstrates the shared
partnership approach between the Primary Care Trust, The County Council and the
Dorset Mental Health Forum, which is service user led. It is due to the cross
partnership work that individual's journeys are being supported, unmet
aspirations are being mapped and creative solutions are being pursued to meet
these. Hearing about other peoples journeys is an important aspect of the
service.
The growing
network for Mindful Employer is also helping shape improvements in networking and support work, across the
business and public sector. The inter-connection
across services is vital in managing a range of complex conditions including
mental health. The latest guidance on commissioning for long term conditions is
available here
.