Mental health consultation

A 12-week public consultation on proposals to redesign specialist mental health services for adults and older people experiencing severe or long term mental ill-health started this week.

The consultation relates to services available to a population of 480,000 people across Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal. Specialist mental health support is provided for approximately 7,000 adults and older people each year in these areas. 95 per cent of that care is provided in the community.

Dr Ian Hulme, GP with Meadowside Medical Centre in Congleton and clinical lead for mental health at NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG, said: "We are proposing a redesign of these services to significantly improve mental health support, with a focus on early prevention and more choice. User and carer feedback, along with recent clinical audit recommendations and inspections, told us that some things in these services work well but that other things need to change for the better.

"One service user told us that they 'deserve to thrive, not just survive' and I, together with clinical colleagues across Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal, are united in our view that this proposed model of care will support people with specialist mental health needs to do just that."

The consultation runs from 6 March 2018 to 29 May 2018 and no decision will be made until after the consultation findings have been fully considered. Any new service arrangements would be introduced gradually into 2019.

For more information, visit www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk where the online survey and details of the public events are published.

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