Relaunch of mental health support service on World Mental Health Day

The NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) together with the local authorities in the city, county and Rutland are joining forces to launch the newly recommissioned Mental Health Wellbeing and Recovery Support Service today (Monday 10 October) on World Mental Health Day.

The Mental Health Wellbeing Recovery Support Service (MHWRSS) will see £1 million per year invested across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland over the next five years to provide advice, guidance and support for people’s emotional and mental health. The service is open access, meaning that there is no need for an appointment and people can simply pick up the phone to get the ball rolling.

To celebrate the recommissioning, Mental Health Matters (MHM), a charity with over 35 years of experience in delivering mental health services, will be holding a launch event at Hinckley’s Britannia Shopping Centre, on Monday 10 October 10am-2pm where members of the public can learn more about the wellbeing support available from the service.  

Dan Reynolds, the area manager for MHM, said: “This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day is to ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority.’ We know that locally, as we head into the winter months, many people will be experiencing financial adversity which challenges their mental health and wellbeing. We will be doing all we can to make sure that our service in North West Leicestershire, Hinckley & Bosworth is tailored to what local people need and is joined up with other services is key to ensuring that people can maintain their mental wellbeing and resilience.”

MHM is one of the four partners delivering the MHWRSS across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, with each provider allocated to a part of the city and/or county. The other providers are P3, Nottinghamshire Community Housing Association and Life Links.

As part of their launch plans, Nottinghamshire Community Housing Association are attending the Mental Health Mile on Monday, which is being organised by the Loughborough Wellbeing Centre as part of World Mental Health Day. They will be available to talk to members of the public between 10am and 2pm.

The Mental Health Wellbeing Recovery Support Service is available in all parts of the city, county and Rutland. Once people have contacted their provider, they work with a recovery worker to tailor the support to what they need.   For example, it can be one-off advice or can be ongoing, face to face support lasting several sessions (about 8-12). Each of the providers are based in the community and employ recovery workers. This means that there is someone on the ground to work with people needing support.

The recovery workers are trained to support the person to manage their mental health and the impact it has on different elements of their life. For example, finances, home and daily living needs, engaging in the community, employment), and to develop self-help and coping strategies.

Further information and contact details are available at: Mental Health Wellbeing and Recovery Support Service (MHWRSS) – Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (leicspart.nhs.uk)

The service is funded by the NHS and the local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The funding partners commented below:

John Edwards, Associate Director working on transforming mental health services within the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System, said: “This newly commissioned service is very much about providing no wrong door for people who need support with their mental health and wellbeing. Partners are working together to make sure that services are joined up, whether this is the local Crisis Café, the GP practice or the Hospital Discharge Teams employed by local authorities for example, so that it is much easier for people to get the help they need.”

Councillor Vi Dempster, Chair of the City Health and Wellbeing Board said:“Looking after your mental health is vital and I would urge anyone to get in touch with this service if they feel that they need help. There is a lot of pressure on all of us at the moment and sometimes we just need to talk to someone who can offer that vital support and guidance, before it affects our mental health. We know that people find it difficult to know where to go, so we want this be their first point of contact for any issues that are affecting their mental health.”

Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board in Leicestershire, Councillor Louise Richardson said: “It is so important that all organisations come together in partnership to tackle the very real issue of mental health.  Having speedy, early access to help and support when needed is vital and prevents things getting worse.  It should also help to protect the emergency services during the winter months.  We all know the impact of Covid and the Cost-of-Living crisis has, and will have, on mental health so if you are needing help please use this service as soon as you are aware rather than allowing things to escalate and become more unmanageable.

Rutland County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care, Cllr Sam Harvey, added: “Due to the affects that the pandemic and lockdown have had on our communities, now followed by the cost of the living crisis that is hitting all households, it is more important than ever to ensure that the right support is available for mental health issues. This investment aims to give our residents easier access to the support they need to emotional and mental health services. We are pleased that P3 will be providing this service to our residents and that they are based locally from Catmose House. We would urge both men and women to access the help they need.”

Sam Wood, from Leicestershire Partnership Trust’s, urgent and emergency care team said: “This service will provide an additional front door for people wanting help with their mental health and hopefully it will help people get support before they come to a crisis point. We know that getting support much earlier can make a huge difference to people’s recovery. At LPT we have put a lot of support in for people when they feel that they are at a crisis point – the crisis cafes and the Central Access Point – and this service will work closely with us.”