Holistic Support for Mental Health

Lead Member South Ribble Borough Council
Year 2022
Status Prototype
Report

Bid

Principles met

Co-production

We will develop systems that enable citizens to be equal partners in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.
Democratic engagement

We will support the active engagement of the full range of residents in decision making and priority setting.
Innovation

We will embrace innovation in how we work with local communities to drive positive change.
Learning

We will capture and ‘expand’ the experience and learning from individual projects and approaches in order to encourage broader application of co-operative principles within individual member Councils and across the Network.
New models of meeting priority needs

In exploring new ways of meeting the priority needs of our communities we will encourage models, such as co-operatives and mutuals, which give greater influence and voice to staff and users. in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.
Social partnership

We will strengthen the co-operative partnership between citizens, communities, enterprises and Councils, based on a shared sense of responsibility for wellbeing and mutual benefit.

About the project

Project Background

In 2020, within South Ribble Borough Council’s Communities department, a new team was developed; South Ribble Together. This team focuses on providing support to those who have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, working closely with residents to assess their health, social, and financial support needs, and making appropriate referrals to both partners and internal services.

Carrying out these assessments and having conversations with key partners, highlighted mental health as a leading community priority, with cases becoming more frequent and complex in both adults and young people. From liaising with schools, it was identified that:

Schools were reporting worsening mental health amongst young people. Those with challenging home lives were having to spend increased time at home, and all young people experienced extended periods of social isolation whilst schools were closed.
There are limited non-clinical and preventative mental health provisions available for young people and waiting lists for clinical interventions are extensive.
Schools were not aware of the referral pathways into mental health services.
Few teachers were trained to handle mental health-related conversations (i.e. mental healthfirst aid trained).The application made to the Cooperative Council specifically focused on interventions to support young people, particularly those struggling with low confidence, self-belief, and emotional resilience.