Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health - Increasing Kinowledge, Supporting Change - Research & Evaluation

Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health banner: telephone 0131 555 5959 email: sdc@sdcmh.org.uk

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developing teams & services

mental health primary care

developing teams and services

Partnership Working

SDC currently operates in several key strategic partnerships e.g. the Living Better project; The Scottish Primary Care Mental Health Research and Development Programme; implementation of the Supported Employment Framework for Scotland with the Scottish Union of Supported Employment; and developing productive and mentally healthy workplaces, as a part of the Health Work and Wellbeing Challenge Fund with Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations(SCVO).

Developing Teams and Developing Services

SDC has built up expertise over a number of years in service and team development. We can be helpful in a number of ways with partnerships, multi-disciplinary teams and networks who want to deliver a shared agenda, for example around Single Outcomes Agreements.

Over the years we have designed and facilitated one-day reviews for teams, as well as more in-depth programmes of development for new teams. SDC has worked sensitively and productively with multi-disciplinary teams where relationships have become strained or where communication has broken down, enabling change to happen and work to become more effective.

We have worked with Community Health Partnerships, for example in East Dunbartonshire in 2008/09, to improve services in-line with strategic change and the needs of service users, planners and commissioners.

We draw on the latest evidence to support our work and use highly trained and experienced facilitators.

examples of SDC projects

SDC has been commissioned by Health Scotland to devise and deliver training for Keep Well practitioners across Scotland to increase understanding of mental health and wellbeing.

The aim is to increase the confidence of practitioners in the anticipatory care programme around asking about and supporting individuals’ mental health.

Policy

Policy and strategic planning :

SDC seeks to support the development of policies and plans that lead to good practice in mental health services and to enhanced mental health for individuals and communities. SDC has extensive skills and experience working with local and national bodies to contribute to the formulation of strategic objectives and plans for their implementation. For example, in 2009 SDC was a member of the UK Mental Health and Employment Strategy High Level Steering Group which was established to develop a UK Mental Health and Employment Strategy.

Service user involvement

Previously, SDC working with Allies in Change produced a guide to involvement in mental health service development, for service users and carers, Route Map to User and Carer Participation, and for NES produced modules on servicer users involvement and promoting diversity in the Ten Essential Shared Capabilities. With Scotland’s ongoing commitment to recovery, these materials remain as pertinent as ever.

Currently, SDC is involved in several projects related to developing peer support in mental health services.

Also, in 2010 SDC is working with Voices of Experience VoX to research and develop peer support in employability services.

Stakeholder consultation

Almost all areas of current mental health policy and practice require the engagement and involvement of a broad range of stakeholder groups. This can range from local communities and groups of those who use services through to senior policy makers and planners at national level. SDC has experience in facilitating discussions with stakeholder groups.

There is a considerable advantage in having independent facilitation to aid consultation and discussion with stakeholder groups, to ensure that divergences of view are fully understood and used as a positive resource to inform change.

Our experience is that, where there is a divergence of views or areas of conflict, the involvement of an independent organisation like SDC enhances the credibility of the process and the outcomes achieved.