Mental Health Crisis Care: The Path to Engagement and Coproduction Partnership Meeting 3 Summary

1. Mental Health Crisis Care: The Path to Engagement and CoproductionPartnership Meeting 3 Summary @SocialEnt_UK @IVAR_UK #BHPselfcare #HIOWcrisiscare #HIOWcrisiscare Funded by NHS England and the Big Lottery Fund

2. Introduction On the 18th of January 2018, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) Partnership held its third Building Health Partnerships (BHP) Meeting at the Totton and Eling Cricket Club to develop their work around peer support in mental health services. One of the key messages from the last meeting was that peer support can help people in mental health crisis into the next stage of their recovery, but it needs an infrastructure and an evidence base to ensure consistency and the best possible support - for both workers and ultimately service users - across the HIOW area. The purpose of the meeting was to: • Share back from last time • Be inspired and learn from examples of peer support across HIOW • Find better ways of working together across the STP and influence key decisions • Develop the role of the peer support worker/volunteer • Start creating/shaping the Peer Support network The last two items were identified as priorities at the second partnership meeting. The third partnership session builds on the first two partnership sessions (see here for the summary and presentations from these sessions) and Core Group meetings to date. The session was attended by peer support workers from across the HIOW area, representatives from voluntary and community organisations, local authorities and the NHS from across the HIOW Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) area.

3. Activity 1: Making sure the ‘blobs don’t turn into squares’ We heard two presentations, the first from a local peer support worker from Solent Mind and the second from a Clinical Team leader for early intervention in psychosis from the Isle of Wight. We also shared a The Parable of the Blobs and Squares animation about coproduction and maintaining the unique identity of the voluntary and community sector. We asked the group to consider how we might develop the peer support role and infrastructure through professionalisation, recognition and standardisation, while keeping it personal, local, flexible and tailored to the individual. Key points from discussions included: • Support, supervision, good line management from someone who recognises value of peer support and understands it • Having clear expectations about the role • Developing co-production processes in organising/coordinating the work itself and enabling outside contribution of different skills • Making sure peer support training and guidelines are co-produced/co-facilitated • A greater awareness of what the role of peer supporter worker is and how it fits in – peer support as part of the bigger picture • Commitment to explore flexible ways of working i.e. flexible hours • Maintaining a recovery focussed approach • Developing trusting and open relationships • Creating a culture of mutual respect for lived experience which breaks the stigma talking about mental health issues - ‘it’s ok not to be ok!’ – although a concern was also expressed that people might feel pressured to share their personal experiences. • WRAP or WAP (wellbeing recovery action plan) for everyone!

4. Activity 2: Developing role of peer support worker At the last workshop it became evident that although peer support exists across HIOW, there was a lack of consistency in role descriptions and responsibilities and also the level to which peer support workers were supported, valued and embedded in their organisations. To help us develop the role of peer supported worker, we asked people to get into mixed groups of support workers, frontline workers, clinical staff etc. to discuss recruitment, induction, training and development needs, supervision, job descriptions and organisational culture. The following key points/themes/areas for improvement emerged: • Training, supervision and induction are all linked and need to be developed together • Recruitment pathways were varied but generally through local forums [needs further investigation] • Successful recruitment looks for/values people with different skills and qualities • Interview process needs to be sensitive • Supervision is critical, particularly informal supervision which peer supporters felt was very validating • Working towards a CULTURE that values lived experience as an asset – LEADERSHIP sets the tone here – need to bring lived experience to decision making forums • Need to get better at defining what the role is People said they needed: • On the job training; access to further training opportunities as part of personal development • Shadowing before starting the job, proper induction programme, general orienteering, introduction to other team members • Opportunities for external clinical supervision

5. Activity 3: Developing the peer supporters network Participants started to design the peer supporters network. Key features included: • An accessible and safe environment where people can mutually support each other, share what works/doesn’t work and explore different ways of supporting each other e.g. Buddy systems • Events should each have a thematic focus (and flexibility acknowledging that not everything will appeal/be relevant to all), presentations from different organisations and a coproduced agenda • A group that is networked nationally How should the Network be run/managed? • Communication must be across the region • Should have a gateway/single point of access to get the right information – similar to HealthWatch – with a virtual access through a digital platform • A hub and spoke model with central hub which coordinates and has a physical presence where people can go or call • Events should be externally facilitated • System ownership – the system needs to own this network and take responsibility and resource • A Core group to lead on the focused work and consult with network; possibly smaller network meetings in different localities • Coproduced mission statement and set of principles • Should be co-chaired between voluntary and statutory sectors Resources – available and needed • Buy-in from commissioners to cover time and resources, otherwise people lack the capacity to engage even if they want to! • Free spaces for groups to meet/funding to pay for this • Organisations who are willing to cooperate • Sharing of resources – virtually, these need to be accessible to wide range of groups from very small community groups to larger orgs • Learning and studies for personal development • Information shared from meetings Practicalities • Virtual conference? • Accessible venues: Maps, parking, transport • Full day, once a quarter – training, practice, time to share • Various locations across the STP patch • Events on the Isle of Wight so they don’t feel isolated • Simple and local - not too much red tape

6. Next steps Several members of the wider partnership will form a core group to drive the development of the peer supporters network. Of this group, several people will be presenting the BHP work to date and the plans for the peer supporters network, to the Mental Health Alliance meeting in February. The idea is to get cross sector buy-in and support for the plans. To join the peer supporters core group, please contactKatherine.Sault@SouthernHealth.nhs.uk. The BHP Core Group will be meeting to think about how peer support can catalyse culture change across mental health services in HIOW. The final BHP partnership session is planned for the 8th of March 2018. The core group will be meeting before then to discuss the focus of that event, which will include how to make this stick, embedding what we’ve learned across the STP, widening what we have learned to informal community based support for mental wellbeing, communicating key messages across and beyond HIOW. To find out more about the national programme please contact houda@ivar.org.uk . @SocialEnt_UK @IVAR_UK #BHPselfcare #HIOWcrisiscare @SocialEnt_UK @IVAR_UK #BHPselfcare #HIOWcrisiscare