1. 3. Reimagining Mental Health
Dr Kirti Singh

2. Reimagining Mental Health
This is our transformation programme for mental health.
Luton has £100k per year, for three years, to design and deliver change, based on the approach used in Lambeth, S London.
We are working towards a wellbeing network approach that is inclusive and meets people’s needs.
It takes the principles of collaborative leadership, design thinking and co-production.
It is part of the “Live Well UK Programme”, which is funded by “The National Lottery Community Fund” and led by the Innovation Unit.
We’re on a journey in Luton that involves everyone, potentially.
We all have mental health and our mental health is better at some times and worse at others. We all know people who have mental health needs.
In Luton, we aren’t rushing into decisions and we aren’t doing things the ‘traditional’ way: that is, professionals getting together to design something that works for organisations but often doesn’t work for people.

3. Our Co-production Approach
A group of around 30, including people with lived experience, carers, clinicians, service professionals, commissioners and the voluntary sector.
“We will develop and hold the vision for how we do things around here and collaboratively lead the change required to realise it”
The Collaborative
“We are part of the collaborative and work on behalf of it to hold the design and development of the approach, ensuring we connect it deeply to the needs and aspirations of local people”
A smaller group of 15, including people with lived experience, carers, practitioners, clinicians and commissioners
Design
Team
Extended Design
Team
“We work with the design team to share our specific insights and ideas to help develop and shape the approach”
A wider group of people from across local neighbourhoods, local services and voluntary and community organisations.
Reimagining Mental Health uses a co-production approach
That means that everyone has a voice; everyone can be involved in designing and delivering changes for Luton mental health
We have what we call The Collaborative, which is open to anyone to get involved with. It meets monthly and usually there are around 30 people there, but we’d like more. It is a group that is still finding its role, which should be to hold the wider system to account.
It includes people from the voluntary sector, the mental health providers, people with lived experience, carers, and commissioners
Then we have design groups, which are much smaller and are focused on making things happen. The design groups take direction from the collaborative, to design new ways of working.
And then there’s the Extended Design Group, which brings more people together to test the design group ‘s work and sharpen the approach.
Together, we are shaping a new mental health offer for Luton, over the next three years.

4. Our Vision and Outcomes
People are able to build on their strengths and assets
People have choice and control and feel empowered to make choices
Luton is a community where I feel listened to, believed, understood and supported to become the person I want to be.
This is our vision for mental health in Luton, and these are our Big 3 outcomes.
You’ll notice that mental health is not mentioned. That’s because we want to talk about people, and what matters to them
A person’s mental health is part of the rich picture that makes up their life; it should not define them
The purpose of having a vision and outcomes is to hold ourselves to account – to check that everything we do meets the vision and outcomes we have set for ourselves
This is not just about the CCG. The CCG is part of a much bigger system that is involved in transforming mental health for Luton people
People are staying well and living the life they want to lead

5. Active listening, having compassionate and supportive conversations
Engaging in
positive activities
with others
Sharing an individual’s story and exploring what helps them recover and live life well
Supporting to share
their skills with the
local community
Curious facilitator
Identifying the barriers and enablers to realising the life they want to lead
Building people’s confidence by identifying how they
can support others
Our first design group focused on roughsleepers and homeless people, working with the Council’s Housing Dept, Penrose, Noah, Luton All Women’s Centre, Signposts and ELFT
We asked people who had been roughsleepers to tell us their stories, and the rich information we got led to development of the ‘Curious Facilitator’ approach.
It’s a model that enables a series of conversations with a person, to draw our their story, what they feel they need, setting some goals and developing resilience. The intent is that a person should only have to tell their story once, and the information is shared according to their wishes.
Design work involve ‘prototyping’: taking a product and testing whether it works, and changing what doesn’t work. The Curious Facilitator is being prototyped by Luton Council’s Housing Dept, Penrose and the Luton All Women’s Centre. Changes have already been made to it as a result, and we expect to have a final version by end September.
We want the Curious Facilitator approach to be widely used in Luton’s service offer.
Helping make choices of support that will enable them to recover and stay well
Connecting with other professionals & support
Having a good understanding of local assets and resources

6. Design Group 2: What is Open Access?
Immediate response, quick access to mental health support
Values are key - e.g. respect and listening
Key worker building trusting relationships
Collaboration between services - Inc. develop trusted assessment and share across services
Self referral, referrals from multi-agency professionals
Services close to home and at home
Right resources and skills available e.g. interpreters
Utilising IT
Being able to access help where people want to meet
Making most of seeing someone when they are seen
Based on people’s need and understand what is the cause of the triggers for ‘mental ill health’
Access to the right support and the right people at the right time
Easy in - not having to ‘prove’ yourself, no ‘boxes’ to fit into
No thresholds, no criteria, no barriers
First point of contact to identify what’s needed
Educating people about what is possible
Choice of access - online and phone
Aligning physical & mental health issues
Responsive front door - open for as long as required
Not retelling stories, must have access to medical records
Our second design group is working on what we’re calling “Open Access”: an approach to supporting people in the community who have mild to moderate mental health needs.
We’ve been working on what is should include and we are now at a stage where we are ready to design what it will be. The intention is to start with a small number of people in one area of Luton, prototype the approach and then scale it up.
It will link with the ambitions of the Long Term Plan, which include an approach to community mental health that supports more people in primary care, and includes employment advice, social care and trauma-informed care.

7. Name: Nicky
About me: I am 42. I have been trying to get back to work after a long time of feeling unwell but I am finding it really difficult
My current challenges
My strengths and passions
My mental health has been bad for a long time
I find it difficult to open up to staff as I cannot find ones that are trustworthy
I am struggling with my benefits and banking, I don’t always have enough to get by
I just received a letter about my benefits and i don’t know what to do
I live in temporary accommodation
The voices have gotten worse so going out has been really hard
I don’t have contact with my family and have very few friends
I love the cinema and theatre
Religion is important to me
I am a generous person
I like to help others
I am a great listener
Nicky’s story is not an unusual one. She has not been well-served by services over the years.
Question for discussion: how can Nicky’s needs be better met in a new service offer? What would need to be in place to support her?
My hopes and aspirations
I want to get a job that I enjoy and that gives me enough money to live on
I want to meet someone I can spend time with
I want to see my Mum again
I want to try and feel better about myself