A wide variety of community, voluntary and social enterprise sector teams working with the NHS and social care to make the Transformation Programme a reality across east London were present on the day.
The Community Mental Health Transformation Programme began life in inner North East London in 2019, as one of 12 national early implementer sites, in line with the requirements of the NHS Long Term Plan.
The programme’s vision is to see primary and secondary care with social care, local authority services, third sector and local communities work together in new and innovative ways to support people with moderate to severe mental health problems.
ELFT Director of Integrated Care Richard Fradgley welcomed everyone to the event with an overview of the journey so far. ELFT Director of Therapies Dr Ravi Rana explained how integral the role of the Clinical Associate Psychology apprenticeship programme is, in ensuring that the NHS becomes more representative of the communities they serve.
Community, voluntary and social enterprise teams present at the Celebration included The Claudia Jones organisation, Compass, Noa Girls, Women’s Inclusive Team, the Working Well Trust and many others.
The centre piece of the event was the 'Connecting with now' session, set up to involve a range of different organisations as part of a World cafe forum space. Staff and service user representatives from the Pathways for Community Mental Health Pharmacists Disordered Eating, Complex Emotional Needs and Mental Health Rehabilitation took part alongside leads from ELFT's Transformation People Participation team.
Later on in the day there was a panel Q&A where the discussion focused on ‘What does the future look like?’ Representatives came from Tower Hamlets Primary Care, Newham Occupational Therapy, Public Health, people participation carers, and health researchers.
Nichola Gardner, ELFT Neighbourhood Project Director for City & Hackney, described how important the transformation programme is for people living with moderate to severe mental illness:
“Looking around today and seeing the range of community and voluntary partners here today is so inspiring.
“They all bring such valuable expertise, wisdom and know-how.
“Today is not just a celebration of what has been achieved so far, or looking forward, its also about strengthening and deepening these relationships.
“We want our service users to feel assured that all our partner organisations have time, energy and space for them where they can grow, develop, get therapeutic support and build friendships.”
Transformation Programme Director Jamie Stafford closed the day by bringing focus to thoughts about the Programme’s next steps.
He said: “It’s been a fantastic day and opportunity to hear from such a wide number of projects, organisation, teams and inspirational leaders. I’ve heard first-hand of the positive impact of some of the changes of recent years – changes in how the system is organised, but ultimately in how people access and experience mental health support when they need it, and the difference this can make in their lives.
It’s also felt like a real opportunity to think to the future. As we move towards a more integrated system of care, with an increasing emphasis on both population health and personalised care and support, it’s exciting to think how we can take our partnerships to another level, to truly coproduce transformational services that deliver what really matters to people.”