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Welsh Government Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan 2016-2019 Consultation A Response from Neath Port Talbot CVS April 2016 Neath Port Talbot CVS Tŷ Margaret Thorne 17-19 Alfred Street Neath SA11 1EF 1|P a g e A response to the Welsh Government Together for Mental Health Delivery Plan 2016-2019 Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) Neath Port Talbot CVS is the County Voluntary Council and a Charitable Company set up to promote, support and develop the Third Sector in Neath Port Talbot. It has over 500 member organisations and is in touch with over 1,000 Third Sector organisations operating in Neath Port Talbot covering various communities of interest, public services and geographical communities (from small local groups covering smaller wards and deprived communities to large national organisations). Some are wholly volunteer-led and run, and others employ a workforce. As an infrastructure organisation, our role in supporting the development of communities and building community resilience is clear. We provide capacity building, support and guidance to third sector organisations, helping them to develop, plan for growth and sustainability, to deliver services, opportunities and activities that positively impact on, and improve outcomes for, citizens and service users. We also have an important role in engagement and representation. Our aim is to promote the development of a local third sector that is effective and efficient, informed and influential; a sector which is able to improve and achieve positive outcomes for local people. The organisation has strong partnership links locally and regionally and works in a number of strategic areas, such as Health, Education and Learning, Regeneration, and Children and Young People. As part of this work and its key representative function, Neath Port Talbot CVS facilitates a range of third sector forums and networks, which engage the sector in Neath Port Talbot in order to gather the views of the sector and to feed these views into key decision-makers and delivery partners. The organisation also promotes a range of messages to its staff and to the wider community through its newsletters, website and social media. This paper sets out the response to the consultation from Neath Port Talbot CVS. 2|P a g e Introduction The opportunity to respond to this consultation is welcomed and the information contained within the subsequent sections of this response outline the collective views of Neath Port Talbot CVS. Neath Port Talbot CVS facilitates and supports both the Neath Port Talbot Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum and the Neath Port Talbot Service User Network. Please note that separate responses are being submitted from the respective members of the Forum and Network to this consultation. At the outset it is noted that the number of action points contained within the proposed plan has been reduced in comparison to the previous 2012-2015 Delivery Plan. This supports and enables the respective Regional and Local Groups to become more focused on specific themes and subsequent implementation. The Concerns The Delivery Plan is not written in plain language and is particularly difficult for certain groups, this was substantiated with respective service users and carers, and in essence could be seen in itself as a ‘barrier’ to promoting active engagement and co- production at meetings. The Plan appears to place a heavy statutory sector lead for implementation of the majority of the key actions and there appears to be a minimal role for the third sector as a lead body. It appears that there is an inequitable representation of the third sector within the plan across all age groups and related priorities. The Delivery Plan would benefit from a section which outlines best practice and initiatives that have been recognised from the previous three year delivery plan and emanating from the retrospective outcomes of the performance management of the Local Partnership Boards (LPB) across Wales. This would prove as a beneficial source of reference for the LPBs in their prospective local implementation plans and respective developments. Concern is also expressed about ongoing risk and safety issues that staff are attempting to manage in services that are already in high demand with a dwindling resource. There should be greater emphasis in the narrative of the plan, and related actions, on the active shift of focus and resources towards community based care and intervention (including Third Sector) and a reduction of hospital / secondary care based services. Health Boards need to 3|P a g e demonstrate proactive plans and drive towards this vision. Service Users would welcome the further development and establishment of community based care and interventions The active promotion of emotional wellbeing needs to have greater dominance within the Plan. Clarity is required on the actual lead role and responsibility of Public Health Wales in this regard. Some of the performance measures are rather ambiguous in nature and its difficult to determine and identify who and what is being measured Some of the performance measures outlined are a remit for the Welsh Governments Delivery Support Unit (DSU) and should not appear within the narrative of this plan. In view of the acknowledged impact of the forthcoming implementation of the Social Services and Wellbeing Act 2014, in regard to promotion of self-reliance and self-determination on recovery and building on individual strengths, a specific section on the recognition and prevention of deterioration of mental wellbeing at the centre of the individual’s plan in the general population would be welcome. Co-production – this term requires further clarity on definition and actual equity of implementation at all levels from Welsh Government through to local forums. The plan has a noticeable deficit around training and development of raising awareness of positive mental health and promotion of emotional well-being in non-mental health settings such as acute hospital, primary care settings, generic third sector organisations, general communities. This is should be implemented alongside the current Time to Change Wales campaign and provide a complementary drive in positive changes in both culture, skills sets, and attitude. Older People’s needs – the plan needs to link to the ‘whole person’ approach around the older persons developments including positive ageing and physical well being. Equally loneliness and isolation can be viewed as not just the sole preserve of older people and again needs to have a cross cutting theme across all age groups in this plan. In essence the inputs on wellbeing should cover all ages and thereby hasten the reduction of social isolation, a view strongly held by service users. A great deal has recently been identified around such initiatives as Mindfulness and the well evidenced and documented beneficial effects of this approach. However the plan appears not to recognise or mention this as a potential development. Overall the authors of the plan need to consider embracing well evidence based initiatives and practices, especially in a plan that aims to be progressive in nature and on a three year rolling programme. 4|P a g e The Impact It would be prudent to promote within the document the third sector provision and inputs which in turn provides more of a ‘mixed’ economy of approach in addressing the key actions of the Plan. It would be a positive statement to see the third sector equally represented across all the age groups and the related priorities in the Plan. The third sector is a key provider of community based support and is well placed through a proven track record to progress and establish these type of innovations. It would be pertinent for the LPB to utilise the skills and expertise that is available in the third sector to fully exploit co production between the statutory and non-statutory partners. A greater emphasis on preventative and well-being measures in the plan would provide a positive counterbalance to what is still perceived by many stakeholders as a heavily dominant ‘services’ driven plan. Training and Development should have a greater level of priority and investment in the skills of all staff resources be that in the statutory and non- statutory sector. We strongly support the integration of Mental Health and Wellbeing training and the continuation of the TTCW campaign drives especially into non mental health settings. This would undoubtedly have a greater impact on increasing positive mental health awareness including the ongoing drive of a reduction of stigma and discrimination At this time of austerity and further funding efficiency measures for both the statutory and third sector organisations, concerns are being expressed from all stakeholders on the financial viability and delivery of the plan and against a backdrop of no additional financial investment. In essence the third sector organisations would welcome additional investment to provide the lead in progressing the community based developments outlined in this proposed plan. Whilst there is a greater sense of the promotion of positive mental health and emotional well being within each subsequent Three Year Delivery Plans it is still questionable how much investment is actually allocated to these themes. It has been recognised and documented in the past that Welsh Government spend on health promotion and related preventative activity only accounts for 5% of the total health spend whilst the remaining 95% continues to be allocated towards an ‘illness’ based model. 5|P a g e