MindSubsectoral Project Report

William SnaggeSpecialist Support Team ManagerOctober 2010

“I felt helpless, so I turned to the only organisation that I knew had helped me in the past - Mind. No one was helping me in my most urgent hour of need. I needed help, understanding and comfort. Mind gave it to me, right from when I walked in. ..the centre manager...understood the pain and anguish I was going through….I felt like I was amongst friends and had finally found someone who would listen.”

Making a difference

Mind’s Primary Objective

To make it possible for people who experience mental distress to live full lives and play their full part in society

Strategic Goals• Changing Society• Providing direct support• Giving people a voice• Creating mentally healthy communities• Developing the organisation

How we do this• Mind Infoline• Legal Advice line • Publications• Web support• EcoMinds and grant making• Involving people with direct experience of mental

distress in everything we do

Policy and Campaigning Work• Employment• Acute and Crisis Care• Benefits and Welfare Reform• Debt and Mental Health• Access to Psychological Therapy• Criminal Justice• Refugee and Asylum Seekers

I told the Prime Minister, you do know about my breakdown, don’t you?

1 in 5 people have dandruff. 1 in 4 people have a mental health problem. I’ve had both

1 in 4 people, like me, have a mental health problem.

Many more have a problem with that.

Local Mind Associations

• 173 affiliated organisations across England and Wales

• 1200 services• 220,000 beneficiaries per annum

Supporting local Mind’s to respond strategically to the changing mental health services operating environment

Specialist Support

Mind’s involvement in Foresight• Important time for the organisation, as Mind implemented

significant changes to the way in which its network is supported

• Clear need for voluntary organisations to understand and respond to changes in their operating environment

• The work on Drivers supported strategic thinking about these issues within the local Mind services team

• Staff involved in the project benefited from development of their understanding in strategic insight and planning

• Local Mind associations are benefiting from the enhanced skill sets Foresight has promoted

What went well?• Opportunity to focus on key drivers and inform

thinking going forward• Opportunity to learn from other subsectoral

participants• Support from Foresight team• Flexibility from Foresight team when

operational issues (at Mind) interfered.

What did not go so well?• Starting with one member of staff and finishing

with another was not great for continuity• Allowing sufficient time for research and esp.

interviews was problematic• Allowing sufficient time for driver development

was also under estimated

What we enjoyed• The opportunity to explore ideas and influences in more

detail with people thinking exclusively about driver development and strategic thinking.

• The chance to focus and drill down in terms of implications on a handful of specialist but significant drivers. We choose:-

• Changing attitudes to mental health• Mental health and wellbeing• Government strategy on mental health• Mental health service commissioning

What we have learnt ‘Moving Forward’• We are clear that Mind needs to demonstrate it

is the ‘best’ community partner to work with in a larger and more diverse market of mental health service provision.

• We need to ensure quality is continuously embedded in our work

• We need to ensure Mind is in a position to respond to the impact of changing attitudes to mental health

• How will our customer facing functions respond to new customers, with newer (perhaps formally undiagnosed formally) need?

• Are we considering service (and access) re- design for people in full time employment or those who wish to access services remotely?

• How are we responding to Wellbeing?• Are we developing services that enhance

control for people with direct experience of mental distress?

• We need to ensure local services work with the whole person - and can demonstrate this to commissioners and other supporters

• How can we help evidence the impact of this approach?

Responding to new mental health strategy• Strong sector leadership will be needed, at all

levels• Mind must have a key role in this• Our staff, trustees and funders need to

understand its likely implications• Mind needs to demonstrate leadership - in

terms of new approaches to the promotion of mental health and wellbeing?

Our work in 2012-15Driver analysis leading this work - this represents a significant changeDrivers: -

1. Economic climate and double dip threat2. Increased mental distress3. Decentralisation of policy, service provision and

commissioning4. Shift in cultural values regarding role of the state 5. Developing communication and information

technologies

Further informationwww.mind.org.ukw.snagge@mind.org.uk07500 040529