Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership has been named regional winner and is now shortlisted for the national Excellence in Mental Health Care Award category.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards asked MPs across the country to find and nominate individuals and teams they thought had made the biggest improvements to health services in their constituencies across 10 categories.
Dan Knowles, chairman of Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership said: “The Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership brings together the best of the NHS and charitable sector in Oxfordshire and helps over 6,000 patients per year. Since inception four years ago we have demonstrated significant improvements in outcomes for our patients and a track record of innovation in service design. This award is testament to the users of our services, our staff, and volunteers; we are proud to have been recognised in these prestigious national awards.”
We are better together
Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership improves the lives of more than 6,000 people living with mental health challenges a year.
The partnership offers recovery, hope and ambition to people in Oxfordshire through a recovery programme which offers all-round support and care.
Specialist mental health organisations from the NHS and third sector give Oxfordshire people a complete recovery package focusing on emotional and physical care, wellbeing, education, skills, employment, financial stability and housing.
The partnership comprises Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Restore, Oxfordshire Mind, Response, Connection Support and Elmore Community Service.
Projects include:
• Oxford Safe Haven, offering out-of-hours, non-clinical crisis support;
• Stepping into Wellbeing, a day hospital supporting transition from hospital into the community;
• A Wellbeing Service, offering information, peer support, physical activities and short courses for emotional wellbeing;
• Walking for Wellbeing, offering gentle, accessible physical activity from convenient locations;
• Oxfordshire Recovery College, run by people with experience of mental health challenges, supported by professionals, using an empowering educational approach;
• Paid peer support workers, who have experienced mental health challenges themselves and inspire patients by being proof of the opportunities following recovery. Employed in community and inpatient teams in OHFT adult mental services, PSWs offer people new skills, confidence and paid employment following ill health;
• An individual placement and support worker who help patients who experience psychosis find paid employment during recovery; embedded third sector workers in adult mental health teams;
• Benefits advice enabling people to regain independence and financial stability;
• Housing support including 357 housing units from intensive to low support, help communicating with landlords to help people maintain tenancies, finding housing suitable for people’s needs and helping people navigating the lettings system to access social housing;
• OurSpace, ecotherapy in development with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust; and
• Microhomes, which will offer people creative housing solutions outside traditional supported housing.