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Mental wellbeing at home
Mental health upgrade in York
Funding to improve mental health services in York has been approved by NHS Property Services.
Cherry Tree House
NHS Property Services and NHS England have been working with local NHS services to address property and facilities issues in York to ensure that all mental health services can be accommodated appropriately within safe, secure and modern environments.
The first of the two schemes proposed will see the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS Tier 4) move out its current base at Lime Trees on Shipton Road into Mill Lodge – a refurbished building that will provide modern and safe mental health facilities for young people.
The second scheme will upgrade Cherry Tree House in the Heworth area of York to provide a purpose built unit for elderly patients currently cared for on Ward 6 at Bootham Park Hospital.
Mental health provision off the York Council agenda
Another important policy area change has been shelved by the Council.
Its forward programme of decisions included an item on the joint procurement of some mental health services in partnership with the NHS.
The Council said that the report would present a proposal to jointly commission “some of our mental health provision with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and include these services currently provided by CYC within the mental health tender that the CCG will be releasing in November 2014. This will include having a pooled budget arrangement and transferring affected staff to the organisation of the successful tender bidder”.
After being postponed on two occasions, the proposal has now been dropped without explanation.
NB. The Liberal Democrats announced last month new polices aimed at increasing the priority given to addressing mental health needs. They included guarantees on waiting times.
Books on prescription
Residents tackling mental health issues have a brand new route to free treatment in York.
In partnership with national health professionals, York’s Libraries are launching an innovative mental health self-help initiative.
The Books on Prescription scheme follows the opening of new reading café at a mental health treatment centre in the city, and enables GPs and mental health professionals to write a ‘book prescription’ as part of a patients’ cognitive behavioural therapy.
This recommends reading from a set of 30 self-help books approved by health professionals and designed to help people address or manage health problems such as anxiety or depression.
Mental health stats for York
Good comparator table here comparing mental health stats in York with the rest of the country.
York comes out relatively well on most measures other than in the provision of settled accommodation.