Last month, more than 100 staff from across our programme met together, some for the first time, at a specially designed Community Mental Health Transformation (CMHT) workshop. Core team members, Voluntary Care sector colleagues, local partners and Experts by Experience representatives, came together at the Connaught Rooms, Central London, for a day packed with energetic, interactive sessions, guest speakers and table top showcases.

Read the full story here.

From 1 June 2023 all new care plans and care planning reviews will be completed using the DIALOG+ format, and not via the previous Care Planning Approach (CPA) system. This will mean by 1 June 2023 most people will already have a DIALOG+ care plan. An ever reducing number of care plans will expire in the months following 1 June 2023 and, when these come up for review, they will be completed in the DIALOG+ format.

Click here for more details.

Our Experts by Experience (EbE) play a unique and important role within the programme. They offer real time feedback and suggestions on mental health service provision; a key part of helping to make improvements that count. In this newsletter, we had the pleasure of talking to Anthony Andrew, EbE for Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust (BEHMHT).

He is an active EbE, who is passionate about transforming mental health services across the board, not just within the community. During a challenging time, he found his passion for running long distances, which in the end, turned his own mental health around. In this photo, he had just finished Race to the Tower in the Cotwolds on Saturday 25 June 2022. A 53 mile ultra marathon, he completed in a time of 23 hours, 48 minutes and 13 seconds.

Continue here to read Anthony's inspirational story. 

More than 80 residents attended a recent Cost of Living event as part of a Holloway Neighbourhood Group meeting. Attendees were able to access help on a range support services for all. There was advice on energy-saving tips, financial advice, welfare benefit assessments, employment opportunities as well as around mental health and wellbeing.

Click here to find out more.

This year the NHS marks its 75^th anniversary and we want you to help celebrate this major milestone.

When founded in 1948, the NHS was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery. Those principles remain as relevant, and valued, today as they did in the years after the Second World War.

Read more to find out how you can help by sharing your stories.

There are lots of activities in and around our five boroughs, led by local council partners and community groups, to help support positive wellbeing and good mental health. Here’s a selection of some regular activities, online sessions or extra support currently available.

Meridian Wellbeing – Barnet Wellbeing Hub Share reading group, every Monday
This group brings people together through great literature to talk, laugh and share. You can just drop in, grab a tea of coffee and enjoy listening to a story or poem – there’s no pressure to talk or read. The session takes place every Monday from 10.30am-12pm and is led by Liz, a trained Reader Leader for the organisation The Reader.

Full details and more sessions, as well as help and support from Islington Carers Hub, can be found here.