Solent Mind

CEO, Sally Arscott was proud to share Solent Mind’s goals for the next three years at a strategy launch event at our glorious Mayfield Garden Centre and Café in Southampton last week.

Talking to more than 50 guests from across the region, Sally said: “This strategy is a culmination of 18 months of engagement and conversation. We’ve reached out to all our stakeholders, to our partners, funders, service users, volunteers and staff, to ensure that we create a truly shared view of our aspirations for the future.”

Reaching High, Reaching Far: Growing Together, is the name of our new strategy, and Sally said it really captures Solent Mind’s goals for the years ahead.

She added: “We want to reach high in terms of the number of people we support and in terms of the impact we have. We want to reach far into our communities and be proactive in how we get in touch with people who need our help. And we want to grow – grow in strength and resilience so we can weather any storms that come our way. And we’ll do this together.

“I’m delighted to be here to share this new strategy with all our wonderful supporters today. Together, we can continue to support mental health across our region.”

Attendees heard from Sally after enjoying refreshments in Mayfield’s Sunflower Cafe. Visiting speakers, Scott Munro, Peer Support Team Lead - NHS Talking Therapies, and Dr Emily Walmsley, Consultant in Public Health, Southampton City Council, both powerfully spoke about their support for the strategy, sharing their personal stories of our mental health support.

Scott said: “I joined Solent Mind’s peer support team after I received help during my own mental health struggles. Without peer support, I wouldn’t be here today and I’m truly grateful. I wanted to help others who are struggling and now talk to people who are on a waiting list for therapy. Therapy can be daunting for many, and my job is to guide people through the process and be a listening ear. I’ve been given purpose in life, and I am extremely proud to be working for Solent Mind as it launches this brand-new strategy.”

Dr Walmsley spoke about how the charity’s strategy launch coincides with Southampton City Council launching a city-wide mental health strategy.

She said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Solent Mind to ensure people in the region can have good mental health and wellbeing, whatever their background and circumstances.

“It’s been fantastic to hear the charity’s plans for the next three years and it’s been a real pleasure to be a part of this wonderful event today.”

The proposed £132 million budget cuts by Hampshire County Council will have the greatest impact on residents with poor mental health. At the same time, Hampshire County Council are cutting the services to support residents with their mental health. Of particular concern is the loss of £656,000 in funding to Hampshire services delivered at Wellbeing Centres across the county. This move will force the three local Minds in Hampshire to review its one-to-one support services, potentially impacting those in need of mental health assistance at a time when the need for support is rising. The cuts to these services will also put more pressure on GPs and the NHS as waiting lists are growing.

Hampshire County Council's own equality impact assessments, in relation to these £132 million budget cuts, have highlighted that residents with mental health conditions will bear the brunt of the negative consequences. Hampshire County Council has a legal duty to not disadvantage residents with poor mental health, under the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010. The proposed cuts also seem at odds with Hampshire County Council’s own estimate that one in four adults will experience poor mental health as cited in their latest Mental Health and Wellbeing index.

Despite acknowledging the disproportionate impact on this vulnerable group in their assessment, the Council is currently proceeding with the cuts without a robust review of the critical one-to-one services, which are essential for the mental health of the community.

The local Minds that cover the Hampshire region, Andover Mind, Havant and East Hants Mind and Solent Mind, all have a mission to fight for better mental health in Hampshire and are actively standing up for the residents of Hampshire threatened by these cuts.

The three Minds believe that Hampshire County Council should undertake a deeper review to better understand the impact of any reducing the budget before any final decisions are made to take into account the nuances of their services.

John Wilderspin, the chair of trustees for Solent Mind, on behalf of the local Minds, expressed deep concern about the ramifications of these cuts on the mental health of residents. He said: "The decision to reduce funding for our Hampshire Mental Health services is worrying. Every year, we help thousands of residents across Hampshire with a range of complex mental health needs; our one-to-one service is key to understand individual challenges and enables us to provide the best service for each individual's needs. If the cuts went ahead, we would need to take difficult decisions between reducing our one-to-one sessions, which are fundamental to accessing our group sessions for some of our service users, or reducing the amount of people that we can help. We work with individuals to de-escalate emotional crises and empower them to develop skills to manage future mental health issues. Our community relies on these services, and the Council's own assessments confirm that residents with mental health conditions will suffer the most.”

In light of these developments, the three local Minds urge Hampshire County Council to reconsider these drastic cuts to services and the Wellbeing Centres and explore alternative solutions that prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of residents. They are calling for transparent communication, collaboration, and a commitment to finding sustainable solutions that protect essential services for vulnerable residents.

The collective Minds are encouraging Hampshire residents to join the fight for better mental health, by writing to their local MPs to oppose proposed cuts to our wellbeing services.

Solent Mind recently attended the Local Minds Excellence Awards ceremony, run by National Mind in Birmingham, to receive an award in recognition of having the ‘Most Effective Services’.

The awards were open to all 100 Minds across England and Wales and the categories encompassed the 20 standards of the Mind Quality Mark assessment process.

The judges identified that our services displayed all five hallmarks of excellence, namely expertise, courage, vision, creativity and commitment in their winning category and said that the organisation was “a real example of breaking down barriers and an inclusive and unafraid culture.”

Sally Arscott, CEO at Solent Mind, said: “I was absolutely thrilled to collect the award on behalf of our service areas and I’m so proud of all your achievements. This success is clearly a testament to the hard work, passion and commitment of everyone in our organisation.

" I want to congratulate all staff involved and particularly those peer support workers who work closely with our service users. Together we’ve managed to develop a team of people who are brilliant and empathetic and are able to build trust with people who aren’t necessarily able to trust other services.”

This award highlights the good work achieved by Solent Mind peer support workers working across Hampshire, who with their background of lived experience and specialist training, work alongside the individuals in the community to support them in the best possible way to deliver excellent person-centred care.

Solent Mind now has peer support workers throughout the primary care network in Hampshire, they are embedded in all community mental health teams, including GP surgeries and Solent Mind’s crisis services.

Tracey Marsh, Solent Mind’s Crisis Peer Support Service Manager, added: “It’s lovely for our services to be recognised in this award. We believe that lived experience is so important. A lot of people, especially when they are struggling, feel that people don't understand them, or they are not valued.

"Whereas, by having people who have been on that journey themselves, who they can share their feelings with, our peers can say 'do you know what? I've actually been there in a similar situation to you, I know how hard it is, but I got through it.' I believe by role modelling hope, we actually safe lives."

To mark the occasion, all staff have been invited to a special ‘Festival of Wellbeing’ where teams celebrated the news together in their own ways, from tea and cake at a café, to crazy golf and even a visit a local wildlife centre.