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Taking place at Weston Museum in December, Jo Walker, Chief Executive for the Council opened the launch event, which premiered a short film bringing the strategy’s themes to life through the voices of local people with lived experience.
During the morning, attendees heard from keynote speakers such as Doctor Natasha Ward about their organisation’s contribution to the strategy. They also participated in breakout discussions on key priority areas for the strategy such as trauma-informed practice, neurodiversity and mental health, and dual diagnosis.
The strategy highlights the importance of prevention and early intervention in mental health. It builds on insight from the council, health, care, voluntary and community sectors, people who have experience of mental ill-health, findings from regional and national studies, and the council’s own Adult and Children’s and Young People’s mental health needs assessments.
The strategy is accompanied by an action plan which maps out how we will work collectively to address rising mental health need and tackle health inequalities. The plan includes over 80 actions which are organised under the three themes of the strategy:
- Prevention Preventing mental ill-health before it arises and preventing any worsening of mental health problems as early as possible.
- Early Intervention Identifying mental ill-health as early as possible and intervening with the right support to prevent worsening outcomes.
- Supported and living well Supporting individuals in a holistic way so that people with mental ill-health can live well in our communities.
Cllr Jenna Ho Marris, North Somerset Council’s Executive Member for Homes and Health, commented:
“We will address rising need through co-ordinated actions with a particular focus on tackling health inequalities and addressing the wider determinants of health that affect mental health and wellbeing, such as green spaces, housing, and opportunities for employment.”
Cllr Mike Solomon, Mental Health Champion at North Somerset Council added: “There is such a great demand for good, safe, effective mental health services in north Somerset and we are committed to developing our services to meet the growing needs of our population.
“All of our actions seek to lay the best foundations for good mental health throughout life, provide timely support in a range of settings for people of all ages, and to co-produce services, building on data, insight and ongoing learning.”
If you would like to find out more about this work please visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/mhstrategy.