Cash boost for Lancashire mental health charity

THE Lancashire branch of mental health charity Mind has been given £720,000 to develop more personal choice for clients needing support.

It is part of a national £5.5 million pot for such initiatives distributed in Government grants.

Lancashire Mind will use the £720,000 over three years to employ new staff and develop ground-breaking approaches to health and social care, share excellent practice and improve care and efficiency.

The cash will be spent in association with Blackburn with Darwen council’s ‘Your Support, Your Choice’ initiative to enable more people with mental health and disability problems design their own personalised care programmes. Lancashire MIND was among hundreds of voluntary organisations submitting bids to the Department of Health for the cash to meet its objectives of better health, well-being and care for all.

In close partnership with Care Network (Blackburn with Darwen) Ltd and Blackburn with Darwen council adult social services, the Accessible Self Care Project is an pioneering scheme in the community-orientated primary care. To improve the long-term care and support for people across the borough, the project will create two new roles to reduce inappropriate use of statutory health and social care services.

Self-care facilitators will support and motivate citizens to engage in healthy behaviours and develop self care skills.

A community well-being co-ordinator will work to boost support and to fight the risks of poor health.

Lancashire Mind’s chief executive Mark Lunney said: “We are delighted to be able to work collaboratively together in Blackburn with Darwen council and thrilled to have secured this much-needed funding.”

Blackburn with Darwen adult care boss Mohammed Khan said: “One of our priorities is to work with other agencies and the community to come up with innovative ways of improving health and wellbeing.

“This money will help develop our Your Support Your Choice service.

“We believe that by building up the community and neighbourhoods to be able to deal with some of the health and social care issues is the only real solution.”