Improving mental health support for rough sleepers

Rough sleepers in Devon will have better access to mental health support thanks to an innovative partnership project which sees mental health, primary care, social care, housing services and the voluntary and charity sectors working together.

The project has been launched as a one-year pilot, led jointly by Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) and Livewell Southwest CIC (LSW), who provide mental health services across Devon.

A funding bid led to more than £400,000 being awarded to set-up and run the pilot in Teignbridge, South and West Devon. This area previously had no dedicated mental health support for people sleeping rough, but has higher than average numbers of people identified as rough sleepers in an England-wide study in 2021. It is expected that the learning from the pilot will be then rolled out across One Devon, our integrated care system.

The funding is in place for 12 months and has created five fixed-term clinical roles. This includes Peer Researchers employed by the Devon Mental Health Alliance as part of the Community Mental Health Framework – which is transforming mental health services in the community.  In particular, it aims to provide the right support at the right time, removing referral processes and putting the needs of the person at the centre their care.

The collaborative response means connecting housing outreach, mental health and drug and alcohol services with primary care network multi-agency teams (PCN MATs) who can work together to provide appropriate interventions with clinical supervision.

The project team, based at Follaton House in Totnes, will consist of a Clinical Lead and Psychologist from DPT, a Mental Health Change Practitioner from Livewell and two Peer Researchers from Improving Lives Plymouth.

The purpose of the group is to upskill the practitioners already working with rough sleepers on a regular basis and build on trusted relationships to provide appropriate interventions. They will also work to transform current practices, embed new ways of working and cascade learning. It’s hoped that newly developed pathways and training will be used to inform improvements across the county.

Lisa-Marie Phillips, the project’s senior responsible officer at DPT, said: “It is really rewarding working collaboratively with the community to look at improving access to mental health support and services for people who find themselves at this time rough sleeping or homeless. The Peer Researchers will be able to give a voice to the personal journey’s that will help us to adapt and develop pathways to enhance personalised care, as well as shape services for the future.”

Deborah Atter, Changing Futures Project Manager at Improving Lives Plymouth, said: “This is an exciting and impactful collaboration which Improving Lives, through the Devon Mental Health Alliance, are delighted to be involved with.

“This partnership will put the voice of lived experience at the very heart of service design and delivery. We are currently planning a trauma sensitive recruitment pathway with a view to employing two Peer Researchers who will be an integral part of the newly formed team, carrying out community research and gathering experiences and ‘stories’ to better understand how to meet the needs of people rough sleeping.”

Ian Veale, senior responsible officer for the project at LSW, said: “It’s positive that we have been successful as an area in the bid to be able to provide much needed and better access to mental support for rough sleepers in Devon. This innovative project will bring the right people from mental health, primary care, social care, housing services and the voluntary and charity sectors together and support some of the most vulnerable people in our population.”

The project is being supported by DPT’s Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Office (PMO). If you’re interested in finding out more about the project and/or would like to get involved, email dpt.pmo@nhs.net