Online Mental Health Tool Available to South Cheshire and Vale Royal Patients Praised by BBC
Bright Sparks, a website produced by BBC Global News Ltd, a commercial company owned by the BBC has praised Big White Wall, a free online mental health support tool, available to patients in South Cheshire and Vale Royal, in an article about good uses of social media.
The article stated, “One website that has been praised by leading psychologists is Big White Wall, which is available in Canada, New Zealand and the UK. Inspired by the early days of social networking, it’s a peer support community and now has partnerships with the NHS in keeping with best practice and the latest evidence.
They also personalise suggestions to you of how to help you feel better based on your interests. The Big White Wall gave me the testimony of one case study, who said: “I found it almost impossible to discuss with my parents and I was a bit frightened of disclosing it to my friends. Being able to talk online to other people about that was really, really useful. Otherwise, I would have kept it all bottled up.”
People, aged 16 +, living in South Cheshire and Vale Royal, who are going through a tough time or struggling with mental health issues and require some much needed support, can access a free online mental health support tool.
Big White Wall is a safe, anonymous online community of people who can help each other as well as having the benefit of trained professionals who ensure the safety and anonymity of all members. It also hosts a range of wellbeing tools to help with self-management.
70% of members reported feeling better as a result of joining Big White Wall, and 46% shared something for the first time with the community.
If you think Big White Wall can help you, just visit www.bigwhitewall.com and enter your postcode.
The full article can be found on Bright Sparks.
Have your say on proposed changes to local mental health services
There are approximately 7,000 adults and older people from a population of 480,000 across Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire and Vale Royal who receive care and support from specialist mental health services. Of these approximately 350 people per year require an inpatient stay at the Millbrook Unit in Macclesfield, meaning that 95 per cent of care is already provided in the community.
Local NHS partners are proposing a redesign of these services for a number of reasons. User and carer feedback, along with recent audit recommendations and inspections, told the partners that some things in these services work well but that other things need to change for the better.
Through the proposed redesign NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS South Cheshire CCG, NHS Vale Royal CCG and Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust want to:
- provide new services so that there is better access for people to help keep them well and active in the community
- provide much greater choice of services for those in, or at risk of, crisis;
- support people with dementia and those who care for them to stay in their own surroundings
Service users and their carers have shared their thoughts; describing that they “deserve to thrive, not just survive”, that they want responsive community services available 24/7 and they do not want to be admitted to hospital unless it is absolutely necessary.
For these reasons, the local NHS partners as mentioned above have developed a set of proposals that puts early intervention and prevention at the heart of adult and older people’s specialist mental health services and, if introduced, will provide:
- An improved community mental health service that helps people get better more quickly and prevents hospital admissions
- A 24-hour crisis support service for people who are acutely unwell
- A dementia outreach service that visits people in their own homes
- An improved experience for people who need hospital care.
Have your say
You can #JoinTheConversation and have your say on the proposals put forward by local NHS partners in many ways:
- By completing the online questionnaire available by clicking here
- By attending one of the six public events where you can have your say
- By telephoning freephone number 0808 169 1189 if you need help completing the survey or require a paper copy.
Alongside the main consultation document there are a number of supporting documents – held on the NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG website that people can read for further information about the case for change and proposals for the redesign for adult and older people’s specialist mental health services.
Please call 0808 169 1189 if you require this information in another language or an alternative format such as large print, braille or audio.
Wellbeing Hub
A new service has been set up to help people manage their mental health and wellbeing.
The Wellbeing Hub, run by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), pledges to support people with common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.
The service will operate from GP surgeries, as well as in the community so that people can receive support in their own home. The team will also be able to refer to patients to hospital if necessary. Experienced mental health nurses, psychological therapists and psychiatrists are already offering assessments and therapy to hundreds of local people as part of the new service.
One service user, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “I honestly think I would’ve slipped through the net had I not sought guidance from The Wellbeing Hub.”
“The service has been a lifeline for me and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
One in six people in England experienced a common mental health disorder in the last week, with one in four people experiencing a mental health problem at some point in their lifetime.
The Wellbeing Hub has been introduced to offer quality, effective and timely services for people experiencing a range of mental health issues.
The Wellbeing Hub is available to anyone over 16-years-old in South Cheshire and Vale Royal who would like support in managing their emotional health and wellbeing.
To contact the hub, please call 01606 555263 (Crewe) or 01606 555211 (Winsford) and for more information search ‘Wellbeing Hub’ online at www.cwp.nhs.uk
World Mental Health Day – 10 October
The 10 October is World Mental Health Day, raising awareness and encouraging people to look after their own mental well-being.
Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time, in-fact 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year. There is a lot of support out there for anyone struggling with mental health problems, you don’t have to go through it alone.
Residents of South Cheshire can access free online mental health support with the ‘Big White Wall’. Anyone, aged 16+ living in South Cheshire can access a safe, anonymous online community of people who can help each other as well as having the benefit of trained professionals who ensure the safety and anonymity of all members. It also hosts a range of well-being tools to help with self-management. To access the Big White Wall, simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and enter your postcode.
There is also a wealth of information and support at www.nhs.uk
Free Online Mental Health Support
Residents of South Cheshire can now access free online mental health support.
People, aged 16 +, living in South Cheshire who are going through a tough time or struggling with mental health issues and require some much needed support, can now access a free online mental health support tool.
Big White Wall is a safe, anonymous online community of people who can help each other as well as having the benefit of trained professionals who ensure the safety and anonymity of all members. It also hosts a range of wellbeing tools to help with self-management.
70% of members reported feeling better as a result of joining Big White Wall, and 46% shared something for the first time with the community.
If you think Big White Wall can help you, simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and enter your postcode.
