Greater Manchester Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is:

“A whole system approach to recovery from mental ill health which maximises an individual’s quality of life and social inclusion by encouraging their skills, promoting independence and autonomy in order to give them hope for the future and which leads to successful community living through appropriate support.” (Killaspy et al 2009)

People who experience severe mental illness may find that they fail to acquire or lose the skills and confidence required to live as independently as they would wish.

Extended admissions to inpatient services compound this situation and make it more difficult for people to transition out of a mental health hospital and back into the community. This can in turn impact on their sense of belonging and recognition as local citizens.

For some people, the reduction of distressing symptoms may be all they need to enable them to regain their skills and confidence. However, many others will also need specific and skilled rehabilitation support and intervention, including in hospital.

As people’s needs change, they may require mental health rehabilitation delivered in different ways and at a different level of intensity. It is important that there is access to the right intervention, at the right time and in the right place.

The Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme in Greater Manchester is ensuring that:

All people with severe mental illness who need mental health rehabilitation should be able to access effective early and preventative intervention, so that fewer of them need inpatient care or stay in hospital longer than is necessary.
Community mental health rehabilitation teams provide rehabilitation interventions in the community using a ‘community first’ approach and can support people to leave a mental health hospital at the earliest opportunity
Level 1 and Level 2 rehabilitation units are commissioned in line with the national commissioning guidance and offer evidence-based, good quality care to optimise the person’s recovery, experience and outcomes
The ICB, NHS providers, independent sector providers, local authorities and VCFSE organisations work together and wrap around the person and their loved ones, recognising that the healthcare element of rehabilitation is one component of the pathway; good rehabilitation also requires a place to live, something to do and social networks.
That all lived experience voices are heard and all service developments are co-produced and co-delivered.

There are multiple working groups in Greater Manchester focussed on delivering the rehabilitation ambitions as set out in the Inpatient Quality Transformation. For more information you can contact gmhscp.gmmhprogramme@nhs.net