The service programme works with people who have serious mental health conditions, in primary care settings,  to improve access to care and  treatment and is designed to prevent people’s mental health from worsening, reduce A&E attendance and improve their quality of life. It is currently being trialled in some of the most deprived parts of the city.

With a £2.4 million investment from NHS England it’s an innovative collaboration between Sheffield Mind, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, Primary Care Sheffield, Primary Care Networks, NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Sheffield City Council. 

 It addresses health inequalities and improves the care, support and treatment offered by community mental health services and has enabled greater flexibility to give support tailored to the needs of the individual.

Tammy is one of the people who has benefited from this programme. She said: “It’s changed my life. I can now get out of the bed in the morning and I think it’s so important that this support is here. It’s vital that others get the same access to this service that I’ve had.”  

Dr Jennie Joyce is GP and Clinical Director of the Foundry Primary Care Network that covers Burngreave, Firth Park, Southey Green and Wincobank and has been running the programme in her area. She said: “It has been great to have a team working to support people in underserved populations who have previously not been able to access traditional models of care and so we have struggled to get them the help they need.”

Dr Terry Hudsen, Chair of the NHS Sheffield CCG, said: “It’s fantastic to receive this national recognition and I would like to thank everyone involved for their incredible hard work, especially working during a pandemic where there were restrictions which meant it was more challenging to develop and deliver the service. Nonetheless they have done an amazing job and supported people like Tammy. The results we have had, so far, speak for themselves, particularly within BAME populations where the number of people receiving support has increased. The initial development work undertaken in four areas of Sheffield has seen the benefits of bringing together mental and physical health needs closer to where people live by being seen in GP practices and being linked into the wider offer of voluntary sector support close to their home.”

“Staff and patients have really seen the benefits in working in partnership to deliver this programme. The learning from this new way of working gives a solid foundation for our partners to plan and provide care in a more joined-up way, closer to home.”

Dr Fiona Goudie, joint senior responsible officer for the programme, and Clinical Director, Strategic Partnerships SHSC said: “We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for ‘Provider Collaboration of the Year’. This recognition really does reflect the seamless working among our front line colleagues across our health, social care and voluntary sector partnership who have worked so hard to successfully establish the service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing that there was such stiff competition this year really does make this announcement feel like a wonderful achievement for everyone involved and the nomination has been a tremendous boost to staff in our integrated service.” 

Dr Andy Hilton, GP and Chief Executive of Primary Care said, “In Sheffield we’re breaking down barriers and leading the way nationally and it is great that has been recognised. This new service is different because it works directly within GP practices and the relationship between Primary Care Networks and the GP federation has been incredibly important. The service has made a huge contribution at a time when we can see an increase in people needing mental health support and treatment.”   

Margaret Lewis, Chief Executive of Sheffield Mind said; “Working in a collaborative partnership spanning health, social care and the voluntary sector brings together the expertise of mental health, physical health and social needs that we know play a huge part of people’s lives with mental health conditions.  Sheffield Mind are proud to have been part of the innovative collaboration in Sheffield that has really made a difference to the care, support and treatment we can all make to people in Sheffield by placing service users at the heart of our work and by working together to use our unique skills and experiences.”

HSJ editor Alistair McLellan, comments “On behalf of all my colleagues, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Sheffield Primary and Community Mental Health Transformation Programme on being nominated in the category of ‘Provider Collaboration of the Year’ in this year’s HSJ Awards. This year, we really have been overwhelmed with the level of entries, particularly when set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the huge challenges faced by our health and social care workforce. 

The full list of nominees for the HSJ Awards 2021 can be found on https://awards.hsj.co.uk/shortlist-2021

The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution, London on November 18th 2021.