Improving Mental Health in Kent and Medway

We all know that if we’re stressed, anxious or depressed, we don’t feel at our best, but not everyone realises that there are simple things we can do to promote our own wellbeing. Now a new strategy has been developed to improve mental health across Kent and Medway. As well as helping people stay well, it focuses on ensuring that people with mental health needs – which will be one in four of us at some point in our lives – get the care they need.

Live It Well, which covers 2010-2015, sets out a vision for promoting mental health and well-being, intervening early and providing personal care when people develop problems, and focusing on helping people to recover. In particular, it makes 10 commitments for the five year program, including:

• ensuring organisations work closely together to improve mental health and wellbeing
• reducing the number of people with common mental health problems
• ensuring people have easy access to care in a crisis
• giving people more say and more choice about their care
• reducing the number of suicides
• improving care for people with mental health needs and drug/alcohol problems

It was developed by the mental health commissioners for Kent and Medway (the three primary care trusts and the two social care directorates), with people who use services, family carers, health and social professionals, voluntary organisations and others. An extensive consultation exercise then took place, and you can read about changes that took place as a result of feedback received. The full Live It Well strategy was officially launched on October 10th 2010, World Mental Health Day. A simpler, summary version has also been published.