What do we do?

According to the statistics, there are 71,000 people in Bolton who are experiencing mental health problems now.  That is one in four of the population including people of all ages and from all walks of life. The needs of children and their families have become more pronounced.  The number of children and young people who experience mental health problems have also grown in numbers. 

Over recent years the number of people who experience mental health problems and ask for help from MhIST has increased significantly.  The reasons for this increase are largely to do with the impact of society and includes such factors as housing, relationships, work, finance and many others.  Most of the people that contact MhIST for help do not have a medical diagnosis but struggle equally to those that do.

The government has said that mental health and physical health are on a par, however, that has yet to emerge on the ground and the funds to enable the much greater level of service provision have not yet made it to the front line.

Service provision from local NHS and social service provided services is largely based on a medical model of intervention using the Care Programme Approach.  The provision in Bolton includes primary care services led by GPs in the community offering medication and NICE approved psychological therapies being offered by the IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Services) service.  Psychiatrist led Community Mental Health Team services and inpatient hospital wards available for those people with needs that are more acute.  All these services are time limited, expensive to provide and difficult to access.  The numbers of people in Bolton who, because of their poor mental health, are vulnerable, marginalised and isolated continues to grow.  They put high levels of demand on to crisis, urgent and emergency care services in particular the ambulance service and the A&E / RAID (Rapid Assessment Interface Discharge) services.

As the economic situation in the UK has deteriorated since 2007/8 the number of people, demanding mental health services locally has increased.  Access to statutorily provided services has become more difficult, the bar is now enforced when previously it was not.  Those services now refer to MhIST much more and the complexity of the referrals that they make has increased.  The implication for MhIST is that we must cope with more people, those people have greater and more complex needs and their need is more urgent.

MhIST offers a range of services for people with lived experience of mental health challenges living in the Bolton Area. Our uniqueness comes from the personalised care we provide, through one-to-one support, talking therapies, self-help groups, and Advocacy Services. We equip each individual with the skills, attitude and self-belief they need to go on to live a successful independent life in their community.

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