Working in partnership

People, inclusion, and partnerships are at the heart of our strategy. Our mission is 'to be a centre of excellence for mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity'. This is so that we can improve the quality of life for the people we serve and create a great place to work. 

We are an active member of Devon's Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a collaboration of health and social care organisations working together with a host of partners and local communities. We work alongside many different organisations and professions as we seek to deliver and commission excellent care and treatment - and our partnerships do not end at the borders of our county. We have longstanding collaborative arrangements for service delivery and commissioning with our partners across the South West region. 

Our partnerships with local authorities, primary care networks, voluntary, charity, community and social enterprise sector organisations, acute hospitals, social care providers, the police, criminal justice system and commercial providers of healthcare are critical as we work to develop and improve our offer. Together we can ensure that the people who need our help are able to access our services quickly, get the care and treatment they need and are discharged safely. 

Together

Our Together approach and ethos are an integral part of the way we do things and we strive to involve the people who user our services, families, carers, peer support workers and staff in every aspect of our work.

Provider collaboratives

Our organisation has a lead role in two provider collaboratives.

The South West Provider Collaborative is one of the largest collaboratives in England, covering almost 24,000km2 and a population of five and a half million people. It commissions a range of specialised services including secure services for adults with learning disability and autism needs, child and adolescent mental health services and adult eating disorder services and perinatal services.

Their aim is to ensure that people experience high quality care as close to home as possible, so they can better connect with their support network and local clinical teams and return to their family, friends and community as quickly as possible. By working together at scale, the collaborative has been able to design new clinical pathways and deliver efficiencies that benefit the local population.

We also have a key role in the Devon Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity (MHLDN) Provider Collaborative. Working with a wide range of partners - including people with lived experience - across organisational and geographical boundaries, the collaborative has grown to meet local system needs, coordinating the delivery of national priorities including Right Care, Right Person (RCRP), the national inpatient transformation programme, bridging the therapeutic gap for mental health services and the development of the first ever Devon-wide dementia strategy.

A central focus of the collaborative has been shifting care away from hospital-based care and is also leading work to deliver a 24/7 community mental health model to help break down barriers between service, support early access to care and reduce escalation to crisis.

Open Up - our charity

Open Up logoThe mission for our charity, Open Up, is to change lives by raising funds for meaningful projects, collaborating with other organisations to create strong and impactful partnerships and promoting inclusivity. We're dedicated to making a tangible and lasting difference in our community.

We will use every opportunity to continue to raise awareness about mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity care through innovation and improvement.

Our aim is to prioritise initiatives that promote physical health, address health inequalities, and support staff wellbeing, all of which enhance patient care. 

Mindful Employer

Mindful Employer logoEstablished by our organisation in 2004, Mindful Employer was launched in response to a growing need for better mental health support at work.

The UK-wide initiative supports employers in the recruitment, retention and redeployment of staff who experience mental ill health and provides employers with easier access to information and training.

Based in Exminster, Devon, the initiative has supported more than 500 businesses and 330,000 employees across the South West alone. More than 1,350 businesses across the UK have now signed the Mindful Employer charter.

Mindful Employer offer a range of workshops which can be delivered to employers and other organisations at their own premises.

Visit the Mindful Employer website to learn more about the charter, mental health in the workplace support and bespoke training.