EDUCATION Secretary Kirsty Williams took time out of her busy schedule to visit Brecon and District Mind to find out more about the Active Monitoring service that operates in four local GP surgeries and the other services that Brecon Mind can offer.
Val Walker, service director of Brecon Mind, said: “It was good to be able to talk to Kirsty about the success of this service, which was commissioned by Red Kite Health Solutions CIC, for the GP cluster in South Powys. We discussed the impact that it was having on GPs’ time in terms of reduction in repeated appointments and also on the reduction of waiting lists for primary care and how this consequently enabled Powys Local Health Board to meet Welsh Government targets.”
One of the active monitoring practitioners, Liz Bogunovic, explained how the service worked; a self-help programme for people experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and loneliness. A GP or one of the clinical team can refer patients to the service when they would be seen by the practitioner as quickly as possible, sometimes the same day. The patient is then guided through the relevant pathway, over five sessions, using a range of materials and workbooks that help them to understand their feelings and are given tools and techniques to work with. Liz said: “The feedback from people has been amazing and they say that the Active Monitoring service has made such a difference to their lives.”
Evidence beginning to emerge shows there could be a reduction in the rate of prescriptions for anti-depressants for people referred to the Active Monitoring Service. There has also been a reduction in referrals to primary care and counselling.
Michael Power, Community Well-Being Manager, told Kirsty of the range of other services that Brecon Mind provide including the new Community Well-Being service, which supports people on a one-to-one basis in the community, as well as Community Cafes, Stepping Stones Project, Mums Matter, our ECO volunteering project as well as student support sessions at the local college.
Val Walker said: “The latest report, Thriving at Work, has shown 300,000 people are losing their jobs every year through poor mental health with a cost to employers of between £33-£42 billion annually and a cost to government of £24-£27bn. Many people are trying to retain their jobs while dealing with ongoing mental health issues. Therefore, it is vitally important we can offer people a range of services to meet their needs and help them to get back to living their lives in the way they want to.”
Ms Williams, the Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, said: “We had a fantastic discussion about Mind’s ‘Active Monitoring Project’ which is having a big impact on the lives of people in the project. The people at Brecon and District Mind are truly inspirational and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them in the future.”