Living Well, Living Longer….

There’s no way to help but notice the change in climate, economically, politically and strategically.

Lately all those active in mental health will have become aware of the commissioning processes now evident in implementation in Leeds.  We’re all involved in consolidation, cost cutting, quality driving and are now surveying the scene. Noticing the impact on ourselves and others.  Not least our service users who remain at the heart or core of everything we do and stand for - whatever our role.

IMH keeps itself on the cutting-edge of two fields.  Information.  And Mental Health.

We apply informatic thinking to the fundaments of the Local as well as National mental health big picture.  We keep tabs on the Global culture.  We talk about Health 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 in this office more regularly than we ever did.  When we do, what we are really talking about is a co-herent way for mental health (in all it’s aspects, policy, service info, peer to peer conversation, online learning, online therapies, facts, funding, researching and statistics) information to be available to all.  It’s not always easy to talk about.  The field becomes infrastructure as I write - currently it means that we remain involved as much as our time and financial resources allow us in the conversations that will set the tone of what the infrastructure will look like and ultimately it’s useability.

The Leeds Mental Health Directory grew out of similar, much more localised thinking.  The online Directory built upon that well trusted platform.  What happens next we will apply with the same onus as we always have - the service user, the survivor, the carer as well as the worker.

In the last nine months we’ve had some very interesting conversations.  Those conversations have led to some collaborative working with new types of partners.  From local tech types, to digital community builders, to business framework developers.

One solid piece of work that we are now involved in is with Dementia-Signage.

We will be speaking at three conferences in September funded by Boots on the pivotal role of Information Technology within Dementia Strategy Policy and the larger framework of Mental Health & Wellbeing.  We’ll be talking about the small things that make a difference.  It’s a similar ethos to Dementia-Signage themselves.  The way a red plate can mean that a person with dementia can see the food they eat and how this has raised food intake significantly statistically within care home settings.

How we in mental health know that methods that create space for an individual to keep making choices and taking control of their lives can make a difference too that individuals mental health as well as their experience of dementia.  Not least how a better diet impacts on mood.  This base of small things we reference is a much larger issue - Living Well, Living Longer.

IMH is always interested in shared thinking and the ways in which that thinking can reach others.  It’s how we got to where it is today.  It’s how we’ll get to where we want to be tomorrow.

Full Conference details will be published shortly.  If you’re in the Leeds area, earmark September 22nd.

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