Newsletter: Adult Mental Health Day Service Review

June 2008

Keeping you informed
What has already happened?
Drop-in service and befriending service
Current proposed locations of social drop-in services


Keeping you informed

We have been telling you about the review that was done on Mental Health Day Services and the plan to make these services better. Your views helped in putting the plan for the new service together.

The new services will support people by:

The new services will be provided by making changes to the Community Resource Service and by closer working with the Voluntary and Independent Sector.
The aim of this newsletter is to:

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What has already happened?

  1. Inclusion Support Service took over from the Community Resource Service. Inclusion support workers will support people to do more things in their own community. There is a team based in the West and the East of Leicestershire. They are in the middle of putting together a leaflet which will tell you more about their service.
  2. The Inclusion Development Worker has already started working in partnership with mainstream organisations and community resources to ensure that they are user friendly and welcoming towards people who have mental health problems. In the next newsletter Chris Maughan will tell you all about the work she is doing.

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Drop-in service and befriending service

This service will still be provided to you. The Voluntary and Independent sector will continue to provide these services.

In the last newsletter we explained to you that all providers who wanted to give these services would now need to compete to gain the contract from the Leicestershire County Council. This is a legal requirement. The reason for this is to make sure the Council is being fair to all voluntary and independent providers across Leicestershire and that they all have the chance to put in a bid to give you this service. This is called procurement.

We appreciate that this may be causing you some anxieties but please be assured, and we cannot stress enough that the drop-in and befriending services will continue. You will continue to get this service if you need it.
To remind you of what was agreed for the new service, please see the map on the last page showing all services to be offered.

The process for bidding started in April and will be completed by October 2008.
To keep you fully informed of what is happening when; this plan shows you all the different stages of the process:

Timescale

Action Needed

Achieved

Beginning April 2008

Meeting with all current providers to agree best way of completing the tender process

achieved

Beginning April 2008

Advertise the tender process int he 'source Leicestershire' website and the Leicester Mercury

achieved

Beginning April 2008

Start work on the service specifications, this tells each provider what services they need to give.

achieved

16 April 2008

Providers to send in a letter expressing their interest in providing this service

achieved

End April 2008

The Implementation Group to agree the service specification.

achieved

28 May 2008

Bidders Conference to tell all providers interested about the tender process and to explain the plan for how the new services will look.

achieved

End June 2008

Invitations sent to providers asking them to put it in an application of tender

achieved

30 July 2008

Closing date for providers to return their tender applications to the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation.

 
Mid August 2008 All applications looked at and a shortlist will be made of those providers who meet the needs of the service.  
18-19 August 2008 Providers who have been short listed will give a presentation and will be interviewed by Adult Social Care, Health staff and service users.  
Late September 2008 Successful providers whill be chosen and told that they will be getting the contract.  
End September 2008 Newsletter to be sent out informing everyone of the confirmed services and who will be providing these.  
October 2008 Providers and reps from the Implementation Group to develop the service further eg monitoring the service.  
Late October 2008 All providers who have been successful to be given contracts and will start the service.  
January 2009 Training and development days to be provided.  

Representatives from the Voluntary sector, the Peoples Forum, Leicestershire Partnership Trust and Primary Care Trust and Leicestershire County Council have been working together to make the new plan happen. Everything is agreed by the Implementation Group which include representatives from all organisations involved.

By October we will be able to tell you all who the providers of your service are going to be. As stated in the last newsletter, until then the Inclusion Support Service will continue to help provide drop in services.

We do hope that this newsletter has assured you that services will continue to be provided and that people from all agencies are working together to make this happen smoothly. If you have any questions please contact either:

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Current proposed locations of social drop-in services

Weekly amount of provision = 93 hours in total

Click here for Map

Blaby District
Charnwood District
Hinckley & Bosworth District
Market Harborough District
Melton District
Oadby & Wigston District
North West Leciestershire
Rutland

Rutland Councy Council are thinking about social drop-in options.

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