The Mental Health Hub, which was established in February 2021, has been awarded a second year’s funding enabling it to further establish its delivery team and expand its offer working with key stakeholders across the system.

The Hub has, to date, received and processed 132 referrals for staff across health and social care across the system. Of those referrals, approx. 40% are from UHB, which is representative of both the proportion of staff in the system employed by UHB combined with the delivery of critical acute care services. Staff roles accessing the service include (in descending order of representation), clinical nursing roles including staff nurses, HCA and trainees, administrative roles, other allied health clinical staff, medical, science and technical staff – again to be expected in terms of the population the Hub is working with.

In terms of outcomes and onward referral, the majority of staff have been offered a degree of intervention within the SMHH including psychological education, low level psychological support, and specialist psychological interventions relating to trauma, low mood and anxiety management. Other outcomes of note have been onward referral to local IAPT services, facilitated access to secondary care mental health / crisis provision, referral / signposting to third sector support.

An external evaluation of the Hub’s impact has been commissioned and will report early next calendar year.