Providing better mental health support across Greater Manchester

Innovation Unit has been working in partnership with the ICB, Trusts, local authority and the VCSE sector across Greater Manchester since 2020 to radically improve mental health support. Together, we have been adopting the Living Well model and adapting it to the ten localities making up Greater Manchester. ‘Living Well’ was a new approach to mental health care that was first implemented in Lambeth, London, in 2010. It is holistic, flexible, person-centred, and easy to navigate locally. The ‘Living Well’ model recognises that non-clinical factors can be significant causes of mental ill health, including poverty, poor housing, or struggling to access benefits. 

Now, four years on, each of Greater Manchester’s ten localities has made progress by collaborating across sectors and organisations to define their vision for the mental health system of the future; and they have begun translating that vision into a design for local models. These models have emerged from people’s lived experience of navigating mental health support systems, as well as the lessons learnt by Salford and Tameside & Glossop (two localities who participated in the National Lottery funded Living Well UK programme starting in 2018). 

Our Approach

IU has played an important role in supporting Greater Manchester with their community mental health transformation over the last four years.

To achieve wide-spread system change, IU brought together the integrated care system, the two mental health trusts, the local voluntary and community sector, lived experience leaders and primary care and adult social care representatives. IU worked with this group to develop a shared vision and create the conditions for true collaboration across the system. This group continues to come together regularly to resolve challenges and agree the shared direction of the work. 

To ensure that there is accountability, continuous development and a shared understanding of success across the system, we have supported the system to co-design a GM wide Living Well evaluation framework. To retain momentum and resilience in the face of challenging transformation work IU have run focused sprints to research and co-design solutions to key challenges that have arisen in GM.

Each of the ten GM localities adopting Living Well have their own context which presents unique opportunities and challenges. IU have supported teams to develop shared cultures and embed the Living Well vision and practice, while also supporting them to develop test and learn approaches to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to continue adapting their work to meet the needs of people in their locality. 

To mobilise energy and facilitate collaboration and learning across the ten localities, we have developed Communities of Practice and celebration events which enable teams and leaders working in different localities to connect and learn from each other’s approaches, successes and challenges. 

Find out more about how we can help develop a Living Well system in your place here.

Our Impact

Leaders across GM aligned behind a shared vision, working collaboratively across boundaries to coordinate ideas, learning and resources.

Seven of the ten Greater Manchester Localities have ‘live’ Living Well teams in place and working to support people with their mental health. 

Growing numbers of people with complex mental health needs are receiving person centred care and support.

What Next?

This year, with mental health systems across the UK facing financial strain, increasing demand and growing waiting lists, IU will direct our focus towards supporting Greater Manchester with whole-system community mental health transformation. We will support all of the Living Well locality teams to co-design collaborative ways of working with other parts of the mental health pathway and help leaders to co-design what elements of the model can be localised and standardised. We will build the capability within each locality to influence their own systems, and ensure that they remain connected and have opportunities to share learning. We will support leaders to address challenges faced by the mental health system across Greater Manchester, and evidence the impact of the transformation work which has been achieved to date.