Introducing our new Head of Health & Wellbeing - Clair Swales

Clair Swales recently took on a new role at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations as Head of Health & Wellbeing after previously working as Senior Officer Community Connectors & Info Engine Wales. She originally started work at PAVO in 2016 as a Third Sector Broker & Info Engine Officer and has since overseen the development of the hugely successful Community Connectors’ team within the organisation as well as further developing the online services directory infoengine. We met up with Clair recently to find out more about her new role.

Tell us more about your new role as Head of Health & Wellbeing at PAVO

My role is to facilitate positive relationships between Powys’ Third Sector and the Public Sector in the field of health and wellbeing, enabling third sector involvement in the development of policy and partnerships, championing a joined-up approach to commissioning of services and developing and maintaining effective service user and citizen engagement.

The role incorporates supporting the Health and Wellbeing team, overseeing the work of the Community Connectors and Powys Befriending Service and contributing to the management of PAVO. I also share responsibility with the CEO for the development and delivery of infoengine.

How is the new job going so far?

I began my new post in December 2019 and the first couple of months have been very busy indeed. In January I was delighted to welcome Sharon Healey as the new Senior Officer for the Community Connectors and Powys Befriending Services. It's been fantastic to get to work more closely with a larger team of PAVO colleagues and to continue working with the sector, health and social care colleagues albeit in a new remit.

Clair (2nd from R) & PAVO colleagues saying #HelloYellow on World Mental Health Day 2019

Can you - briefly - sum up the work of the three different PAVO teams you head up - Health & Wellbeing, Community Connectors & Powys Befrienders

Health & Wellbeing - the team supports Third Sector organisations working in the health and social care fields to work closely with the Health Board, County Council and others to develop better services for Powys’ people. It provides an important mental health information service, supports the delivery of health and well-being information via various mediums, and recruits and supports citizen reps for a variety of boards, as well as facilitating networks such as the Powys Advocacy Network.

Community Connectors - The service helps people in Powys (aged 18+) and their families or carers, to access community-level services and activities that will help them maintain independent lives and which help prevent their circumstances deteriorating to a point where they might need higher level health or social care services.

Powys Befrienders Service - Powys Befriending Service helps improve the independence of people over 50 by helping maintain social networks and remain in their own homes for as long as they are able.

Clair with some of the Community Connectors

Why do you think the Community Connectors have, in such a short time, become such key players in supporting some of our most vulnerable Powys residents?

For anyone who may be vulnerable or facing a challenging time, access to the right information at the right time is essential. Often it can be a challenge to keep on top of the latest information about the support that is available. The Community Connectors have become a key link between statutory services, the client and the sector. This has been driven by the Social Services and Wellbeing Act and A Healthier Wales; and the work with the Regional Partnership Board in delivering the Health and Care Strategy for Powys.

What are the main challenges of your new role?

Juggling time and commitments! With a large team and an even larger number of meetings to attend where I represent the sector, it is always a matter of judging the best way I can support the team and the sector in the best way possible. I like the challenge though and always try to ensure that I make time for my own health and wellbeing and ensuring a good work/home life balance.

Why do you think it is crucial that there is a healthy and robust Health & Wellbeing Third Sector in Powys?

There is a huge focus on health and wellbeing at the moment and in particular early help and intervention. Statutory services have changed immensely over the years and the model for delivery, and financial capability of delivering front line services has also changed. The third sector has a crucial part to play in our communities in supporting health and wellbeing but the sector itself needs to be healthy and robust, able to adapt to change and given the freedom to deliver what truly matters to people. Funding is always a challenge but I like to challenge funding bodies such as the local authority and Welsh Government to focus on early help and prevention and how this can be funded in the third sector. Volunteers play a huge role in supporting health and wellbeing in Powys so we must do what we can to look after Powys’ volunteers.

Clair with Andrew Davies, PAVO Health & Wellbeing Participation Officer

If you could change one thing in the Third Sector Health and Wellbeing world here, what would it be?

Ooh wave my magic wand……Other than overcoming funding difficulties within the sector, I would like to see more third sector involvement in the engagement and support of children and young people. Powys’ third sector has lost a lot of capacity in the remit of delivering support for children and young people and I think it is vital we play an active part in this area of health and wellbeing, to help support children and families and play a key role in reducing and preventing issues in the future.

Charities and voluntary groups (including PAVO) increasingly work more closely with statutory providers of health services - how do you think this will affect the sector from the tiniest local groups to the national big charity players?

I think the biggest challenge here is meeting demand. The SSWB Act has a focus on support close to home but we need to ensure that support for these organisations and groups filters right down to the smallest provider. The close work with statutory partners is certainly a positive step forward but I think there needs to be greater understanding of the role of the sector, in particular the smaller groups, that the sector cannot survive on thin air and it shouldn’t be the place to cut funding.

The Social Value Forum is really starting to see small groups and charities benefit from a small amount of funding that can make a big difference in the community. Sustainability of third sector services is always an issue. Powys is heavily reliant on the outstanding work of volunteers but there is only so much volunteers can do and only so much time to give for volunteering as we all work longer. 

Sharon Healey (L)  new Senior Officer for the Community Connectors &
Powys Befriending Services with Clair

How do you see co-production* working successfully in Powys to provide quality health services for all and what is PAVO’s role in this?

We have had some really positive discussions with third sector agencies such as Credu about co-production in Powys. I feel it's really important to include the service user or community’s views to shape services and this needs to be in a constructive and positive manner. To truly enable co-production we have to break down bureaucratic barriers and this can be a big challenge when working with statutory partners as they have their statutory duties to fulfill. Remove the barriers and let the sector work together with communities to shape future services.

PAVO can play an active role in bringing people together, ensuring the citizen and sector’s voices are heard at statutory level, and influence decision making on behalf of the community and third sector. PAVO’s mission is to be a CATALYST of voluntary Action, a legitimate VOICE for the voluntary sector and a HUB of essential information. We are looking at new ways of using the Community Connectors’ community workers’ meetings to co-produce services at community based level as we know in Powys one size does not fit all. It has to come from the community.

Lots of big issues are crowding out the H & W agenda, the Big 4 of Powys’s Health & Care strategy (Cancer, Mental Health, Heart and Respiratory disease), the Loneliness and isolation strategy of the Together for Mental Health new delivery plan. What skills can your PAVO teams bring to the table?

The team has excellent communication skills and the ability to decipher vast amounts of important health and wellbeing information. Using their creative communication skills they make information regarding health policies and wellbeing initiatives easily accessible to the public, and indeed statutory and third sector colleagues. The teams do this through a variety of platforms such as the ebulletins, social media, health lift films, infoengine.wales and by working with people directly; thus meaning there is something for everyone. The team uses a variety of skills to ensure the voice of the citizen and the sector is heard at all levels of the decision making processes. We also benefit from working closely with our colleagues in the development team to support the sector to meet the challenges of an ever demanding, ever changing wellbeing environment.

Clair (2nd from L) at a patient discharge home meeting with colleagues from Third Sector,
Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council

If people identify gaps in mainstream and Third Sector health and wellbeing services - where should they take that information so that the gaps can be addressed?

The Community Connectors’ case management system allows the team to record gaps and unmet need when working with clients. This has proved very useful with our work with the Social Value Forum to identify needs in communities. However this is just one way of recording information, there is a huge amount of information out there and if you speak to residents or people working in Powys communities they know where there are gaps. The challenge is recording it. The team has used the Community workers’ meetings to also record data around gaps and unmet need and if you don’t already attend one of these meetings I would encourage you to do so.

There are a couple of social prescribing pilot projects in Powys. There seems to be a greater appetite for exploring new and innovative ways to tackling some health & wellbeing issues. What are your thoughts?

Firstly I am not sure I like the terminology ‘social prescribing’. We shouldn’t have to be ‘prescribed’ community based third sector services. However people do need to know what’s available to them to support good health and wellbeing. We should encourage and support people to access community based activities where medical intervention is not required. This type of service is designed to support physical activity and promote good mental health.

Have you taken inspiration from others in the fields of health and wellbeing and / or the Third Sector, and if so, who?

I have actually taken my inspiration from my late father. He was very community minded and spent years as a Town and County Councillor always striving to make people’s lives better. Seeing him work so passionately in the community helped shape me and gave me the firm foundations to strive to deliver the very best for people in the work I do today and every day.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done at PAVO

Supporting the growth if the connector service has been very rewarding and being shortlisted for an NHS Wales award in autumn 2018 was definitely a highlight. But listening to the difference we can make to people’s lives and to the communities of Powys is always heart warming. I am very clear that without the third sector in Powys the county would be less vibrant.

When you’re not working how do you enjoy spending your time?

My spare time is undoubtedly dedicated to my family. I live with my husband (pictured above on my wedding day) and I have three children and two step children. I am normally running around with various items of sporting kit from rugby to football to horse riding gear. I am very proud of the children and enjoy being on the sidelines cheering them on. I also love cooking with my husband. That's my daily de-stress hour when I get home. I enjoy going to concerts (Bruce Springsteen has to be one of my all time favourites along with The Rolling Stones but I would love to see Sir Tom Jones in concert too). I love walking the dog and getting out into the mountains. Getting fresh air into my lungs helps me to feel grounded and reinvigorated.

BIG thanks to Clair for telling us more about her new role. If you'd like to contact Clair then you can ring 01597 822191 or email clair.swales@pavo.org.uk

*Co-production means delivering public services in an equal and reciprocal relationship between professionals, people using services, their families and their neighbours. Where activities are co‐produced in this way, both services and neighbourhoods become far more effective agents of change.

Definition developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Nesta, in partnership with the Co-production Practitioners’ Network

Ponthafren: out of hours, full of ideas

Chinese Night at Ponthafren Association

Barbara Perkins has been working at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO) for three years now as the Community Voice Officer for the One Powys – Connecting Voices project. Originally three days a week, this post went down to one day earlier this year as planned in the original lottery funded bid and in May she started a new role as the Out of Hours Centre Facilitator at the mental health charity Ponthafren Association in Newtown, North Powys.

I caught up with Barbara on one of her PAVO days at our Plas Dolerw base to find out more about her new role.

Tell us more about your role at Ponthafren

I have the great job of working with members of Ponthafren on two days a week. I organise information evenings and social evenings. 

Of an evening I will chat to members and this gives us a chance to get to know each other. It may be that someone will pop in and see me because they are dealing with a particular crisis and need a bit of support or it may be they will pop in looking for company or advice on local services. 

Everyone is welcome and at an annual membership fee of £2 Ponthafren is a great place to be involved with. Just recently we held a Chinese evening with members arranging a Chinese meal to sit down and share together.

Every evening is different but all are interesting

How is the new job going so far?

I have been well looked after both by staff and management but most of all by Marg. Marg is a dedicated volunteer who comes in every Monday and Wednesday evening to ensure the quality of service at Ponthafren. As one of the longest serving members of the team, Marg has taken me under her wing and helped me navigate through the first few months in this new job.

What do you bring to your new role from your experience as the Community Voice Officer?

As the Community Voice Coordinator at PAVO I was already fortunate enough to be working with the Ponthafren YAPS* project and was aware of the valuable work being undertaken at Ponthafren. PAVO has a huge amount of information and can signpost both individuals and organisations to the many, many services available in Powys. Awareness of the role of third sector brokers and, of course, knowledge of Info Engine (Welsh online services directory) has been very helpful. In addition, in my working life I have gained experience in third sector services, social housing, learning disabilities, the benefits system and domiciliary support (yes I have lived quite a long time :0). I feel that all these experiences contribute to my life skills which I am able to make use of and share in this new job.

*The Young Adult Peer Support project offers peer support mentoring to young people (16-25 years old) who experience mental health issues by helping to give them a voice of their own in the development of services.

Housing advice session with Auden from
Mid Wales Housing Association

What kind of activities have you been organising for the members? Which are the most popular so far? 

If anyone reading this article wonders what is already on the Newtown Ponthafren calendar for future evenings, I can tell you that we have more from story teller Rod Evans, film night, your housing questions answered, meal deal night, woodcarving, nocook cooking to name but a few. We also organise video links with our Welshpool centre and members can chat with each other over the internet.

You work with volunteers at the Centre, what qualities/skills are you looking for in new volunteers?

If anyone is interested in looking for volunteering opportunities then Ponthafren can provide free training to provide a better understanding of what it means to be a volunteer. Everyone has useful skills that can be valuable and volunteering can be a good way to identify them and put them to best use. Whether you are a natural talker or listener, very creative, like to make everything neat and tidy or are a whizz on computer games and computers, everyone has skills. You may be a gardener or love to garden (yes, some people do enjoy pulling weeds) or a handyman or be blessed with other skill. Why not share them and look at the opportunities to volunteer.

If someone was feeling isolated or a bit down and considering calling in to a Ponthafren evening session but was feeling unsure, what would you say?

The biggest step if you are feeling isolated is walking through that front door for the first time. Why not have a look on our website or our notice board outside the centre and see what is going on. You may be able to find an activity that you could sign up for (perhaps with someone else). You are also welcome to pop in on a Monday or Wednesday 16.30 – 21.00 and just ask for Barbara. I will happily introduce myself and colleagues and members and show you around. It will also provide an opportunity to learn more about what we can do to help you.

Curry night cooking in the Ponthafren kitchen

What are the main challenges of the role?

TIME – every evening goes by in a flash and inevitably we are trying to get things done. It is important to be there for the members and some evenings are very very busy but some can be very chilled.

Tell us about some of the most rewarding work you have done with Ponthafren to date

I recently approached one of our members to ask if he could do some volunteering for a day helping at an event. He actually thanked me for the opportunity when I was so very grateful for the difference he had made with his hard work. WOW that was humbling.

When you are not working for Ponthafren, how do you enjoy spending your time?

I am currently spending time getting fit. In January I had actually started using a walking stick at times. I am now averaging about 4-5 miles (our poor dog is exhausted) a day along with some weightlifting (not very feminine but good fun) so feeling so much fitter. I also volunteer for a group called Meeting Point Montgomeryshire (MPM) which organises events once a month that are available to anyone who is feeling socially isolated. The events are fully wheelchair accessible.

To find out more about the Late Night Openings at Ponthafren Association in Newtown, please ring 01686 621586 or email admin@ponthafren.org.uk

Hello, and welcome: Terrence Higgins Trust in Powys

A few weeks ago I found out that the Terrence Higgins Trust - the charity promoting a healthy and stigma-free life for people with HIV - had set up a Community Liaison and Participation Project in Powys.  People who have been diagnosed with HIV often experience stress, anxiety and depression, and can feel particularly isolated in a rural county like Powys. The Trust provides support and advice for them and also anybody affected by these issues, such as family members and partners. Andrea Taylor, Support Service Coordinator of the HIV and Hepatitis Action for Wales, kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her work for the Trust, and the support that is available.

Tell us more about the work you are doing

Our Community Liaison Project is a Wales-wide service which can help if you are living with HIV and/or viral hepatitis. We can help if you are feeling isolated or lonely by increasing your access to a wide range of services in the local area. We can also help with some of the day-to-day issues of living with HIV and/or viral hepatitis and how they impact on your life. We can also help if you would like to make your organisation more knowledgeable and welcoming people with these conditions.

What is HIV and Hepatitis Action Wales?

It is a Wales-wide service which can help with any aspect of living with HIV and/or viral hepatitis. If you have questions about your treatment, your test results or day-to-day issues such as employment, housing and welfare benefits we can help support you. We can also provide emotional support and counselling. All our services can be delivered on a face-face basis locally, by phone or via our online support services.

Why is there a need for your work?

Despite the huge progress in care and treatment for people living with HIV/HepC in the last three decades, reducing the stigma around HIV/HepC has taken longer and proven more difficult to address.

HIV is still a stigmatised illness and discrimination and prejudice remain issues of concern to people living with HIV. Fear of discrimination and actual experiences of injustice can have a profound effect on individuals mental health and self esteem, which in turn can have significant implications for society as a whole.

Stigma often prevents people being open about their condition and it inhibits the kind of open discussions that is needed to challenge society’s lack of knowledge and understanding about HIV/HepC.

How do you know about the ongoing stigma associated with HIV?

A 2010 survey found that 66 per cent of the public agree that there is still a great deal of stigma around HIV. A similar number also believe more needs to be done to prevent discrimination. However, general awareness and knowledge levels among the public can still be startlingly low. People living with HIV/HepC regularly report being treated badly, receiving poor service or being discriminated against because of their status. Sadly, a high level of discrimination still occurs within some organisations.

A 2008 survey of people with HIV in London found that one third of people encountered discrimination because of their HIV status. Of those reporting discrimination, half said it had come from a healthcare worker, one in four from a dentist, one in five from a GP and one in ten from hospital staff.

We have supported people who have been bullied, intimidated and even threatened with violence because of their condition. Stigma and prejudice can compromise people's personal relationships and fear of disclosure can prevent them getting the kind of basic support that other people living with long term conditions can expect from family and friends.

How does the stigma of HIV affect people’s emotional wellbeing?

The fear and isolation this creates can have a profound effect on a person’s physical and emotional health. In many instances, people living with HIV/HepC can require more support in dealing with the stress and anxiety caused by the stigma, than with the physical impact of the infection. Mental health and in particular depression is a common experience for people living with HIV and a 2012 study showed that one in four had a current depressive disorder. Despite these figures, depression is not an inevitable aspect of HIV infection, but it could be triggered if you feel anxious or uncertain about your future. It is possible that people living with HIV are suffering from depression without realising it.

What about discrimination against people with HIV seeking employment?

People living with HIV/HepC are often fearful of disclosing their status in employment or recruitment settings and many people face barriers to securing or remaining in employment as a result. Similarly, many people are reluctant to disclose in settings such as with their GP or dentist and this in turn compromises the level of support they can expect from public services.

The public sector is the UK’s largest employer, with the NHS the largest single employer, so it holds considerable potential to not only improve the delivery of services to people living with HIV/HepC, but to also increase HIV awareness and tackle discrimination.

What is happening in Powys and Ceredigion?

A great deal more could be done within the health service in particular in terms of training staff on HIV related stigma rather than focusing on simply HIV infection control. Our projects in Powys and Ceredigion involve working in partnership with people living with HIV and representative agencies. We will continue to fight to challenge HIV stigma and increase awareness in public services and within our community.

If you would like to speak to your local Terrence Higgins Trust support worker either to request training, arrange an appointment, or simply have a chat on how we might be able to support you, please contact:

Andrea Taylor, Support Service Coordinator - HIV and Hepatitis Action for Wales

 mobile: 07824 809 779 email: andrea.taylor@tht.org.uk

Joshua Hall, Community Liaison Project Manager - 
Community Liaison & Participation Project
tel: 02920 666 465  email: josh.hall@tht.org.uk

Revving up Powys Info Engine

Claire Powell has been working for the past 11 months at PAVO as the Third Sector Broker and Info Engine Officer. Amongst many other things she has supported organisations in the mental health voluntary sector to get their details uploaded to Info Engine so that anyone with an interest can find out more and connect.

Naturally we wanted to find out more about someone with such a long job title! So we caught up with Claire at her PAVO base at Ddole Road in Llandrindod Wells to ask a few questions.

It sounds as if you wear two hats… tell us more about them.

Yes I wear two hats, often more than two and I am not even a ‘hat person’!

Wearing my Broker hat I work in the Comms Hub with Adult Social Services and health workers to raise awareness of all the voluntary services in Powys. Sometimes people reach crisis points in their lives because they are not getting the right support. My job is to make sure social workers, doctors and other professionals know about a variety of voluntary services so that every person has the opportunity to get the support they need. I spend a lot of time doing internet research and making phone calls to get the right support for each client.

I wear my Info Engine hat with geek glasses, I manage Info Engine which is an online directory of services, and my job is to make sure as many services are listed on the directory as possible and that people like yourselves use it to find out what’s happening in your area. A lot of the technical mumbo jumbo goes over my head but I am learning a lot at the same time and I get to go out and visit lots of groups to tell them about Info Engine! It’s the first directory of its kind in Powys and something I am very proud to be a part of.

What are the most challenging aspects of the role?

Currently I am the only Third Sector Broker in Powys so trying to be everywhere at once is difficult. I think the most challenging aspect of my role is changing a long standing culture with health and social care professionals. Until now they have managed using very few voluntary services, but due to the recent budget cuts they are having to rely more and more on external services which means that clients will have more choice in the services on offer.

Talk us through a typical enquiry coming through the Comms Hub

To give you an example, a recent call came in from family member calling in to Social Services asking for a social worker to visit their son who is in his mid 20s and has a physical disability. She was worried that he is becoming lonely and ‘depressed’. In this case the son wasn’t aware that this call was being made which happens quite often. We always explain that we could not refer him without his knowledge – this can be difficult for loved ones to understand but client choice is at the heart of everything we do.

I then sit with a duty social worker and the person who took the call and chat about what support we could offer. It was decided that this would not be a case for Social Services and I offered the caller a list of local activities, clubs and volunteering opportunities which could be suggested to the son. This is very much a case of preventing things getting worse for the son.

In another case I referred a lady to Hafal because she was struggling with her own health and was caring for her partner who had mental health issues. This was very successful and led to the prevention of a crisis situation for the couple.

We are often asked for hard copies of service directories. What does Info Engine offer that is better?

• Info Engine is instant - information at the click of a button.
• Services update their information regularly so unlike a printed directory the information remains fresh.
• Info Engine is with you wherever you go – as long as you have a mobile, tablet or are near a computer with internet access you can use Info Engine.
• If you want to know more about each service you can click on a link taking you straight to their website – Simples!
• There are also new services popping up across the county which you would never discover thumbing through a printed directory.
• And of course – Info Engine saves the planet – just think how many trees are chopped down to make a paper directory! 

People sometimes say they are suffering “information overload.” As a tool, how does Info Engine offer solutions to this situation?

You can carry out a really specific search such as ‘Hedgehog rescue 5 miles from Howey’ and it would only bring up a single entry rather than having to sift through every animal rescue centre in Powys! This is an odd example but someone did re-home a number of hedgehogs after discovering the Howey Hedgehog Rescue using Info Engine!

We also encourage all services registered to keep their information brief and to use straight forward language not jargon! The use of fancy, unnecessary language is a pet hate of mine.

What is the most valuable thing you have learnt since you started your new role?

Prevention is better than cure and services must work better together to help people get the support they need as early as possible!

What do you like to do in your own time, when you’re not working for PAVO?

I love walking my Springer Spaniel puppy Jack – although it’s usually him taking me for a walk! If I have had a difficult day at work I like to slump on the sofa and get lost in a Disney film.

Thank you so much Claire for talking to us! If you would like to find out more about Powys Info Engine and the work Claire does at the Comms Hub at Powys County Council you can email infoengine@pavo.org.uk or tel: 01597 822191.

Have you tried using Info Engine yet? Let us know what you think by commenting below. If people do not have access to the internet and require information about mental health services and organisations we can do the search on Info Engine for them and still send out printed material - so everyone is catered for and we still save many many trees!

Dyfed-Powys Police - Mental Health: The Way Forward

Last Friday Laura and I attended a Dyfed-Powys Police conference at Police Headquarters in Carmarthen. We were there with our PAVO colleague Claire Powell, the Info Engine Officer, to promote the third sector in Powys. Laura also facilitated a session with two people from Powys who had experience of being arrested and detained by the police whilst mentally distressed.

Mental Health: The Way Forward, was promoted as an event which “will explore ways in which the police can work in partnership with statutory and third sector services in responding to people in mental distress.” Dyfed-Powys is obviously a vast chunk of Wales (Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire & Powys), and we were able to network with colleagues from the statutory sector, including Bronllys Hospital and the Welsh Ambulance Service, as well as other voluntary groups and charities such as West Wales Action for Mental Health and Mind Llanelli. But our main role was to inform those police officers present of the mental health third sector groups in Powys, and the support these groups can provide to people experiencing any form of mental distress.

The event was kicked off by Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Carl Langley. He spoke about the recent joint review – “A criminal use of police cells? The use of police custody as a place of safety for people with mental health needs,” in which a police cell had been identified as the worst possible place for someone with mental health issues. Yet, as Carl admitted, cells are still used routinely as places of safety.

The average time taken to assess someone is 8 hours and 48 minutes. As a high percentage of people enter police cells having drunk alcohol, this time could be much longer. Carl then asked – “If that was my mother/daughter/sister who had experienced an episode which presents as mental health initially, how comfortable am I with that?” He went on to explain that as a police service “we don’t want these people in custody – we want to do the best for them… 9 hours is a long time.” Often the period of custody will exacerbate the level of anxiety experienced by someone already in distress. Recent TV programmes such as BBC’s Panorama and press articles have focussed on these issues.

Dyfed-Powys Police want to try things differently going forward. Carl asked if other statutory agencies present would be willing to share information, say from Care Treatment Plans, to help inform officers early on. Less than 10% of people who are detained in this way are sectioned, but what happens to the other 90%? Where do they receive support? Whilst Carl recognised that some people would benefit from support from the third sector, he said that the force currently underutilises these resources. And now is time to change that.

Temporary Chief Superintendent Andy John, the force Mental Health Lead, spoke with Helen Morgan-Howard, Equality & Diversity Manager, about Mental Health Street Triage (presentation available here). They began by describing “Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (which) allows a police officer to remove a person they think is mentally disordered and ‘in immediate need of care or control’ from a public place to a place of safety, in the interest of that person or for the protection of others.” Without access to a person’s records a Section 136 was described as “the only option”, despite it making people feel “I was locked up because I was ill.”

Dyfed-Powys Police are now asking:

• How do we provide better information to officers at the scene of an incident?
• Is there anywhere else we can take people to?
• Can we reduce the amount of time people wait to be assessed by mental health practitioners?
• Can we refer to support elsewhere, eg: third sector?
• Are there other crisis interventions out there that the police don’t know about? 

Andy described a real appetite to make a difference within the force, and pointed out key areas where change could be made, including staff training, and working more collaboratively with partners, including the third sector.

There was also talk of trialling mental health street triage. In nine force areas in England joint units comprising mental health practitioners and police officers, who have shared access to information, take to the streets together, resulting in better-informed decisions and better outcomes for people experiencing mental distress. There are already plans for a pilot scheme in Carmarthenshire in the lead-up to Christmas, and talks are imminent with Powys teaching Local Health Board about options for 2014. This approach, combined with the creation of new places of safety, away from a police cell, and local to an individual, look like a promising start.

Laura networking at the Dyfed-Powys Police mental health conference

Before leaving the conference for the day I asked someone who had been arrested on many occasions whilst mentally distressed, "where would your preferred place of safety be?" The answer, simply, was “anywhere but a police cell.”

Let’s hope it’s not that hard to arrange.

What do you think of mental health street triage? Let us know your thoughts on this, and any other aspects of policing in relation to mental distress, by commenting below.

Other speakers at the conference included:
Tim Burton, Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner, Dyfed-Powys Police
Tony Thomas, Criminal Justice Link Officer, Hafal
Gareth Coles, Public Services Delivery Officer, Wales Council for Voluntary Action

January 2014 BBC news update - Mental health units to be set up by Dyfed-Powys Police