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Touchstone Kirklees

Mental Health Specific

Peer-Led Brokerage Service

Annual Report 2014-2015

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Hi, my name is Chris and Im a Peer Broker and volunteer at Touchstone. Id like to introduce you to our Peer Led Brokerage Service In the summer of 2015 the Richmond Fellowship

Employment Service helped me to get a placement

at Touchstone. Since then I have been helping out

and learning lots about all of the Kirklees based

Services.

The Peer Led Brokerage Service (PBS for short) offers free, independent advice and

practical help with putting together Self Directed Support (SDS) packages for

individuals, which are funded by their direct payment personal budget from Kirklees

Council. PBS is designed and delivered by people with experience of mental health

difficulties and mental health services. We help people to choose the kind of support

they want and to work out whats best for them and their recovery.

We took 75 new

referrals in 2014-

2015 and worked

with 105 cases

overall.

My role as a peer broker has helped me learn a real

variety of things, for example, the process of how a

personal budget is initiated for a client and the

practical steps taken for this to be set up for them. I

plan to use these skills to one day develop a career in

mental health and I am hopeful that the skills I am

learning will become invaluable and transferable.

At Touchstone we listen to the needs of everyone we

work with. We get to know them and try to

understand better what they want, then we put in

place support to make that possible.

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Service Developments The service year runs from 1 October 2014 - 30 September 2015 and during this time we

have worked with a total of 102 individuals in receipt of a Kirklees Council direct

payment and 3 individuals who are self-funders. One of our key aims was to improve

and streamline the process from initial assessment to the point that a support package

is delivered. During the year we have worked with council colleagues, the community

mental health teams and support providers to ensure that the process is as efficient as

possible. This means more people get access to better support more quickly.

Throughout Kirklees we have visited many

of the charities and projects that currently

offer mental health support to individuals.

By doing this we keep up to date with the

kinds of services that are available as well

as informing partners about the

possibilities of SDS. We know that our

publicity activities have encouraged

people to suggest SDS to care coordinators

and applications for support have

increased as a result.

Ive had two big problems since this

care started and both times I rang Amina at Touchstone and she sorted it out. I have little anxiety now,

more confidence and no need to flap.

Another key element of our service is empowering

people to feel more in control of how they manage the

money that their SDS budget provides. Many dont want

the day to day worry of managing bills and payments, yet

they want to know that they can control how it is spent.

PBS, in conjunction with independent managed account

providers, can enable people to do just that.

In February 2015 Castle & Minster Credit Union

collapsed and a significant number of mental health

service users were left without their managed account

facility. When the council asked PBS to help, we enabled

this group of people to negotiate new arrangements and

keep their essential care packages going.

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During the year we have achieved our goal

of recruiting, inducting and training more

peers and we are proud that these come

from increasingly diverse groups.

Our peer group is essential to how the

service operates; we value their expertise

and support them to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence. Co-production

again plays a huge part in everything we do. Service users, carers, peers, volunteers,

staff and our external partners have all been involved in reviewing and improving the

redesign of all of our processes, paperwork and how we manage and deliver the service.

Touchstone organisation-wide has had a busy and successful year too. Here are a few

of our achievements in 2014-2015:

Co-production: A relationship where professionals and citizens share

power to plan and deliver support together, recognising that both partners

have vital contributions to make in order to improve quality of life for

people and communities. (Mind 2013)

I know that my broker is my contingency plan, fighting my corner for me. I have peace of

mind knowing that help is just a phone call away.

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Brokerage Outcomes

When we first meet people we ask them to score how they feel about 6 areas of their

life, where 1/10 is the worst that things could be and 10/10 is the best that things could

be. We regularly review these scores with people as their circumstances change. The

following chart illustrates the average scores people gave themselves in 2014-15:

To help people with this self assessment we ask them to think about each outcome area

using the following questions:

Control: do I have control of my support?

Information: can I easily get good information to find support and services?

Confidence: do I feel confident in myself to let others know what I want?

Independence: can I do things for myself?

Choice: do I have a choice of different and new services available to me?

Satisfaction: how satisfied am I with the support I receive at the moment?

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

Comparison of self assessment before & after brokerage support

Before

After

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Outcomes Control

Outcomes - Information

Outcomes Confidence

Touchstone have really helped me find out about

funding to do courses. I have done a computer course at

Kirklees College and now have drama therapy sessions.

Having my flat

cleaned has helped me with my

confidence. I can now take my dog out twice a day. I feel glad about these changes.

I dont feel alone or isolated any more. I could not have done this

without support from Touchstone. My depression periods dont last as long

as they used to before. I would be absolutely devastated if this support or service was taken away from me. I

hadnt heard of Touchstone before but now I am so glad that I have because they are fantastic light at the end of

the tunnel for me.

Our aim is that people supported by PBS will have more control over their support. Theyll direct what their support looks like, where, when and how it is provided.

We can help people change their provider when things arent working quite right. We enable people to challenge things that they think they cant change. This year people have told us that weve helped them feel a

33% improvement in control.

Our aim is to support people with indicative budgets and peers to increase their confidence. People with direct experience of mental health problems will therefore be better able to support each other and express their strengths and aspirations.

Our work with individuals looks at more than just their direct payment; we are able to spend time with them, learn about their wishes and find others ways to support their recovery. People tell us that PBS has helped them to

feel a 29% improvement in their confidence.

Our aim is that people will have better access to clearer information about the choices available to them. This in turn should lead to increased levels of control and confidence.

Our staff and peers all know the local area and constantly keep their eyes and ears open to new services. By being a part of the same community we are better placed to help individuals find good information. This year people have told us that they have felt a

23% improvement here.

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Outcomes - Independence

Outcomes Choice

Outcomes Satisfaction 31%

Until a few weeks ago my only contact was with my Broker and Mary the

cleaner. I am now back in contact with an old friend from Morley. I met him in

prison and he has kept in touch with me since. After 13yrs I now have a

friend visiting me at my flat. We have been out to town a few times together

too.

My broker came and discussed the process of direct payments. I had the assessment done and they said that Id have to pay for my own care. I thought that was it but Touchstone came to visit me again and gave me a choice of different carer providers. We talked about how much I could afford and what I need.

My carers are lovely. They help me in and out of my bath. They are really

helpful and easy to talk to. I have piece of mind now knowing that I have lovely

people at the end of a phone. I know that I can ring my carers and

Touchstone at any time.

We aim to increase awareness of Self Directed Support among providers across Kirklees, leading to increased choice and more innovative services.

In the last year PBS have been successful in changing the perception of SDS and encouraging more people to access budgets. People tell us that they feel they

have seen a 25% improvement in the