Mental Health Transformation in Greater Manchester

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.

 An evaluation found that this approach supports people to make progress towards improved mental health and quality of life, whilst improving staff satisfaction.  

Five years on, all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs have made progress adopting and adapting the Living Well model, to create environments that support meaningful transformation.

This has led to significant impact for people, teams and communities:

The approach

We are proud of the impact that we have achieved with partners in Greater Manchester, to organise around a vision of a fit-for-purpose Living Well mental health system, now responding directly to the most urgent problems, whilst building a better system for the future. 

Our adopt and adapt approach has focused on three key strands:

1. Agreeing a shared vision, rooted in lived experience - we played a key role in convening key partners (including the voluntary sector and experts by experience) to connect around their shared purpose, share insights and learning, and co-design their shared vision. 
    
2. Enabling collaborative leadership, learning, and governance - To bring this vision to life, we worked with stakeholders to design cross-sector groups and spaces, with The Community Mental Health Coordinating Group providing a vital forum for leadership, coordination and accountability for Living Well.
    
3. Scaling new cultures and practices across the mental health system - to tackle the entrenched issue of fragmented services and lack of collaboration between agencies, we supported a practical and cultural shift towards an integrated approach, by placing greater value on lived experience, taking a strengths-based trauma-informed approach, and embedding a learning culture.