I have been going through the large number of providers stating in some way they are some sort of mental health recovery experts, not always openly applying that but wow yes defiantly implying it! If they are so correct in their implications, they then should be no concerns in the UK about mental health, so why do we know mental health is still a concern?

I really want to know the answer, because if there are these experts in recovery of mental health then the issue is with helping many people with mental health is sign posting to these services everyone’s mental health is then resolved, easy? Of course not, first to be fair we all know mental health is more complex then that, also the way we manage, our own personal journey, is unique! It is unlikely we will find two of us that have followed that journey, but we do understand possible lows and highs in each other’s recovery. In addition, there is all various types of mental conditions all bringing a unique issue on helping individual with their journey and ability to manage their own mental health well-being.

There are some outstanding mental health organisations, some of these include Mental Health Foundation, MIND, Sane, Rethink and Together, that always come into conversations when talking about mental health top charities. It should however not be a lottery though who provides mental health services in your area, we have a right to expect a quality standard led by trained mental health professionals, that is not to say that Recovery/Support Workers are fully trained mental health professionals. It should however be expected that middle to high management that is leading these teams overseeing contracts for mental health provision are very highly trained and qualified mental health professionals. I am really confused how commissioners award contract where not one person in these management posts is qualified in anyway in mental health, so how do they get a lucrative contract that effects peoples live, and have not one person qualified as a psychologist, psychiatrist or mental health nurse? I can’t speak for everywhere but know this is a fact for instance in Hampshire where I have lived and worked. I also know of these same providers gaining contracts in several parts of the country, working on the principles the same as Hampshire. In other words, they have not had to adapt or provide credentials to win contracts in these other areas.

I am also not talking about or referring to community mental health teams (CMHT), that do a fantastic job in often overstretched services. These are of course qualified, but however in this day-and-age rely on getting good quality information from mental health providers where concerns of one of their patients that you provide a service to. I have seen first hand where a regional manager lack of knowledge has been the issue rather then be the point where a concern for the mutual well-being of a service-user/patient could be resolved, to the benefit of the individual. I think it is only right that not only should CMHT expect staff working for a provider have a decent level of training, but management is qualified to understand complex knowledge in some conditions of mental health diagnosis. Again, it can be often the case that middle to high management pass this down to low level management or frontline staff of these providers, so when things go wrong (which is to often for my liking), the blame of investigations goes to those near or at the bottom. I have no official line I can call upon but have seen unofficial frustrating comments and looks from CMHT and mental health hospital staff. Who can blame them?

I now come to  the bottom line, if local authorities are awarding contracts to unsuitable providers then should they not be held accountable in ensuring that only suitably qualified companies/ Trusts get contracts, after all we are talking peoples well-being, so they have a duty of care to ensure that any contract provided is meeting a standard that enables recovery of mental health and helps protect the safe way this is delivered to the user of the service. I know of an organisation that changed the job description of the most junior manager so that they are responsible for everything, with very little for the middle and senior management to take can for. You might ask the benefit of this change, it means when not if things go wrong then the blame remains with junior management, leaving all other levels of management blameless and contract intact. Also, the training for this mental provider, who refers themselves to be a mental health specialist, is online and on a bad day can take a staff member with no previous mental health knowledge two hours to complete, less if they are in a rush. They then can go out into the world as trained mental health recovery/support workers. If that does not worry then it should, what if you were out the end of receiving their advice or it was a loved one, especially if that loved one as suicidal thoughts or self-harms. I had a regional manager refer to this being attention seeking, no wonder they did not understand my own condition when spoke of my thoughts when becoming unwell. Learnt that day to never talk about it again.

This brings me back to a previous blog about mental health first aid in the workplace. This should be law fingers crossed by the end of the year, it also raises concerns about service providers not having a policy in the workplace for mental health wellbeing of its staff as their mental health is as important as that of service users as staff need to be well to help service users. Providers have a duty to ensure this and should have done for a long time. This is not something new mental health wellbeing of a provider’s staff should be evidenced how it has provided policies over recent years and adapted to change to ensure all its staff mental health is treated in a fair and understanding way. The mental first aid in the workplace, you would expect to be new or recently considered by businesses outside of mental health, but you would have expected it to have been around in mental health organisations for a long time! If not why not, and can you really have confidence in a provider that had not considered its staffs welfare?

What I would like to see happen is all local authorities agree a standard that must be met before any organisation can tender for mental health provision regardless if it is providing talking therapy, community groups, floating support, supported housing and son on. If this organisation is saying it provides mental health services, it must have suitably qualified managers and advisors to staff on the front line. Managers need to be qualified to a high education level in mental health to ensure they know how the provision of the contract will imply on those it is supposed to be serving. This standard is a minimum standard, so it should not be less then the standards set, but of course it can set a higher-level standard for their own contracts, which will be great to see. This standard should also require management to declare and ensure that service users are aware of managers suitability to reassure individuals that their welfare is in capable hands. We could of course ask for these providers to me more transparent, which is great for those that do and do this honestly, but we all know to well in self governing format like these, it always falls well short of what is required.

Let’s not sit back and do nothing, if you a loved one, a friend, or just a little known acquaintance that has had to use mental health services in the past, now or the future should we not know that we care about their well-being to ensure we provide a quality standard equal throughout the country. That a mental health service means exactly that a service that provides mental health support in a caring and skilful way. I also urge parliament to introduce legislation to ensure a standard is introduced as soon as possible to ensure the welfare and lives of those that use services. Let this be a action now for 2019 and not be asking the same questions in five years’ time. In making some of these simple changes, that are not revolutionary changes but some very basic steps that will ensure a quality of care from a provider when needed and will take away my questions at the beginning of the blog.