The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) has published a draft Mental Health Strategy.

The draft Strategy builds on the overall Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICS Strategy that identifies mental health as one of our main health priorities across our local communities. The draft strategy complements and does not replace individual organisation Mental Health strategies such as the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) Strategy or those held by Local Authorities. The strategy demonstrates that, when all organisations in our system work together to deliver change, the impact can be transformational.

It sets out our vision of ‘people having the best mental health and wellbeing in supportive, inclusive and thriving communities’ as well as the work we will do to help achieve this vision.

Dominic Hardisty, Chief Executive at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP), said:

“We have worked closely with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire colleagues on the development of this strategy. There is clear alignment with AWP’s own five-year plan to improve mental health, learning disability and autism services across the South West which we launched earlier this year. As key local partners we are fully committed to the vision and priorities described in this strategy, and to working together to provide high quality mental health services for people across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.”

Outlined in the draft Strategy are six ambitions that have been identified to help us achieve our vision:

• Holistic care: People of all ages will experience support and care which considers everything that might help them stay well.
• Prevention and early help: People of all ages, their families and carers will get the support they need in the right place and in a timely way, as early as possible.
• Quality treatment: High quality treatment is available to people of all ages as needed closer to home, so they can stay well in their local communities.
• Sustainable services: We will have an economically and environmentally sustainable mental health system where maximum benefit is delivered to the Community.
• Health Inequalities: We will reduce health inequalities by improving equity of access, experience and outcomes throughout people’s lives.
• Great place to work: We will have a happy, diverse, inclusive, trauma-informed and stable workforce across our system.

This is a draft mental health strategy for people of all ages and has been co-produced and is co-owned by people with lived experience and their families.

Corrado Totti, Independent Futures Team Manager at Changing Futures Bristol who has been working with people with lived experience to help the development of the draft Mental Health Strategy, said:

“The task of reviewing a strategy is complex and requires diversity of understanding and perspective, as well as the ability to appropriately challenge ideas and views.

“I can’t possibly see how strategies and their documentation can serve the purpose for which they are created without effective consultation with their beneficiaries”

Below are links to a brief overview of the Mental Health Strategy and the full draft.

View the draft Mental Health Strategy on a page Read the draft Mental Health Strategy

Next steps

We asked members of our community and stakeholders to provide feedback on our draft Strategy via a short survey which closed Friday 1 December 2023. Thank you to everyone that has provided feedback.

The draft Mental Health Strategy will be finalised and presented to Health and Wellbeing Board and the Integrated Care Partnership Board for final sign off in early 2024.

 A final version will be published on this website.