General support for care providers

Mental health and wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs provide health and social care colleagues with rapid access to local, evidence-based mental health and wellbeing services and support for health and care staff in South West London. 

There are good resources for wellbeing from Skills for Care, particularly the Wellbeing resource finder. This included wellbeing and mental heal resources for staff directly, for managers supporting staff who they manage, and for workers supporting service users directly.

Help and support

Find NHS mental health and wellbeing services near you on the NHS South West London ICB website.

Richmond mental health and wellbeing services

• If you need mental health support in a crisis you can call the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000.
• You can also contact Richmond Borough Mind
• London has a digital wellbeing service called Good Thinking. It has resources to help you manage your mental wellbeing, including advice, apps, blogs podcasts and a tool to help you assess your own mental health
• You can refer yourself to local NHS talking therapies
• You can call the Samaritans day or night on 116 123. You can talk to someone if you are feeling low or are concerned about someone else

Resources in Richmond

Local guidance and services:

• Mental health
• Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy - The theme of this strategy is “prevention and joined-up services throughout people’s lives, to enable all residents to start well, live well and age well” and builds on the focus of the previous strategy which was integration of services.

Other mental health resources and support

• Guidance on wellbeing and mental health: Applying All Our Health (GOV.UK)
• All Our Health: personalised care and population health (GOV.UK) Provides a framework of evidence to guide healthcare professionals in preventing illness, protecting health and promoting wellbeing
• Business in the Community Mental Health for Employers Toolkit 
• Use the Make every contact count resource, and take every opportunity to have brief conversations with people about making positive changes
• Healthy ageing
• The five ways to wellbeing are a good reminder to staff and residents of helpful approaches for mental wellbeing.

Supporting people with dementia

To support our providers to deliver the best for people with dementia living in care homes, we have developed a guide mainly for care home staff (although friends and family can also benefit), it highlights local concerns raised by care homes and provides advice on how homes can overcome challenges around visiting and activities, residents with dementia’s mental and physical wellbeing, PPE, decisions about care treatment and end of life care.

Read the guide to supporting people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

See also:

• Dementia: applying All Our Health
• Meeting the Needs of People with Dementia Living in Care Homes during COVID-19 (YouTube video)
• Healthy Ageing and Maintaining Activities for Older Adults(a guide to online resources for those providing care for people with dementia, compiled by Health Innovation Network in collaboration with CHAIN members)
• Resources: Dementia UK
• NHS Dementia wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic
• For ideas to reduce distress and put residents at ease see Impact of PPE On Individuals With Dementia

Useful documents for care homes

• Guidance on section 1 of the Care Act 2014 covers: integrated care and support that is person-centred, tailored to the needs and preferences of those needing care and support, Definition of wellbeing: 
• People at the Heart of Care sets out an ambitious 10-year vision for how care and support in England 

Workforce

• Disclosure & Barring Service guidance leaflets - guidance for employers to enable them to recruit safely and fairly whilst deterring, identifying and rejecting those who are unsuitable to work in specific roles
• New hiring toolkit supports care providers with safer recruitment - A new collaboration between safeguarding experts has led to the publication of a best practice recruitment resource for the social care sector. With social care staff and volunteers providing support for some of the most vulnerable people in society, the toolkit is focused upon the safety of the people employers are entrusted to care for and the staff who carry out their roles.
• How to know if you’re planning effectively and a guide to workforce planning
• Skills for Care Safe and fair recruitment guide