Picking up the pieces:
Mental Health and Wellbeing
It’s OK not to be OK
Mental health needs in the population are at the highest levels in recent history. These needs have been driven by the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the cost-of-living crisis. This is an important public health issue because mental health determines most other outcomes in health and success in important aspects of life including at work, in relationships and in society. Effective interventions do exist to support recover from mental illness and promote mental wellbeing but few people with mental health problems access them, and even fewer people undertake prevention focused activity.
Many of the key determinants that are driving levels of mental distress in the population are outside the realm of health services, and require innovative and social interventions at community level. A programme of activity was planned which included improving the impact of self-care and support by making more services available, by piloting new models of support and by motivating people to access using behavioural insight campaigns.
An extension to The Life Rooms social model of health saw over 600 local people supported between February and August 2022 through Liverpool’s Childrens Centres, Libraries and One Stop Shops. People accessing these services were mainly looking for support with their mental wellbeing due to difficulties surrounding money, housing, employment and loneliness. The Life Rooms work in partnership with the community and voluntary sector to ensure people get the practical support they need.
It’s ok not to be ok was also co-created with Liverpool’s population with the aim of motivating people to better understand mental health and wellbeing, how to protect and improve them and how and when to access support when needed. The campaign uses language that people can identify with and simplifies the best action to take.
All of this activity has been fully evaluated to generate learning about how best to continue to support and improve mental health and wellbeing in Liverpool. This learning is being used to help shape and improve services and new innovations on mental health and wellbeing in Liverpool. Within The Life Rooms “Social Prescribing” happens between a professional and a member of the public who work together to establish local opportunities to improve health and wellbeing. The person is supported along the process of accessing the types of support that they feel would make the biggest difference to their wellbeing and mental health. Between February and August 2022, The Life Rooms community resilience model had generated 1,269 social prescriptions.
The mental health campaign launched at the start of October and in that first month the campaign website was accessed 14,070 times, by 11,971 people.
191 people had gone on from the website to access further information on local mental health support.
Around 250 people spent time navigating the rich information on the website describing things that impact mental health, helping people to understand their mental health and the factors that influence it and accessing self-help and self-care information including the five ways to wellbeing.
Poster promoting Liverpool CAHMS
Poster promoting Kind to Your Mind
Depression: Recorded prevalence (aged 18+)
Summary: The graph shows the prevalence of depression in Liverpool is 13.4% slightly above the England average in 2009/10. Both Liverpool and England rates decline sharply between 2011/12 and 2013/14 before gradually increasing again between 2013/14 and 2019/20 when the Liverpool CCG rate is 14.7% still slightly above the England average
Reach Out Liverpool
Information poster promoting Reach Out Liverpool
Poster promoting Reach Out Liverpool
Liverpool has a relatively low rate of deaths from suicide compared to the national figure, and is in line with regional and core city averages, however the 2019-21 rate is higher than the national average which is the first time Liverpool has surpassed the national figure since 2016-18. There were 50 deaths from suicide in Liverpool in 2021 which was a slight decrease from the previous year.
Whilst males account for most of the deaths in Liverpool and nationally, there has been a recent increase in female deaths. The average age of death from suicide in Liverpool (25-44) is also lower than the national average (45-49). Risk factors including self-harm, history of drug and alcohol misuse as well as relationship issues and deprivation have all played a role in recent deaths from suicide in Liverpool.
National guidance in relation to suicide prevention indicates that activity be co-ordinated by Public Health but the response required, linked to the broad range of risk and protective factors, necessitates a partnership response to have impact. The Liverpool Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention Partnership is a broad and inclusive group of stakeholders with opportunities to help prevent suicides in Liverpool. This partnership is governed by the Liverpool Mental Health Steering Group and has devised and is delivering a local Suicide Prevention Plan with identified priorities for current activity to be delivered within the next 12 months.
Under this programme, in December 2021, a suicide prevention campaign was co-created with people impacted by suicide. The ‘Reach Out Liverpool’ campaign was aimed at people who may be concerned about someone else who is in crisis or could be contemplating suicide, encouraging them to reach out and start a supportive conversation that could save a life. The campaign was also aimed at people in crisis or contemplating suicide for whom it raises awareness of services that can provide immediate help.
These priorities are designed to reduce risk of suicide in the population by ensuring activity focused on:
- Intelligence and data
- Workforce development and training
- Behavioural insight
- Primary care
- Relationships
- Women
- Children, young people and Schools
- Economy/cost of living
- Chronic physical health conditions/pain
- Housing / homeless
Engagement = Behaviour change = Potential lives saved
10,923,404 impacts
1,280,444 video views
43,063 links clicks to site
4,860 social engagements
96 downloaded social media assets to share
52 calls tracked to suicide crisis line
2,102 clicks to Zero Suicide Alliance Tracking Program