Community mental health services

Changes to care planning

We are changing the way that we plan and deliver care here at the Trust.

Following new guidance from NHS England, we are moving away from the Care Programme Approach and adopting a more person-centred method of care planning for every adult accessing community-based mental health care.

From 5 February 2024, we will begin a phased approach to a new way of working.

Our aim is to co-produce a holistic personalised care and support plan with every individual. We will provide a named key worker as a point of contact and support if someone's needs change.

The new care planning approach, called Dialog+, makes it much easier to co-produce a personalised care and support plan.

What is Dialog+?

Dialog+ is a model which makes routine meetings more therapeutically affective.

It helps to create a care plan that is personalised to the individual. Dialog+ was designed, evaluated, and implemented with patients. It helps a person use their own words to plan and plot the route to their recovery.

Conversations focus on giving a score of 1 to 7 across 11 areas or ‘domains’ relating to your life.

The care professional then uses these scores to have a focused discussion around 3 of these areas. Through this conversation, the professional works together with an individual to create a care plan.

Dialog+ is evidenced to improve quality of life for people over a 12-month period.

For people who are new to the service

If you are new to the team, we will:

  • carry out an assessment to better understand your needs
  • discuss how we can support you to feel safe
  • make a care plan using Dialog+
  • identify a key worker to support you through the next stage of your care

For people who are currently supported by the community mental health team

If the team currently supports you, you will have a care plan and a care coordinator. It is likely that you will have a care plan review within a 6-month period.

At your next review meeting, we will talk to you about the changes to the care planning process. We will explain what this means for you. The team will discuss with you who is the person best placed to be your key worker. In some cases, this will still be your current care coordinator.

Lived experience in the Trust

As part of our community mental health transformation programme, we are keen to involve those people who have their own personal experience of mental health issues to use these experiences to:

  • help us review our current services
  • improve and co-produce services and activities
  • work with us and share your expertise

We have many different roles within the Trust for people who have personal or lived experience. We have put together a film to help better explain about these roles and the support you can expect.