Manchester Resilience Hub

Manchester Resilience Hub

Briefly describe the initiative/ project/service; please include your aims and objectives

The Manchester Resilience Hub was established in the aftermath of the Arena attack on 22 May 2017. Run by NHS professionals, the Hub provides coordinated care & support to children, young people & adults whose emotional wellbeing was affected by the attack. The service delivers the first online, outreach wellbeing screening programme & coordinated access to evidence-based trauma focused treatment.

Staff at the Hub have consistently gone the extra mile in partnership working, demonstrating excellence in this area by: bringing together adult & CAMHS staff from all four NHS MH providers in GM; providing a service to members of the public across the UK, as well as those impacted by in a professional capacity; accessing funding from statutory & charitable sources; collaborating with other statutory agencies, charities & the private sector in the development & delivery of interventions which provide alternatives & ‘additionality’ to the NHS offer & proactively offering psychologically-minded advice to a range of organisations involved in the support of any individual who has experienced psychological trauma. Launched July 2017, as of January 2019, 3,438 people were open to the Hub, of whom 563 were under 16yrs & 1,323 aged 16-24yrs.

What are the key achievements?

Key achievements include:

Outreach, screening & connection to partner offer: Online screening commenced August 2017; c.6,500 invitations to participate emailed to those who had purchased concert tickets. 222 people identified who regularly felt they would “rather not be here”, who were not receiving support, resulting in the Hub proactively reaching out and connecting partner support. “I always felt listened to & that action would be taken if needed”.

Workshops delivered in partnership: One day workshops on recovering after trauma were developed/ delivered by the Hub in partnership with GM Police, 42nd Street & the Peace Foundation. Very positive feedback, almost all attendees rated the events as very useful/ 99% said they would recommend them to others. “My daughter being able to talk to others her age, me being able to voice things I feel to other parents, the opportunity to talk as a family with professional support, that for me was worth its weight in gold.”

Awareness raising: Developed animation with voice-over from young people affected to share learning & increase awareness for practitioners on how to support any individual affected by trauma in an education setting https://thejourneyofrecovery.co.uk

What are the key learning points?

Key learning:

Data sharing to support well-being is allowed after a major incident and is essential to facilitate proactive outreach; Outreach and connection to the partner offer after a major incident is appreciated by those impacted and cost effective in terms of getting people into treatment early where clinically indicated; online well-being screening is effective for children, young people, adults and professionals.

A wide range of services required after a major incident benefit from access to support in applying a psychologically minded approach/ appreciate how this helps in terms of getting things right the first time/ helping vulnerable individuals. Beyond psychological trauma, practical and social support partners could draw on.
Psycho-social support pathways, including interface with NHS MH, should be an integral part of all major incident plans; Workshops run with partners providing an opportunity for people to meet with other individuals/ families in a psychologically safe environment was hugely helpful in the recovery journey; Clinical staff delivering outreach support are at risk of vicarious trauma/ burnout. Consideration should be given to how many hours per week and for how long they work in the service.

Additional Comments:

Helen, Clare, Alan the team proactively work with a wide range of partners to maximise their commitment to “doing the right thing”, even when this requires negotiating significant flex across organisational boundaries. They quickly built trusted relationships and gained agreement around shared goals and values within these networks. Regular communication with partners to share essential insight, shared experience and expertise has meant delivery of a strengthened, more holistic offer for thousands of vulnerable people.

One client was not physically injured in the attack but her mobility scooter was damaged. Her lack of mobility significantly increased her anxiety. She was unable to fund the repairs. The Hub liaised with the We Love Mcr Emergency Fund and negotiated this payment. This practical early intervention undoubtedly reduced not only the emotional distress of the client, but also the need for a referral into costly NHS Mental Health services.