Mental Health Crisis Prevention Service Buildings Back Open!
Posted on 7 December 2021
We are pleased to announce that our Staying Well Space service buildings have reopened in all three locations – Brighton, Eastbourne, and Hastings, enabling clients to access our buildings to work independently on a self-care activity or project. Staff will be present to support clients should they require it.
Staying Well is an out-of-hours crisis prevention service for people experiencing a mental health decline. Open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, the service supports people to manage their wellbeing safely within the community, helping them work through intense and challenging feelings in a healthy way through psychosocial support and crisis prevention planning. Through offering support and validation, we hope to reduce the risk of a client reaching a crisis point which would require a more intensive intervention from other services.
In supporting clients to maintain their wellbeing in the early stages of a decline, we are able to minimise the risk of serious injury or harm to themselves. We build relationships with other services in the community so that we can strategically think and plan how best to support people to get their needs met in a healthy way.
Staying Well links in regularly with the Urgent Care Lounges / Haven for each area to ensure we are handling risk together in the safest and most therapeutically-informed way. We are also happy to be part of client discharge plans from more intensive services such as the Crisis Team or following a hospital admission, so people can manage their wellbeing safely within the community.
The Staying Well service works with anyone who is able to go through an initial triage call to assess if they can collaboratively work with our team to safely plan to reduce their risk. Our Brighton service works with anybody over the age of 18, whilst our East Sussex services are open to those aged 16 and over.
To access the Staying Well service, individuals can self-refer via email or telephone (details below). We encourage clients to do this when they begin to recognise they are struggling to maintain their wellbeing. We aim to offer same day support. If this is not possible, we will book in support for the client the following evening.
The Staying Well service also accepts referrals from other professional services via our referral forms. Providing we have enough information to ensure the referral is appropriate, we will contact the client that evening. We are also happy to discuss potential referrals with professionals via our telephone line.
Like many services during the pandemic, Staying Well had to adjust how it provided support, moving away from its face-to-face support model to ensure safety for clients and staff.
Nathan Hayes, Interim Service Manager for Staying Well, says,
“During the peak of the pandemic the service offered dedicated phone support which staff were facilitating from their own homes. This was really appreciated by clients and really needed at a time people were feeling incredibly isolated and scared. As environmental restrictions have gradually eased, the team have continued to offer phone support whilst gradually reintegrating face-to-face support. We are now at the point where we can return to face-to-face intervention as our primary offer of support.”
With the return of face-to-face support we also welcome a restructure to better support the service, staff, and clients. We have sadly said farewell to the previous Team Manager, Judy Pearson, who has moved over to manage the Hastings and Bexhill Wellbeing Centres, and will no doubt continue to do fantastic work there. Nathan Hayes has joined Staying Well as Interim Service Manager, bringing with him experience of specialist services following his post as Team Manager at our Thinking Well service.
We have just completed recruitment to the Eastbourne Coordinator role, and all three service Coordinators will be supported by Nathan in the running of each Staying Well site. The final permanent Recovery Advisor role has also now been filled, making the Staying Well service fully staffed for the first time since the restructure.
Nathan says,
“I am incredibly proud of how well the teams have managed to contain and support people during unprecedented and challenging times of ongoing uncertainty. The team approach their work with so much empathy and passion and it really shows in client feedback where people have told us they have felt seen, heard, and held. I’m really looking forward to supporting the team throughout this next chapter and building our partnerships with other organisations to ensure clients have a consistent and compassionate experience of services.”
How To Contact The Staying Well Service If You Need Support
- Carisbrooke House, Hastings / StayingWell.Hastings@southdown.org
- 3VA Saffrons Road, Eastbourne / StayingWell.Eastbourne@southdown.org
- Preston Park Recovery Centre, Brighton / StayingWell.Brighton@southdown.org
Telephone: 0800 023 6475
The Brighton Staying Well service enhances the current mental health and wellbeing services delivered under the Community Roots network across the city.
The East Sussex Staying Well services are provided by Southdown, in partnership with the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and are part of a network of mental health recovery support across the county, called the East Sussex Community Network.
For more information about Staying Well Space and opening times, click here.
