Reflections on being a Mental Health Support Services’ Lead Provider
Posted on 6 November 2024
To mark the fifth anniversary of being Lead Provider for UOK, our Chief Executive, Neil Blanchard, reflects on what inspired Southdown to take on the role and how the model has made a difference.
Over the past five years, UOK’s network of 19 local providers in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex has helped thousands of individuals improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Additionally, key achievements of the network (launched in Brighton and Hove in October 2019 with 17 providers, and recently expanded to East Sussex in April 2024 with 2 providers working alongside Southdown) include:
- 12,805 one to one psychosocial sessions run virtually and face-to-face.
- 8,132 group sessions.
- £3,216,286 in back-paid and increased welfare benefits, debt relief and council tax exemptions secured for individuals.
- 1,214 people trained in Mental Health First Aid, Suicide Prevention Awareness, and self-harm prevention, fostering a more resilient and supportive community.
- Over 64,000 visits to the UOK website: Improved online information, together with established social media platforms, help people find mental health support.
- UOK brand: Developed and put in place a public-facing brand identity for the Brighton and Hove and East Sussex network of community mental health support, designed to help people more easily find support.
- Launch of new online mental health advice and support platform in December 2024.
These achievements are thanks to the collective efforts of UOK partners. But it’s not just about the numbers; it’s about personal stories and impacts – seeing real change and sustained outcomes for individuals, their families and carers and the wider community.
As Chief Executive of Southdown, Lead Provider for the UOK network, I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made together. Thank you to every provider, worker and partner connected to UOK for all your expertise, knowledge, hard work, and support.
Why We Took on the Lead Provider Role
The Lead Provider model in the commissioning of VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) services, has evolved since the 2000’s as part of broader changes in the way public services are delivered. It involves designating a ‘lead’ organisation responsible for delivering services, sub-contracting with other organisations to offer a range of integrated, collaborative, and efficient support options, bringing statutory and VCSE providers together in new partnerships. Nationally it has been led within mental health service provision, helping streamline complex systems of care, aligned to the transformation of community services.
At Southdown, our decision to bid for the role of Lead Provider of community mental health support in Brighton and Hove in 2019 was not made lightly.
Our journey as a Lead Provider didn’t start five years ago. It goes back to 2013 when we took on a ‘main provider’ contract in Brighton & Hove, managing various community mental health services, including some previously operated by Brighton & Hove City Council and the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. By 2019, we had laid the groundwork to deliver better-integrated mental health services. In East Sussex, similarly, we took on a ‘main provider’ contract in 2019 and this year were awarded the Lead Provider contract for the region.
Whilst we had transitioned from being a service provider to the ‘main service provider’, taking on a Lead Provider role required a leap in capability and infrastructure. Being an effective and inclusive Lead Provider, isn’t just about managing contracts and being the lead point of contact for commissioners. It’s about creating trust with service providers and fostering genuine partnerships.
The success of the model depends on local connections and relationships – knowing the communities we work in, understanding their needs, and working closely with local service providers and organisations. We knew our local expertise and connections, built up over 50 years as one of the largest VCSE providers in Sussex, would help us succeed in this role.
The move to Lead Provider wasn’t about expansion or securing more funding. It was about using Southdown’s scale, infrastructure, passion, relationships, and mission to make a meaningful impact, aligned to my personal commitment to role model a generous leadership approach. We felt a responsibility to step up and lead, not just contractually, but by empowering other organisations to deliver their best for the community. Our mission has always been rooted in addressing local community needs, and the Lead Provider opportunity aligned with that perfectly.
Our Vision for the Lead Provider Model
Historically, mental health services were fragmented, with individuals navigating a complex system between NHS, local authorities, and VCSE providers.
Southdown’s vision for the Lead Provider model is to create an integrated, community-driven mental health system in Sussex. We want the VCSE sector and people with lived experience to have an equal role in designing and delivering services, working alongside local authorities and NHS partners to transform mental health outcomes.
The goal is to build stronger, healthier communities by fostering collaboration and ensuring mental health services are more inclusive and accessible. Working as a partnership means we can have a collective voice built from a range of diverse and expert perspectives. This allows us to address challenges with innovative solutions, informed insights, and build a shared sense of purpose.
While there is still much to be done, we’ve made significant strides in recent years. The mental health sector is now working together more collaboratively than ever before.
The introduction of Neighbourhood Mental Health Teams and the Sussex Transformation of Community Mental Health Services Programme has created an unprecedented opportunity to align support with the specific needs of local communities. It also acts as a forerunner for the Government’s aims for the future 10-year plan for NHS healthcare through the establishment of Integrated Community Teams at neighbourhood levels and the shifts for hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. This level of collaboration and integration marks a turning point in how mental health services are designed and delivered. The Lead Provider model is perfectly aligned to support this.
Our Leadership Approach and Collaboration
Being a Lead Provider requires striking a balance between contractual obligations and collaboration with diverse partners. For Southdown, leadership has been about building trust and creating genuine partnerships with the 19 providers in the UOK network across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex.
Ahead of taking on the Lead Provider role in Brighton and Hove and then East Sussex, we worked with partners to understand their expectations of a lead provider, and this feedback was crucial in shaping our approach.
In the role, we’ve maintained regular engagement with our partners, listening to their feedback and adapting as we go. Part of our role has been to break down large system changes and transformation programmes into manageable parts ensuring all organisations, whatever size, are involved in the process and can contribute their expertise.
Challenges Along the Way
Whilst being a Lead Provider is a privileged and rewarding role, it comes with challenges.
One of the biggest challenges is bringing together passionate independent organisations with their own missions and visions, ensuring we’re all moving towards a common goal.
Another has been balancing the administrative burden, particularly around data reporting, with the actual funding provided. Smaller partners, for example, may receive minimal funding but are still required to submit extensive data, which can feel disproportionate.
We fully appreciate the role and responsibilities we hold as Lead Provider to help problem solve, capacity build and respond flexibly and equitably to enable current and future potential providers to realise the benefits and opportunities of being part of the Lead Provider partnership.
We also know that to be trusted, we need to be transparent and accountable, particularly as we continue to deliver many support services ourselves. We have achieved this by creating Partnership Lead roles for each contract, separate internal management and leadership systems and independent governance oversight via multi-partner Strategic Steering Groups.
Looking Forward
As we look to the future, there is much more to do. We aim to expand the number of providers we work with across Sussex through open procurement exercises, setting targets for reallocation of funding to other providers, continue improving the integration of mental health services, and, most importantly, keep the community at the heart of everything we do to provide inclusive, accessible, and community-driven support.
As the existing Lead Provider of Mental Health Support Services in Brighton and Hove (UOK Brighton and Hove) as well as in East Sussex (UOK East Sussex), we’re inviting stakeholders and champions of mental health across the city to partner engagement workshops in November 2024 to inform our tender submission to continue in the role. In addition, we’re hosting workshops to inform our tender submission for Lead Provider for Mental Health Support Services in West Sussex. More information and to book a place to attend is available on our website here.
