In a newly released report, Mentally Healthy Leeds, a Touchstone service, have undertaken research into the effects of the Cost of Living Crisis on the mental health of people in Leeds. Read on to find out more… This research looks at the effects of the ‘Cost of Living’ crisis on the mental health of people in Leeds, as well as trying to understand what forms of support were effective
Mentally Healthy Leeds, a Touchstone service, have undertaken research into Disability In the Pandemic, asking "How has the pandemic specifically affected the lives and mental health of disabled people in Leeds?" Read on to find out more... This report looks into how disabled people have been particularly affected by the pandemic. We used a survey method to identify ways in which COVID and the policies and precautions associated with
"Live Well Leeds saved my life. My worker is very understanding and is always there when I need her." - Live Well Leeds Service User "I've used the café a lot during the pandemic. Struggling with physical disabilities, domestic abuse as well as isolation. I've had support with a lot of the workers throughout all nights. I can honestly say that you are life savers. I will be forever indebted
Bill Graham from New Wortley Community Association has looked into health inequalities for those in the New Wortley neighbourhood of Leeds. The charts below show some of what he found out. This indicator shows the proportion of households where no people in the household have English as a main language. This information was created from responses to the languages spoken question in the 2011 Census which aims to classify households
As part of the Leeds Crisis Care Concordat Action Plan for 2016/17, John Halsall of the Touchstone Community Development Service and Caroline Bamford of Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust compiled some evidence about the experiences and patterns of use of the Leeds crisis care pathways by black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. To do this, John and Caroline reviewed data recorded by the statutory crisis services, and data
On 31 March 2017 there were over 1500 active service users accessing Touchstone services. This suggests that on any given day we have around 1500 live service users across Touchstone. Half of Touchstone’s live service users come from BME backgrounds. All Touchstone services have a BME service user profile above the 2011 Census baseline. The percentage of active service users defining themselves as bisexual, gay or lesbian is about 5%
For Mental Health Awareness Week on 8th to 14th May, John Halsall from the Community Development Service has written the third in a series of data blogs. This one looks at the findings from a national survey of mental health. Do take a few minutes to find out what the survey uncovered. In September 2016, NHS Digital published a national survey of mental health problems and treatment, the Adult Psychiatric
The Positive Care Programme first ran in 2004 – providing support and learning for people with long term health conditions. The Programme introduces people to activities and therapies that can become part of their daily toolkit for living life and managing their condition. Since the programme is aimed specifically at people who would not normally be able to afford the therapies and group activities on offer, it depends on external
‘Parity of Esteem’ is essentially: ‘Valuing mental health equally with physical health’. More fully, parity of esteem means that, when compared with physical healthcare, mental healthcare is characterised by: Equal access to the most effective and safest care and treatment Equal efforts to improve the quality of care The allocation of time, effort and resources in proportion to need Equal status within healthcare education and practice Equally high aspirations for service users;
On an annual basis questionnaires are sent out to service users in order to ascertain their views/opinions about Touchstone and the service they have received. The feedback and views of service users plays a key role in identifying best practice, areas for improvement and informing our approach to delivering quality outcomes and continuous improvement. During early summer questionnaires were sent out to a total of 1498 Service users. The key headline