NHS Dragons Den

Last year (2022) we took part in the NHS dragons den styled coproduction event, run by the personalised Care and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB’s, that saw several community organisations from across Lancashire, come together to create a number of projects aimed at specifically influencing the Core20plus5 approach to reduce health inequalities.

Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement.

Our focus was mental health, improving access rates to children and young people’s mental health services for 0-17 year olds, for certain ethnic groups, age, gender and deprivation.

The coproduction workshops took place over a number of weeks across Lancashire. These workshops focused on a number of project management aspects, in particular, problem solving and how we, as community organisations, work together to directly influence one of these approaches and help shift the relationship between public services and the local community.

During the first coproduction session, with the help of the coproduction team, we where partnered together with James (BwD CareNetwork, Sarah (BwD HealthWatch) and Isma (BwD Carers Service) and began to identify what each of us offered and the area we want to focus on – mental health in young people with learning disabilities and Autism.

Over the following workshops, we began to refine our ideas, utilising and pooling together local knowledge and assets already in place. One of which was the CareNetwork’s community Covid champions, a network of 300 individuals who helped to deliver information and challenge misinformation during the Covid period.

From here, our own coproduction journey began, working with the champions to develop a peer delivered educational programme using their knowledge and experience, equipping them with the skills needed and supporting them through their journey.

But first, we needed to convince the dragons to part with their money and invest in our project, up against some really good community projects, all hoping to gain a £10,000 investment.

We got to work and eventually came up with a basic plan:

• Recruit the champions
• Host a series of information gathering workshops to identify the subjects we should approach and the key messages we want to deliver to the young people
• Develop the Champions and equip them with the knowledge, classroom activities and resources to help them deliver a number of sessions in a local special school
• Work with the school, offering the families of the young people we engage, support, so they know what help they can access through local community organisation’s and health services. In addition, providing resources to increase their subject knowledge with the aim of continuing the conversations at home.
• Equip the PSHE teacher with the resources to help facilitate the session.
• Work with the mental health in schools teams (MHST’s) who join the sessions and pick up on the conversations being had between peers to then deliver targeted interventions and additional support.
• Reflect, evaluate and go again.

With a plan in place and nerves calmed, we presented. . .

And we won. . .

Beating stiff competition to come in first place, with the judges commenting ‘. . .the easiest decision I have made in a long time. . . ‘ and ‘. . .hands down, clear winners. . .’

Together, we developed and coproduced, 4 discussion based, creative classroom activities that focused on using the champions strengths and skillsets, and follow the following themes:

1. Emotions, thoughts and feelings
2. Independence and resilience
3. Mental health
4. Healthy Relationships

Following these sessions, we are working with the local council who will deliver Re:Fresh initiative in week 5, and Lancashire and South Cumbria who will deliver a number of health checks in week 6 of this project.

We delivered the programme earlier this year, which was filmed by our NHS partners. Click here to view the video.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people, including James, Sarah, and Isma for whom, without their knowledge and expertise, this project would not have gotten this far. And a special mention also to Elliot, from the personalised care’s coproduction team who has supported this project from the start, opening doors and being the stabling influence when things got challenging.

Thank you for reading, look out for our future projects.

Dave Clayton – Wot Wud U Do