Ivan Lewis demands more progress from mental health day services

Care services minister Ivan Lewis has called for further modernisation of mental health day services after a report found progress had been slow in key areas since the publication of guidance two years ago.

The Department of Health-backed study found that user-run provision remained scarce despite its prominence in the From Segregation to Inclusion guidance, published in February 2006. This was designed to transform day services from a buildings-based, segregated model to more inclusive, user-led and personalised provision.

The report by the government’s National Social Inclusion Programme (NSIP), based on a survey last July of commissioners and providers in two-thirds of primary care trust areas, found 84% of respondents had reviewed day provision since February 2006.

Thirty per cent had developed services in mainstream settings while similar proportions had made progress in person-centred planning and in “building bridges” between users and their communities.

However, few day services were entirely or substantially user-run, while 78%  of services remained buildings-based. The report also identified a significant lack of national support for commissioners and providers to modernise provision, despite the complexity of the process.

Ivan Lewis said: “If day services are to fulfil their potential in effectively meeting the diverse needs of people with mental health problems, then the process of modernisation needs to continue.”

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National Institute for Mental Health in England