I promised more information following the news that Hafal has won Big Lottery funding to develop a groundbreaking Recovery Centre offering in-patient support and treatment for people with a serious mental illness. The Lottery "Innovations" funding will enable Hafal to employ a Development Officer to take forward the initiative.
We are delighted to have won funding to take this exciting venture forward. The Big Lottery has recognised what an original and interesting project this will be for Wales and our Members are very grateful for their backing.
We have spoken to key experts about our Recovery Centre concept including patients and families, NHS commissioners and consultants, and contacts in social services and other Third Sector organisations: there is strong support for taking this forward.
We look forward to developing an innovative service which is ambitious for its clients and which sets new standards of best practice for Wales.
The Recovery Centre will provide a progressive service for people experiencing serious mental illness and in need of hospital treatment. It will be based on the following principles:-
• The Centre will be a not-for-profit service delivered by a Third Sector organisation
• It will be recovery-focused and holistic, empowering patients to live more independently and to overcome the "revolving door" syndrome (a cyclical pattern of short-term readmissions to psychiatric units)
• The Centre will be cost-effective: the recovery focus will ensure patients move on from the service as soon as they are able to, and that they are equipped and supported to continue to work towards recovery
• The service will be patient-led: the Big Lottery was especially keen to fund the service because Hafal is user-led and this would inform the culture of the Centre
• It will provide significant employment opportunities
• The Centre will be developed in close liaison with the NHS to ensure we provide a service that fits with existing NHS services and that it meets the highest clinical governance standards
• The Centre will have a 15 bed capacity and will be located in South Wales
• It will be registered as a hospital with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales
• The service will have a holistic approach strongly in line with the Mental Health (Wales) Measure and the "Together for Health" and "Together for Mental Health" strategies.
Watch out for the job advert in the next few weeks and I'll keep you posted as we move forward with this exciting project.
