This document outlines Cambridgeshire's public mental health strategy. It aims to improve public mental health through a collaborative approach and maximizing opportunities to promote mental health and prevent mental illness. Key aspects of the strategy include taking a life course approach to promotion mental health from children to older adults, promoting physical and mental health together, developing a supportive community environment, and implementing the strategy through a multi-agency action plan. The strategy also reviews evidence on effective interventions across the life course for issues like children's mental health, social isolation, mental health and work, and integrating physical and mental health care.

2. Public Mental Health
Strategy
October 2015

3. Why do we need a public
mental health strategy?

4. Department of Health (2015) Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020
 Leading cause of sickness absence in
the UK, accounting for 70 million sick
days in 2013.
 MI costs UK economy £70-100 billion
per year; 4.5% of GDP.
 People with mental illness die on
average 15-20 years earlier than
those without, often from avoidable
causes.

5. What is public mental health?
At a population level:

6. Vision & Aims
Collaborating with a wide range of partners, this strategy will work
to improve PMH with the aim of achieving:
1. Common understanding of what it means to improve public
mental health.
2. Maximise opportunities to promote MH and prevent MI within
Cambridgeshire through:
– Taking a life course approach to promoting MH
– Promoting a more holistic approach to physical and MH
– Integrating mental health into all aspects of our work
– Developing a wider environment that supports mental health
including tackling stigma.

7. National data (1)
Image produced by Warwickshire County Council in the Warwickshire Public Mental
Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2014-16

8. National data (2)
Image produced by Warwickshire County Council in the Warwickshire Public Mental
Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2014-16

9. Local data (1)
19,000 children and young
people (≤17y) who may
experience mental health
problems in need of mental
health support
Est. 63,000 adults aged 18-
64 years with a common
mental health disorder
21% of boys and 36% of girls
responded that they feel
afraid to be in school
because of bullying at least
‘sometimes’
6.2% (44,058) of adults aged
over 18 years had
depression in 2013/14
There were 474 self-harm
hospital admissions in
people aged 10-24 years in
2012/13
6,784 patients registered in
Cambridgeshire have a
serious mental illness

10. Local data (2)
4.2% (810) of 16-18 year
olds were not in
employment, education or
training in 2013
In 2013/14 there were 610
households that were
statutory homeless
In 2012 there were an
estimated 7,500 people with
dementia. This is expected to
increase to over 12,000 by
2026
13.1% of children live in
poverty
(14,110 children)
(England average 20.6%)
6% of pupils responded that
they are a ‘young carer’. 13%
said they ‘don’t know’ if they
are (HRBS)
0.25% of the working age population
are long term unemployed
(1,030 people)
(England average 0.73%)

11. Risk & protective factors

12. What people say:
Comments from social care users – Keeping well:
•“Work. Having supportive employment enables me to feel
valued, earns me money which pays the bills, and fosters a sense
of independence.”
•“The most useful things I do to keep well are to be creative. I
sing with community singing groups which benefits my posture
breathing is also sociable”
Themes from wider stakeholder consultation work:
•Carers need more support to cope with their caring role
•The need for access to information/ signposting
•Enabling people to get work and to stay in work.

13. Return on Investment
£7 saved
Early interventions for
parents of children with
conduct disorder (6
years onwards)
£7 saved
Early interventions for
parents of children with
conduct disorder (6
years onwards)
£3 saved
Debt advice services
(years 2-5)
£3 saved
Debt advice services
(years 2-5)
£10 saved
Work-based mental
health promotion
(after 1 year)
£10 saved
Work-based mental
health promotion
(after 1 year)
£14 saved
School-based
interventions to reduce
bullying (6 years
onwards)
£14 saved
School-based
interventions to reduce
bullying (6 years
onwards)
£5 saved
Early diagnosis and
treatment of
depression at work (6
years onwards)
£5 saved
Early diagnosis and
treatment of
depression at work (6
years onwards)
£1
INVESTMENT
IN SERVICE
RETURN

14. Themes
Life Course Approach to Promoting Mental Health
– Children & Young People
– Social Isolation
Developing a Wider Environment that Supports Mental Health
– Mental Health & Work
– Mental Health Promotion in the Community
Physical and Mental Health
– The Mental Health of People with Long Term Conditions
– The Physical Health of those with Mental Illness

15. A life course approach to promoting mental
health – What works?
Children & Young People
•Identifying and treating maternal mental illness in
pregnancy and first year of life
•Parenting programmes
•Focus on early Years (0-5)
•Anti-bullying interventions
•Mental health promotion in schools
Social Isolation
•Promising approaches

16. A life course approach to promoting mental
health
A- Universal Interventions
Children & Young People
Anti-bullying strategy
Whole school approaches &
reducing stigma
EY workforce & mental health
Social Isolation & Loneliness
Expansion of the Time Credits
Scheme
Engage communities in in
increasing community resilience
– ‘Fenland Fund’
B- Targeted prevention/Early
Intervention
Children & Young People
Evidence based parenting
programmes
Interventions in pregnancy
and first year of birth
Social Isolation & Loneliness
Utilise existing services in
contact with people that may be
isolate
Digital inclusion strategy

17. Developing a Wider Environment
that Supports Mental Health -
What works?
Mental Health & Work
•Organisational and individual measures
•Measures that increase control e.g. flexible working
•Management - style, ability to identify/respond
•Support for people returning to work following leave
Mental Health Promotion in the
Community

18. Developing a Wider Environment
that Supports Mental Health
A- Universal
Interventions
Workplace standard
Anti-stigma campaigns
(workplaces/schools )
Support evaluated
projects that build
communities with greater
understanding of mental
health
B- Targeted prevention/Early
Intervention
Support poverty strategy including
support for parents to get back into work
MHFA for frontline staff
Increase workplace health activity
C- Physical and Mental Health
Continue to support initiatives aiming to
get people with MI back into work
Utilise e.g. HTs to identify clients with
mental health needs

19. Physical and Mental Health – What
works?
The Physical Health of People with LTCs
•Effective identification
•Psychological interventions
•Pharmacological interventions
•Exercise
•Rehabilitation and support programmes
The Physical Health of those with Mental Illness
•Physical health assessments
•Physical activity
•Social prescribing (variety of evidence that needs to be
developed)

20. Physical and Mental Health
B- Targeted prevention/Early
Intervention
Identify clients with a LTC
Depression - timely offer of an
appropriate psychological
intervention
Antidepressant therapy in the
management depression with a
LTC
Timely access to
multicomponent rehabilitation or
support programme.
C- Physical and Mental Health
Smoking cessation training in
community mental health teams
Increase referrals to stop
smoking service from secondary
care mental health settings
Coordinated /consistent
approach to health improvement
interventions for those with SMI
Contribute to evidence base for
social prescribing and promote
wider awareness of community
provisions

21. Implementation
• Action plan for first year attached to strategy
• Multi-agency implementation
• Strategy approved as final version by Health
Committee in May 2015. Health Committee
will monitor progress.
• First update to Health Committee will be in
December 2015.

22. http://www.cambridgeshire.go
v.uk/site/custom_scripts/cons
_details.aspx?ref=361

23. Contacts
Emma de Zoete
Consultant in Public Health
01223 699117
Emma.DeZoete@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Holly Gilbert
Public Health Manager – Mental Health & Community Safety
01223 703263
holly.gilbert@cambridgeshire.gov.uk