Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Dementia and Autism (MHLDDA) Delivery Group
The Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Dementia and Autism (MHLDDA) Delivery Group is part of the Sheffield Health and Care Partnership, whose vision is for our “health and care services to be integrated, joined up, and seamless; to reduce and remove health inequalities in a way that involves people, their experiences and our communities at the centre.”
The MHLDDA delivery group works collaboratively between partners to achieve change and transformation for those who live in Sheffield and who need help and support with their mental health, learning disability, autism or dementia needs in Sheffield.
The delivery group meets at least every two months, and has a diverse membership, including Experts by Experience and voluntary sector representatives. It is for partners and is not an internal ICB board.
The delivery group has several priorities that it is focussing on in 25/26 and beyond. These include:
1. Deliver an integrated, cross-organisational approach to support people in mental health crisis
Lead organisations: SHSC, SCFT, ICB, SCC and STH
2. Receive and respond to the early learning from the Heeley/Gleadless 24/7 Programme
Lead organisations: SHSC
3. Work in partnership, through the Home First Programme, to eliminate out of area mental health hospital care and delayed discharges from hospital
Lead organisations: SHSC, ICB, SCC
4. Design and commission new mental health accommodation services in the community to meet the needs of people with multiple disadvantages
Lead organisations: SCC, ICB
5. Improve the experience of neurodivergent adults, including the wait for assessment and diagnosis, access to medication, and support provided (including in mental health inpatient wards)
Lead organisations: SHSC, ICB, PCS, VCSE
6. Improve the performance of waiting times for dementia diagnosis and redesign the broader older adult community mental health offer
Lead organisations: SHSC, ICB, VCSE
7. Deliver the Growth Accelerator employment Programme for people aged 16+, working in the context of SCC’s Connect to Work and the overarching SYMCA Pathways to Work Programme
Lead Organisations: SY ICB, SHSC, SCC, SYMCA
All these priorities are designed to be delivered with and, where possible, by, the VCSE sector, working together to address and reduce health inequalities in Sheffield. They will also be delivered collaboratively with partners, potentially through one of South Yorkshire’s provider collaboratives.
Click on the links below to find out more:
I need help with my mental health
Learning Disabilities, Autism and ADHD
Our main strategies are available here:
All-Age Mental Health
The Sheffield All-Age Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy was agreed in early 2023. This is a strategy shared across all partners, who will work together to deliver its objectives.
The ICB commissions and works in partnership with many NHS, local authority and VCSE partners to oversee mental health services in Sheffield, for children, young people and adults. Information about all the services is available on the Sheffield Mental Health Guide website.
On average, one person per week dies by suicide in Sheffield. One death from suicide is too many. It is a deeply personal tragedy and has a ripple effect a long way beyond the family affected. Every suicide is a tragedy that has a far-reaching impact on individuals, family, friends and the community long after a person has died. Suicide prevention is a priority for Sheffield. Visit the Sheffield Suicide Support and Prevention website here.
The ICB also supports:
- The Mental Health Partnership Network, which brings together VCSE professionals working in the mental health field.
- Synergy, who brings together VCSE organisations to bid for money and funding opportunities.
- The Mental Health Collaborative, which supports Experts by Experience to influence service design and delivery.
- Chilypep, who seek to give young people confidence, influence and platform to shape services.
Struggling with your mental health?
If you need help, are struggling with your mental health or know someone who is, you can use the Sheffield Mental Health Guide to find a service and contact details to support you, including options for getting urgent support.
Downloads:
Learning Disabilities, Autism and ADHD
It is our ambition that people with a learning disability and/or autism in Sheffield are able to live the lives they want to live, supported by high quality, locally delivered health and care services. As part of this, in 2023 we agreed an Adult Learning Disabilities Strategy for Sheffield with partners on the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board. An All Age Autism Strategy was agreed in 2023 and is being overseen by the Autism Partnership Board, of which the ICB is a member.
The work that we are doing is part of the Government’s national Learning Disabilities and Autism Programme, which is overseen at a regional South Yorkshire level. You can read about regionally-led activities here. We also work closely with education and local authority colleagues to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
The ICB also supports:
- The Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust as it delivers community learning disabilities and neurodisability services and supports those who do need to spend some time in hospital.
- The Sheffield Autism Partnership Network, which brings together VCSE organisations focussed on improving the lives of autistic people and their families in Sheffield.
- Sheffield Voices, who work with people with a learning disability and their carers to ensure everyone is welcome and able to take part in local activities and healthcare services.
- The Sheffield Autism and ADHD Support Hub, a new service to provide autistic people with the support they need to thrive.
- The Children and Young People’s Special Education Needs and Disability information, advice and support service helps families to get the help they need.
Downloads:
Improving the physical health of people living with severe mental illness, learning disabilities and/or autism
People living with severe mental illness, people with learning disabilities, and autistic people have for many years faced some of the greatest health inequality gaps in England. These are three very different groups of people, but they share challenges in terms of physical health and disparity in health outcomes which are partly due to physical health needs being overlooked. For too many people this means living for many years with a long-term physical health condition and with reduced quality of life, as well as on average a dramatically reduced life expectancy.
In Sheffield, organisations are working together to look creatively at how we can support people living with these conditions to have the best possible physical health. There is a citywide local strategy to help us to achieve our shared commitments. This has been developed with the help of people with lived experience, their families, and stakeholder/advocacy organisations. There is also an ongoing commitment to build feedback mechanisms into improvement, commissioning and monitoring activity. You can read the strategy here.
Some of the services we commission to support in this area include:
- Sheffield Mind Physical Health Engagement: This service works closely with GP surgeries to ensure that patients living with severe mental illness who are currently finding it difficult to access their health checks, vaccinations, or national screening can be offered practical support to do this, as well as offering support and signposting with cost-of-living crisis issues/concerns.
- Sheffield Mencap and Gateway are collaborating with the NHS on the delivery of a range of health services to support people with learning disabilities and autistic people to access health care.
- Primary Care Sheffield Health Coach Service: The team provides a time limited intervention by working directly into the GP practices to complete annual physical health checks for people living with severe mental illness, at the GP practice, or the home of the individual. The team will also help the practice to put in place effective and inclusive systems and processes for completing SMI health checks, when the team’s intervention ends.
- Sheffield physical health improvement web resources for staff and individuals:
Downloads:
Dementia
There are approximately 6,100 people aged 65 years and older (and about 140 people under 65 years old) currently living with dementia in Sheffield: that’s close to 1% of the whole of the city’s population. Organisations across the city are working together to improve the care and support for people of all ages living with - or caring for those living with - dementia in Sheffield, and together they have agreed a Dementia Strategy.
The ICB also supports:
- The Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust - Services include the Memory Service (which offers support to older people living in Sheffield who are experiencing memory problems) and Older Adults Home Treatment Team (a city-wide service that provides short-term intensive treatment to older adults who have a functional mental health problem or a Dementia diagnosis).
- Sheffield Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Short Term Intervention Service, which offers patients/carers who are at risk of dementia related crisis a short-term reablement support plan that addresses their immediate needs to improve their situation. This service is aligned with the community dementia services, funded by Sheffield City Council.
Downloads:
