Policy paper

Prevention concordat for better mental health

Updated 13 March 2018

About the concordat

The Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health is underpinned by an understanding that taking a prevention-focused approach to improving the public’s mental health is shown to make a valuable contribution to achieving a fairer and more equitable society. The concordat promotes evidence based planning and commissioning to increase the impact on reducing health inequalities. The sustainability and cost effectiveness of this approach will be enhanced by the inclusion of action that impacts on the wider determinants of mental health and wellbeing.

The concordat is intended to provide a focus for cross-sector action to deliver a tangible increase in the adoption of public mental health approaches across:

• local authorities
• the NHS
• public, private and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations
• educational settings
• employers

It acknowledges the active role played by people with lived experience of mental health problems, individually and through user led organisations.

This definition of the concordat has been agreed by the organisations listed at the end of this document. It represents a public mental health informed approach to prevention, as outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View, and promotes relevant NICE guidance and existing evidence based interventions and delivery approaches, such as ‘making every contact count’.

Consensus statement

This consensus statement describes the shared commitment of the organisations signed below to work together via the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health, through local and national action, to prevent mental health problems and promote good mental health.

The undersigned organisations agree that:

1. To transform the health system, we must increase the focus on prevention and the wider determinants of mental health. We recognise the need for a shift towards prevention-focussed leadership and action throughout the mental health system; and into the wider system. In turn, this will impact positively on the NHS and social care system by enabling early help through the use of upstream interventions.

2. There must be joint cross-sectoral action to deliver an increased focus on the prevention of mental health problems and the promotion of good mental health at local level. This should draw on the expertise of people with lived experience of mental health problems, and the wider community, to identify solutions and promote equality.

3. We will promote a prevention-focused approach towards improving the public’s mental health, as all our organisations have a role to play.

4. We will work collaboratively across organisational boundaries and disciplines to secure place-based improvements that are tailored to local needs and assets, in turn increasing sustainability and the effective use of limited resources.

5. We will build the capacity and capability across our workforce to prevent mental health problems and promote good mental health, as outlined in the Public Mental Health Leadership and Workforce Development Framework Call to Action¹.

6. We believe local areas will benefit from adopting the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health.

7. We are committed to supporting local authorities, policy makers, NHS clinical commissioning groups and other commissioners, service providers, employers and the voluntary and community sector to adopt this Concordat and its approach.

Signatories

This first Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health was co-produced by:

• Association of Directors of Public Health UK - Dr Andrew Furber, President
• Association of Mental Health Providers - Kathy Roberts, Chief Executive
• Centre for Mental Health - Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive
• Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition - Professor Dame Sue Bailey, Chair
• Department of Health - Jonathan Marron, Director, General Community Care
• Faculty of Public Health - John Middleton, President
• Local Government Association - Councillor Izzi Seccombe
• Mental Health Commissioners Network - Dr Phil Moore, Chair, NHS Clinical Commissioners
• Mental Health Foundation - Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive
• National Survivor User Network - Sarah Yiannoullou, Managing Director
• NHS England - Claire Murdoch, National Mental Health Director (and National Senior Responsible Officer for Five Year Forward View for Mental Health)
• Public Health England - Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive

The Concordat has been endorsed by:

Statutory organisations and professional bodies:

• Care Quality Commission - Paul Lelliott, Deputy Chief Inspector (Mental Health)
• Health Education England - Ian Cumming, Chief Executive
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive
• NHS Digital - Rob Shaw, Interim Chief Executive
• NHS Improvement - Tim Kendall, National Clinical Director for Mental Health
• Royal College of Nurses - Janet Davis, Chief Executive and General Secretary
• Royal College of Psychiatrists - Wendy Burn, President

Wider organisations and bodies:

• Age UK - Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director
• British Dietetic Association - Andy Burman, Chief Executive
• British Islamic Medical Association - Arshad Latif, Lead for Health Promotion Talks 2018
• British Institute of Learning Disabilities - Ben Higgins, Chief Executive
• Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales - Right Reverend Richard Moth, Bishop for Mental Health
• Citizens Advice - Gillian Guy, Chief Executive
• Clinks - Anne Fox, Chief Executive
• Cruse Bereavement Care - Debbie Kerslake, Chief Executive
• Diabetes UK - Chris Askew, Chief Executive
• Homeless Link - Rick Henderson, Chief Executive
• Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust - Andrew van Doorn, Chief Executive
• Maternity Action - Rosalind Bragg, Director
• Men’s Health Forum - Martin Tod, Chief Executive
• METRO Charity - Greg Ussher, Chief Executive
• Mind - Paul Farmer, Chief Executive
• Muslim Council of Britain - Harun Khan, Secretary General
• Nacro - Jacob Tas, Chief Executive
• National Development Team for Inclusion - Rob Greig, Chief Executive
• National Suicide Prevention Alliance - Brian Dow and Ruth Sutherland, Co-Chairs
• The National LGBT Partnership - Paul Martin, Chair
• National Voices - Jeremy Taylor, Chief Executive
• Rethink - Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive
• Samaritans - Ruth Sutherland, Chief Executive
• Student Minds - Rosie Tressler, Chief Executive
• Young Minds - Sarah Brennan, Chief Executive
• Young People’s Health Partnership - Emma Rigby, Lead
• Youth Access - Barbara Rayment, Director

The first wave of local authority area (geographical) signatories was announced by Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive, Public Health England on 9 March 2018:

• County Durham - Amanda Healy, Director of Public Health
• Derby City Council - Cate Edwynn, Director of Public health
• Hertfordshire County Council:
  • Jim McManus, Director of Public and County Councillor
  • Richard Roberts, Executive Member for Public Health, Prevention and Performance
• Middlesbrough Council - Edward Kunonga, Director of Public Health
• Redcar and Cleveland Council - Edward Kunonga, Director of Public Health

1. Public mental health leadership and workforce development framework. London: Public Health England; 2015 (updated 2016). ↩