New mental health support hub opens in Bournemouth
Access Wellbeing Boscombe, based at Palmerston Road, will offer free, walk-in support and advice from Monday to Friday
A new drop-in hub that its hoped will transform mental health support in the BCP area has been officially declared open by Tom Hayes, MP for Bournemouth East.
Access Wellbeing Boscombe, based at Palmerston Road, will offer free, walk-in support and advice from Monday to Friday. The service will support people to enhance their overall wellbeing, helping to improve their mental health.
In addition to mental health and wellbeing, the hub’s team of trained wellbeing co-ordinators will offer assistance on education, training, employment, benefits and financial matters. Advice will be available on key issues such as support for carers, social connections and strategies for coping with bereavement and grief.
Access Wellbeing Boscombe is managed by south west-based charitable housing association BCHA, working in partnership with Help & Care, The Lantern Trust, NHS Dorset and Dorset HealthCare – alongside other charities and voluntary sector organisations.
The opening of the Boscombe hub follows the successful roll-out of similar mental health and wellbeing support services: Access Wellbeing Poole and Access Wellbeing Weymouth and Portland.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lorraine Mealings, CEO of BCHA, said: “Access Wellbeing Boscombe represents a landmark in the transformation of mental health support services across Dorset. BCHA is delighted to be delivering this game-changing approach, in partnership with organisations that are committed to offering an enhanced level of mental health and wellbeing support in the heart of our communities.”
Access Wellbeing is a partnership between the NHS, councils, charities and community groups who work together to help people when and where they need it - with a strong focus on supporting people in their community.
The new model for care is the result of extensive consultation, which revealed that people can find it confusing when they’re trying to find the right mental health support. Access Wellbeing is supported by the NHS’s Long Term Plan to transform community health services by providing quicker and easier access to local wellbeing support.
Rachel Small, Interim Chief Operating Officer at Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to open the doors to Access Wellbeing Boscombe, which represents a milestone in our transformative approach to the way people in the BCP area can access immediate mental health and wellbeing support.
“We know that when people are worried or struggling with day-to-day challenges, it can impact their mental health and risk becoming overwhelming without the right support.
“Access Wellbeing Boscombe will provide earlier access to help, preventing problems from escalating, with person-centred support tailored to the needs of anyone aged 18 and over. This fantastic new drop-in service will empower people to support their wellbeing, overcoming barriers that can prevent people from accessing health services. We look forward to seeing Access Wellbeing Boscombe go from strength to strength.”
Drop-in support at Access Wellbeing Boscombe will be provided by wellbeing co-ordinators in the first instance, but the team will work closely with other services and charities, linking people to the right support. As the universal offer evolves, Access Wellbeing Boscombe will also provide outreach within other community settings across wider Dorset.
Other services and groups will be using the hub at different times, including NHS mental health services, local mental health charities, advice services and social prescribers.
Access Wellbeing Boscombe can be found at 3-5 Palmerston Road, Bournemouth BH1 4HN. No appointment is needed – simply call into the hub from Monday to Friday, between 9.30am and 4.30pm.