The Pod

The Pod works with adults living with severe and/or enduring mental ill-health (bipolar, psychosis, schizophrenia), achieving outcomes through one-to-one appointments with clear time-bound goals and milestones with a focus on outcomes.

The Pod uses an asset-based, solution-focused model rooted within personalisation to enable connections, nurture aspiration and build resilience. Provoking individuals to step outside their comfort zones, reimagine their lives and move away from the subculture of services into mainstream society.

The Pod works with citizens of Coventry on a referral basis from practitioners in Secondary Mental Health as well as from the Crisis and Home Treatment Team as a part Social Interventions Pathway (SIP). Playing a critical role in the integrated pathway to ensure that people transition from service user or patient to citizen.

Social brokerage

This human-centred approach creates opportunity to rethink relationships. Restoring agency, using their strengths and assets to inform solution focussed thinking. Provoking people to move away from the subculture of services into mainstream society. Social Brokerage reframes what should be expected of a mental health services. Social Brokerage has a focus on the city - its people, assets and outcomes. Social Brokerage is being part of something bigger.

Social advocacy

A rights-based approach enabling Citizens to recognise and address inequity within society. Seeking to challenge power imbalance and provoke different and crucial conversations. Mobilising relevant key agencies and professionals. This approach ensures roles and responsibilities are clear and time framed, so that decision-making processes are inclusive and transparent and if necessary, asserting the need for fast track access, ensuring the citizen remains central to discussions and decisions.

Intertwine

Nobody's life is a straight line, like society, it’s dynamic. The push and pull relates as much to our passions as they do to the pressures placed upon us by society. In that sense, the human perspectives and strategies experienced tested through Social Advocacy and Social Brokerage can be used to navigate life. Using Statutory Assessments as a framework for dialogue to enhance understanding and outcomes for the citizen.

Not on services but instead:

• Social activism
• Social mobilisation
• Social brokerage

Not on care but instead:

• Connectivity – Bringing people, skills, neighbourhoods together (working without boundaries)
• Cultivation – Recognising that everyone has something to offer (promoting personal and social growth)
• Change - Enabling people to thrive (bringing value to a variety of ways of doing things)

Interfaces

Community Mental Health Teams

Our Personalisation and Recovery pathway incorporates Foundation Assessments including Strengths And Needs Assessment. The investment offered is solution-focused, personalised and responsive. We aim to optimize a person's relationship with their community of interest and build sustainable networks. We create sustainable bridges to universal and purposeful opportunities or employment. Social Brokerage involves research, appraisal, reflection, critical debate. Social Brokerage utilised mixed economy investment which may include Direct Payment applications. This is proven to reduce dependency on, or revolving usage of, both secondary mental health and specialist health and social care commissioned services by building resilience.

Referral process

• Conversation - Discussion between individual and their Key Worker or Care Coordinator
• Action - Web based Referral Form completed by Key Worker or Care Coordinator 
• Response - Development Worker allocated to individual.

Moving forward

First planning meeting at The Pod - Social Brokerage and Development Worker relationship explained in greater detail. Individual, Care Coordinator and Development Worker must be present to discuss desired outcomes and reason for referral.

The development worker's relationship with the individual continues over a series of meetings on an appointment basis, over a fixed timeframe.

The Care Coordinator is involved throughout the length of time that the Pod works with a person and may need to attend milestone meetings and support Direct Payment applications.

If you are a Key Worker or Care Coordinator and you would like to refer a person you are currently working with, please complete The Pod referral form.

SIP – A collaboration between the Home Treatment Team, Axholme Services and The Pod

 SIP was awarded funds from The Midlands Crisis Alternatives Transformation Funding (NHS England) to increase the capacity and diversity of services in the local crisis pathway. This followed on from and supported the successful pilot that had been operational for a number of months to address new ways of supporting adults in distress to achieve robust outcomes. The collective approach to the work undertaken extends beyond the usual service boundaries with the most appropriate professional allocated to work with an individual. The emphasis on combined professional leadership with social advocacy and support led to recruitment to three new and critical positions.