Mental health

Mental ill health is a leading cause of poor health and disability. It includes conditions ranging from depression and anxiety to schizophrenia, affective disorders and depression.

If you are worried about your own or someone else’s mental health, your first contact will often be a GP. Talk to your doctor, who may refer you to services provided in the community or to more specialised, secondary care mental health care and support.

Dudley Social Care in Mental Health have a crucial part to play in improving mental health services and mental health outcomes for its citizens.

We bring a distinctive social and rights-based perspective to our work. Our service, with advanced relationship-based skills, and their focus on personalisation and recovery, can support people to make positive, self-directed change.

Social care staff are trained to work in partnership with people using services, their families and carers, to optimise involvement and collaborative solutions. The team also manage some of the most challenging and complex risks for individuals and society. We take decisions with and on behalf of people within complicated legal frameworks, balancing and protecting the rights of different parties. This includes, but is not limited to, their vital role as the core of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) workforce.

Remember, NHS 111 is there for non-life-threatening situations. In emergency situations where you feel a life is at risk, call 999.

Mental Health Social Care

Adult mental health social care is provided by a dedicated team within Dudley Council. The team is made up of both social workers and social care staff.

The five key areas are:

Enabling citizens to access the statutory social care and social work services and advice to which they are entitled, discharging the legal duties and promoting the personalised social care ethos of the local authority
Promoting recovery and social inclusion with individuals and families
Intervening and showing professional leadership and skill in situations characterised by high levels of social, family and interpersonal complexity, risk and ambiguity
Working co-productively and innovatively with local communities to support community capacity, personal and family resilience, earlier intervention and active citizenship
Leading the Approved Mental Health Professional workforce

Team Composition and remit with four key areas of delivery:

Community Engagement (including Woodside)

Community Engagement is primarily a preventative service identifying asset-based structures connecting people to communities this includes Woodside Mental Health Day Service. Community Engagement also houses the duty function and triages incoming referrals into the service – (signposting, undertaking urgent and short interventions before passing to the appropriate teams (18-40/40+) or closure.

Community Engagement and Woodside Day Service

Full details of Community Engagement Service and how to make a referral

18-40 and 40+

The Mental Health Teams 18-40 and 40+ will work with individuals who have been assessed (Care Act Section 9(4)) by the community engagement team and deemed to be appropriate for mental health community social care services or who are already under secondary mental health services and require social care support. The team aims to provide therapeutic social care interventions and will actively promote/utilise least restrictive recovery options. The teams work with people under the Care Act, determine eligible needs, develop support plans, risk assessments and undertake Mental Capacity Assessments. The teams prepare social circumstances reports and facilitate reports for tribunals; provide discharge planning for generic and mental health wards and undertake Safeguarding enquires.

Mental Health Team 18-40 and 40+

Full details of Mental Health Team 18-40 and 40+ and how to make a referral

AMHP Hub

The Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHP) Service is responsible for undertaking assessments under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHP) Service

Full details of the AMHP Service and how to make a referral

Overview Adult Mental Health Service

Dudley Social Care in Mental Health have a crucial part to play in improving mental health services and mental health outcomes for its citizens.

Overview Adult Mental Health Service

Adult Mental Health Social Care promotes recovery to enable people's independence and wellbeing

Dudley Safeguarding

If you are concerned about a child, young person or adult, report it

Adult Social Care Deputyship Service

If someone lacks the mental capacity to manage their money and are incapable of managing their finances, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out who can make decisions on behalf of the person. If the person has no friends or family to assist or has been deemed to be at risk of financial abuse, our Client Management of Finances Team may be able to take over responsibility for receiving benefits and paying bills, repaying debts and budgeting etc.

The aim of the Management of Finances Team is to act as a service of last resort for people who lack the mental capacity to manage their finances and have no family or friends to look after their affairs. We will endeavour to safeguard them by ensuring that they are adequately housed/looked after, all bills are paid, and they have sufficient money for everyday living expenses. We will manage their benefits, pensions and other income in accordance with both DWP and Court of Protection rules and regulations.

Adult Social Care Deputyship Service

How we can help if someone lacks the mental capacity to manage their money and is incapable of managing their finances

Protecting Adults from Harm

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 your rights are protected if you lack capacity to make decisions for yourself. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards also ensure people in hospitals who lack capacity are cared for in a way that does not restrict their freedom.

Protecting Adults from Harm

Your rights are protected by law if you become unable to make decisions for yourself

Dudley Adults Portal

The Dudley Adults Portal is available for residents, carers and professionals of Dudley to access information in the community and services available in Adult Social Care

Dudley Community Information Directory

Find out full details of all our services across the borough

Contact numbers for the trust

CRS North Team - 01384 325128
CRS South Team - 01384 325270
Older People's Team - 01384 314200
Crisis Resolution - 01384 325300
Home Treatment - 01384 325300
MHAS - 01384 325300

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Providing a wide range of integrated mental health services.

Dudley Talking Therapy Service

Dudley Talking Therapy Service helps people with more low level mental health problems such as:

mild depression
low mood
stress
anxiety
panic
phobias

You can refer yourself, or access the service through your GP.

Black Country Mental Health

Black Country Mental Health is a mental health charity committed to provide emotional, social and therapeutic support and rehabilitation to individuals experiencing mental ill health.