On World Mental Health Day IPS Grow welcomed a delegation of mental health professionals from Moldova. The Centre for Mental Health and IPS Grow organised the visit with input from the England IPS Community to create a varied 2-day study tour. 

On day 1 the delegates enjoyed virtual meetings from the Social Finance London offices to IPS teams across England. Vicki Harris, Employment and Recovery Operational Manager at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, offered insights into how to effectively mobilise an IPS service. We explored effective recruitment tactics, the best culture for services to promote and tips for managing IPS for success. 

We had a brilliant panel of IPS providers who outlined factors for successful delivery and answered the many and varied questions posed by the Moldovan delegates. The panel included members from South Yorkshire Housing Association; Katie Goddard the Work and Wellbeing Manager for Working Win, Niall O’Reilly Head of Work and Wellbeing LiveWell, John Flaherty, IPS Team Leader for the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and Bob Collins, Clinical Manager and IPS Service Lead.  

After lunch, Rash Patel, Head of Employment and Volunteer Services at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) ran a session on managing services, co-production and the integration of peer workers into teams. Gary Johnston offered an overview of IPS fidelity and factors that promote good quality. 

On Day 2, the delegates went on site visit to Southwest London St Georges NHS Foundation Trust. The day’s agenda included meetings with the IPS and clinical team members. The delegates accompanied the employment specialists in the field and witnessed employer engagement in action. We thank the team there for creating an enriching agenda and specifically all the IPS Lead Employment Specialists: Paul Dorrington, Rob Baxter, Kat Saville and the IPS Employment Specialists Chris Walsh and Ana Maria Cartan.  

The Moldovan delegates were very impressed with the passion and knowledge that they had witnessed, they have requested IPS Grow England to send a keynote speaker at their national Mental Health Conference. Julie Baillie from Centre for Mental Health and Usha Vara from CNWL will represent England and IPS. We have welcomed Moldova into our IPS Europe Learning Community. We will now continue to support Moldova with their transformation of mental health services and the inclusion of IPS.  

We want to say a huge thank you to NHS England and to everyone in the England IPS Community who offered to help. The visit was a great opportunity to share skills, knowledge and experience with a variety of people. A great example of co-production to showcase IPS in England. 

Gary Johnston