Promoting the mental wellbeing of people living with long term conditions

Capacity building approaches found to save money and improve wellbeing outcomes in new evaluation report.

A new report from the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) and Mental Health Foundation (MHF) has found that the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions can be improved and sustained through partnership working.

The report ‘Tools in the Toolbox’ evaluated the work of Living Well: Emotional Support Matters over the last three years to promote the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions. The programme worked with eight long term condition organisations, providing them with training, peer learning opportunities and a financial investment of up to £50,000 to build their capacity and embed a mental health lens across their work.

The evaluation of Living Well found that:

• Staff and volunteers had increased capacity, skills and confidence to support the mental health and wellbeing of people living with LTCs: Due to Living Well, staff and volunteers were able to enhance their work further, build on their knowledge, and benefit from specific ‘tools’ provided to undertake new mental health promoting activities. As a result, more mental health and wellbeing activities were delivered by the organisations, encompassing new activities and the expansion of existing ones.
• Organisational culture change: Delivery partners reported a culture change emerging within their organisations, with mental health and wellbeing beginning to be embedded across a wider range of activities, policies and processes. All partners developed organisational wide commitments to wellbeing, delivered new activities and built mental health into their strategic practices.
• Improved mental health and wellbeing for people with LTCs, staff and volunteers: People with LTCs had their mental health and wellbeing directly promoted, as well as experiencing general positive impacts such as an increased sense of pride or achievement. The mental health and wellbeing of staff and volunteers was also positively impacted.
• Significant economic impact: The economic benefit of Living Well far exceeded the cost of delivery. The total health and wellbeing impacts generated by Living Well amounted to £3.7 million. The funding to impact ratio for Living Well was therefore calculated as £1:£8.60.

As a result of these findings, Living Well is now calling for increased investment in mental health and wellbeing for people living with long term conditions, with the third sector as equal partners in delivery. Living Well has demonstrated the significant positive economic and wellbeing impact of working with the third sector to promote the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions, and this must continue to be prioritised.

“We believe that mental health and emotional wellbeing should be integral parts of care for people living with long-term conditions. By combining our expertise and insights with those of our strategic partner The ALLIANCE and our eight delivery partners, this programme has shown how targeted support can help to embed a mental health lens within organisations, working with people with long term conditions to build resilience and improve the quality of life for many.” – Julie Cameron, Associate Director for Devolved Nations, Mental Health Foundation

“It is crucial to learn from the Living Well Approach and prioritise and invest in the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions across policy, systems development and delivery. By working together, we can create a Scotland where everyone can live well.” Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact, The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)

About Living Well

‘Living Well: Emotional Support Matters’ (Living Well) was a three-year Scottish programme developed by the Mental Health Foundation and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, people living with long term conditions (LTCs) experienced a significant deterioration in mental health and wellbeing. In response to this, Living Well was designed to promote the mental health and wellbeing of people living with LTCs.

Living Well aimed to:

• Embed practical, measurable skills and self‐management practices within organisations supporting people with LTCs.
• Capture, share, and disseminate best practices to foster a sustainable approach to mental health support.
• Evaluate the economic benefits of a preventative mental health approach.

Reports and links:

The full evaluation report, and supporting documents are available to download at the bottom to the page, and include:

• ‘Tools in the Toolbox: Building capacity to support the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions’ PDF – Evaluation Report of Living Well.
• ‘Tools in the Toolbox: Building capacity to support the mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term conditions’ Word – Evaluation Report of Living Well.
• ‘Wellbeing Impact Assessment of the Living Well Programme’ – Analysis of the economic impact of Living Well by Biggar Economics.
• ‘Scottish Policy Briefing: Enhancing Mental Health Support for People with Long Term Conditions’ – Summary of recommendations from Living Well and how they relate to the Scottish policy context.
• ‘The Living Well Approach to Capacity Building’ – Infographic outlining the steps Living Well took to build capacity with delivery partner organisations.
• ‘Promoting Workforce Wellbeing – Learning from Living Well’ – A briefing highlighting learning from Living Well on how and why to promote the wellbeing of the people in the workforce.
• ‘Cultural Shift from Learning to Action: A Literature Review’ – Literature review that scopes practices to promote organisational learning and embed its adoption into organisational cultures.

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