NIMHE

     NIMHE strategic objectives are: Improving health & well being;Supporting service and performance improvement;Promoting equality, access, choice and independence; andSupporting system change. The NIMHE work programme looks to implement national policies for local benefit taking a whole system approach across health and social care. Our work takes placeNationally through NIMHE National Programmes contributing to, and supporting the implementation of national priorities and programmes;Regionally through the Regional Development Centres, and in partnership with the Strategic Health Authorities and Government Offices to share - information and good practice across regions as well as facilitating collaborative work; andWith sectors to broker agreements setting out the focus of programmes, plus additional work required locally.

NIMHE is responsible for supporting the implementation of positive change in mental health and mental health services.We are part of the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), our main sponsor is the Department of Health. There are eight development centres, through which the majority of our work is delivered. There is a Mental Health Research Network and we have support from CSIP's small central team. Find out more at www.csip.org.uk.FeaturesStrengthening the Involvement of People with Dementia Toolkit Ivan Lewis earlier this year announced the development of a new National Dementia Strategy and Implementation Plan. Work on the Strategy is now well underway. This toolkit augments the section ‘Involving service users and their carers' in ‘Everybody's Business - a service development guide' (DH 2005).You can download the Involvement Toolkit along with the Supplementary Resource which highlights areas of good practice in involving people with dementia in service planning, delivery and evaluation. Early detection in psychosisWe have a developed a website to profile valuable resources which highlight the best evidence and practice around the treatment of early psychosis, particularly focusing on the opportunity provided by detecting and treating those with an At Risk Mental State for psychosis.www.earlydetection.csip.org.ukRead more about the scope of the work and how to obtain tender application documentation here.Designing outcomes for eventsIn our previous guide, 'Designing for outcomes', we argued that being clear about the outcomes our work is aimed at achieving can help us to demonstrate its impact. Here we offer more specific thoughts on designing outcomes for our learning and sharing events to assist with delivering and evaluating them. A significant proportion of our work involves delivering learning events for colleagues in client organisations, such as NHS Trusts and Social Services Departments. Hence, it is important we routinely review the impact of this work. Read more here and download related tools on the CSIP website.Virtual WardThe Virtual Ward Provides access to information about positive and innovative practice, and examples of supporting policy and training underpinning the practice. It is available to all and you will be able to adjust the resources to fit your local circumstances. Read moreWe have also set up a group on the Knowledge Community website to act as an editorial board to support the ongoing development of the Virtual Ward website.You can access the group by visiting http://editorial.virtualward.org.uk