Access to adult mental health services in West Cheshire

Using the stepped approach to Recovery

  • Step 1 - Access
  • Step 2 - Recovery
  • Step 3 – Review

Accessing adult mental health services in West Cheshire

A key principle of CWP mental health care services is now Recovery focussed practice.  This means supporting you and helping you to help yourself to be the very best you can be and want to be and to support you and your carers to live a better quality of life.

Our teams of health care professionals will work in partnership with you and your carers to help make this possible.  These are multi-disciplinary teams and include Doctors, Specialist Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Community Support Workers.  They are part of an integrated health and social care service which can offer a range of services based on individual need.

CWP now operates a “Stepped Approach to Recovery” to give you the right care and support to meet your needs at whatever point you are at in your recovery journey. 

The service is organised into three steps :

  • Step 1 - Access
  • Step 2 - Recovery 
  • Step 3 - Review

Step 1 - Access 

If you have suffered a decline in your mental health and wellbeing, your GP may refer you for an assessment.. In West Cheshire, this will be to the Primary Care Mental Health Team, in Vale Royal, there is no Primary Care Team so referrals go direct to the Community Mental Health Team

Once a referral to the team has been accepted, you will be sent an opt-in letter to confirm your commitment to sharing in the control of your own care.  If you do not contact the team for an appointment, the referral may later be closed. At the Assessment, the Primary Care Mental Health Team practitioner will assess you and may:

  • refer you back to the GP with appropriate advice; continue within the Primary Care Mental Health Team in West Cheshire for interventions such as Counselling or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT - a “talking treatment” to help you understand and cope with your problems) or for advice and support to other services
  • For Vale Royal referral will be to IAPT (Improved Access to Psychological Therapies); 
  • refer you to a Community Mental Health Team for more in-depth short or long term individual support   in either the Recovery Stream or the Review Stream. 

Step 2 - The Recovery Stream 

You will have your needs assessed in more detail and you will be allocated a Care Coordinator.  This is a mental health professional from within the team who will be your main contact and will have a clear overview of your care and support.

You will see your Care Coordinator as often as you need depending on what you both decide.  This may take place in a clinical setting or at your home, whichever is seen as beneficial for your recovery.  The emphasis is on increasing your independence by placing you more in a position of control in your own recovery, with the help and guidance of our trained professionals.

The Recovery Stream can offer you a range of interventions including:

  • Psychological interventions (Talking Treatments) 
  • CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
  • Medication
  • Health & Wellbeing clinics 
  • Physical health checks
  • Medical reports for benefit claims (e.g. ESA)
  • Social care assessments

You may have regular out-patient appointments with a doctor in addition to your meetings with you Care Coordinator.  If you need to be seen more often, this can be arranged.

Step 3 - The Review Stream

As you move on in you recovery journey, and your health and wellbeing improves, your level of need should decrease. You may then be seen by a lead professional or a primary worker depending on your needs.

After moving to the review stream, it is likely that your number of appointments will also decrease. Appointments with your primary worker or lead professional will be arranged with you. They will have a good knowledge of what is on offer to you in your local community to aid your recovery. They will help you to link into the services most suited to your own goals and aspirations, such as :

  • Recovery Colleges
  • Health & Wellbeing Clinics
  • Healthy Living Centres

If your mental health should take a dip, there is a duty system in place where an experienced member of the team will be able to quickly respond to arrange further assessment of your needs and arrange for appropriate interventions to be provided.

When you move further on in your recovery journey and your health and wellbeing improves further, it will be time to discharge you from CWP services back to the care of your GP and back to getting on with your life.

People who access our services are welcome to talk to the Team Manager if they are experiencing any problems with their care.

Contact details

If you are not already under the care of CWP please contact your GP weekdays 9am - 5pm

After hours and weekends

Please contact your local A & E and ask for Liaison Psychiatry

If you are already under the care of CWP 

The Recovery and Review Service operates from Monday to Friday 9 am - 5 pm

Upton Lea Resource Centre
Countess of Chester Health Park
Liverpool Road Chester
CH2 1BQ

  • Reception 01244 397500
  • Team Secretaries 01244 397499
  • Urgent Out of Hours 01244 397537

Cherrybank Resource Centre
85 Wellington Road Ellesmere Port
Cheshire
CH65 OBY

  • Reception 0151 488 8360 –
  • Team Secretaries 0151 488 8411/2
  • Urgent Out of Hours 01244 397537

Vale House Resource Centre
High Street Winsford
CW7 2AS

  • Reception 01606 555100 –
  • Team Secretaries 01606 555103/5
  • Urgent Out of Hours 01244 397537

If you would like this information in another format, please speak to a member of CWP staff or e-mail cwp.info@nhs.net.

June 2020 Version 1.
www.cwp.nhs.uk.