Counselling

Individual counselling is offered to users each week. Although BPMHA staff have no clinical qualification, it has always been part of our ethos to provide the informality and concern that has allowed staff to contain clients who have been considered dangerous by other agencies. In the past two years staff have work with varying clients who have a forensic history or who have been barred from other centres.

This has involved considerable resources in staff time when staff shortages were occurring. Transcultural CPN input was removed during this period, which made things even more difficult.

Outreach

Outreach at BPMHA takes the form of visiting clients in their own home, in hospital and in other settings that are accessible.
When visiting the client at home we get to see the client in their own setting and engage them further in other areas of support.
While in hospital or other institutions we act as advocates on behalf of the client voicing ideas and concerns.

Visits are made in and out of the borough of Waltham Forest as long as the client is registered with our association.

Health Promotion

In the past two years BPMHA has worked with clients of high support needs,
the equivalent of those on enhanced CPA registers. Those people seen as socially isolated i.e. having no family or friends), had more than one episode in acute units, were over 50 (but under 65) and had physical health problems.

Diabetes and hypertension are two common and serious conditions in Asian and African Caribbean communities and BPMHA have taken the physical health of their clients very seriously working with a community pharmacist to increase the level of knowledge and therefore compliance with diet/medication. G.P's do not have the time (or sometimes the space ) to give attention to these problems and BPMHA’S efforts have made a real difference to clients' lives in this regard; particularly since physical problems tend to aggravate and intensify mental health ones. (NSF states that 1in 4 users have no contact with families, in with regard to social isolation 3 no contact with friends. BPMHA midday meals ensure that those clients have a hot well-balanced meal at least 5 days per week. Clients are kept in touch with on the phone or visited and are accompanied to agencies/hospital where resources allow. It is worthy that BPMHA stays open on bank holiday to provide a service to the isolated.

We will always make it our duty to keep all of our clients informed on a wide variety of health issues and frequently invite local G.P's and health experts to give talks at our centre. Aside from hypertension and diabetes, some additional subjects that have been covered have been sexual health and HIV/Aids, diet and both men and women's health issues.