Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH) deliver our services from over 109 locations across the North West of England. Our vision is to be a leading provider of services, with a trauma-informed focus of care, for our service users, carers, staff, and partners. 

GMMH continue to develop our workforce to recognise the impact of trauma, enabling our teams to respond in ways that will improve recovery and avoid re-traumatisation. 

All staff receive initial training at induction, ensuring they understand the importance and value of a trauma-informed care (TIC) approach within their daily practice, as well as their health and well-being. 

Our Trust is committed to the consideration of trauma-informed practice at every level of engagement, both internally and with our external partners as part of the Trauma Responsive Greater Manchester network. 

Our Living Well multiagency teams continue to evaluate and redesign services, ensuring they are co-produced, in alignment with the guiding principles of a trauma-informed approach, adapting the language we use and how we deliver services. 

Within our community transformation programme, we are working with the people who use our services, carers, our colleagues, and other support organisations, to transform community mental health services across Greater Manchester. The transformation programme focuses on codesign, coproduction and codelivery, with people with lived experience, and their carers. 

Our Capital, Estates & Facilities teams have worked collaboratively, to design a modern mental health unit at North View. This will support the transformation of adult mental health care, across North and Central Manchester. The building, which replaces Park House, has been designed using the latest technology and therapeutic techniques. This NHS investment in our communities enables services to be delivered in an environment conducive to holistic treatment and recovery. 

With the appointment of a dedicated Trauma Informed Care Lead, the Trust is continuing to work closely with organisations across Greater Manchester, and the UK. We continue to research best practices, to enable us to embed trauma-informed principles throughout our vision, values, strategy, policies, staff development programmes and Trust processes. 

The Trust have formed a Trauma Informed Care (TIC) strategy and working group, supported by reference groups, which include representation from patients, service users, carers, staff, and our external partners. These groups support the development of our TIC strategy, embedding a whole Trust approach, to design, delivery, and continuous improvement. 

GMMH see TIC as everyone's business, and like safeguarding, we aim to ensure the principles are embedded throughout our organisation. Co-production with service users, carers, staff, and our GM partners, needs to be at the heart of system change, for organisations and our wider society. 

We welcome the opportunity to work alongside Trauma Responsive GM, as together we are stronger, within our workplaces and communities. 

If you are a current GMMH service user or a staff member and would like to get involved, please contact our TIC Lead Amanda Smith at:  amandakathryn.smith@gmmh.nhs.uk