Presentation given by Lynda Wright from Falkirk Short Break Bureau at Permission to Dream 2015.

1. Permission to Dream 2015
Mental Health Voucher Scheme
Lynda Wright

2. What is your dream??
• To play golf on
a sunny morning.
• To learn how to make sculptures and paint my
own art work.

3. What is your dream??
• To do woodwork
classes.
• To be able to go to the shops
and pick clothes myself.

4. Short Break Vouchers
• 5 providers who accept vouchers.
• Making soap, bubble bath and
glass painting.
• Swimming, bingo and bowling.
• Days out, comedy or music concerts.
• Art classes.
• Golf, woodwork classes, gardening
and fishing.

5. Why was the Mental Health Voucher
Scheme set up?
• Discussions with the integrated mental health
team and mental health carers group.
• Alternative to direct payments.
• Address low uptake of overnight breaks for
those with a mental illness and their carers.
• Objective is to increase the amount of respite.

6. Who is the service for?
• Aged 18 and over.
• Service user must have a severe and enduring
mental health illness.
• They must be eligible for respite.
• Vouchers are based on assessed need.

7. How does the voucher scheme work?
• 1 voucher = 1 hour of support.
• Providers agree to accept vouchers.
• Vouchers to be used flexibly by agreement
between voucher recipient and provider.
• Voucher must be signed by provider once the
support has been provided.
• Provider submits regular invoices to FC with
the number of vouchers used.

8. Vouchers and SDS
• Flexible and easy to use.
• Individuals have direct control over their
respite.
• Personalised / person centred – can build in
own interests, goals, hobbies.
• Incorporates SDS principles of involvement.

9. Outcomes for the service user
• Improved levels of confidence.
• Improving money management skills.
• Avoidance of hospital admission – used
vouchers for support during difficult time.
• Improvements in mood, planning ahead and
engaging in more social activities.
• Reassurance, used only when needed.

10. Outcomes for the carer
• Improved health and wellbeing.
• More time for themselves
– sleeping / relaxing
• Less stressed and worried.

11. Challenges
• Initially service users had difficulty knowing
what they would like to use the vouchers for.
• Flexibility dependent on provider.
• Parameters of what can be done with
vouchers is limited by providers who accept
the vouchers.
• Engaging with carers to get them to think
about their own needs.

12. What did we learn?
• Keep it simple.
• Build services around
service users interests.
– approach providers gradually.
• Be clear about the use
of the vouchers throughout.
• Maintain the focus on respite.

13. What ensured that the pilot project
worked well?
• From the start everyone involved understood
and supported the pilot’s aim and objective.
• Providers support/cooperation and flexibility.
• Providers and workers supported individuals
to decide what activities they would like to do
in the future.
• Change provider without going back through
the Council.

14. Future Developments?
• Increasing the number of service users and
providers.
• Pooling resources – service users doing
activities together so voucher hours go
further.
• Widen the service user group that can use the
vouchers- hoping to widen to those with
dementia.