The Access Team provides a first point of access for the people of Tameside, Oldham and Glossop wishing to engage in mental health support at TOG Mind.

The Access team are there to answer any queries about referrals, enquiries about appointments and they are there to support individuals with any anxieties around accessing our service by offering guidance on what the client might be able to expect from their appointment. As well as being the first point of access, our access team can support clients who present with common mental health issues. As a team they provide a signposting service, Initial Discussion appointments, Guided Self-Help, and online CBT, or simply a listening ear when people want to seek some advice or reassurance.

The access team supports clients to have an active role in their own wellbeing and to help them understand and access support available by having the knowledge and awareness of emotional wellbeing and mental health issues.

Navigators may also refer you to our Supported Self-Help service.

Steps to Home

Under the Steps to Home Service, TOG Mind work in partnership with Age UK Oldham and Positive Steps to support individuals who have been admitted to hospital for their mental health. We are here to offer a wrap around service which includes but is not limited to, mental health support and practical and social support such as housing, benefits, debt management, meal delivery services and wellbeing sessions.

The aim of the service is to support clients to live well when they have been discharged from being admitted to hospital, been allocated to a secondary care service such as the Community Mental Health Team and the Home Treatment Team or had to attend A&E due to their mental health within the last 6 months.

Please see a list of what the Steps to Home service can offer:

• Mental Health Support Check Ins

• Navigation of Mental Health appointments and system

• Coping Strategies for better wellbeing

• Dementia Support, Information & Advice

• Shopping and Meal Service

• Falls Prevention Classes

• Social Concerns

• Housing

• Benefits

• Finance/Debt

• Employment

Referral Process

Referrals are accepted from the public and professional services, if you feel this service might be appropriate for you, please enquire by calling 0161 330 9223 or emailing office [at] togmind.org.

Step-down Flats

Under the step-down flats service, TOG Mind is working in partnership with NHS Pennine Care, Oldham CCG and Care Point, to provide accommodation for people identified as being able to live independently upon discharge from hospital but are unable to do so due to housing/accommodation issues.

The step-down flats will help support people:

• To wait for permanent accommodation within their community as opposed to on a mental health ward.

• Coming back to their area if they have been placed on a ward away from home.

• In gaining additional support within their community.

Our dedicated access and crisis navigator will be able to offer the residents of the step-down flats the following support:

• Mental health wellbeing check-ins

• Navigation of mental health services

• Coping strategies for better wellbeing

• Housing/benefits advice

• Support with employment

• Social concerns

• Information on local services

MASH Link Worker

The MASH link worker service has been running successfully now for 4 years and currently runs across ten areas of Greater Manchester. Link workers from mental health services work in partnership with Adult Social Care teams within their area to support referrals into their service.

TOG Mind support Adult Social Care by carrying out initial discussion, wellbeing sessions/check-ins, making referrals internally and externally, and helping to navigate client within their own community to promote emotional wellbeing.

Referral into the MASH link worker service can only be made via adult social care.

Active Monitoring

All clients that come into TOG Mind seeking support attend an initial discussion which is a 40 minute appointment to assess your mental health and emotional needs and appropriate services that are able to support you. If you decide that Active Monitoring is suitable for your needs, five 20 minute appointments will be block booked for you.

Active Monitoring’s aim is to equip you with coping strategies to manage your mental health and emotional wellbeing by using a range of materials that you will be supported to use and engage with.

There are 6 pathways to choose from, Low Mood & Depression, Anxiety and Panic Attack, Low Self-Esteem, Coping with Grief and Loss, Managing Anger and Managing Stress that clients can choose to work with.

There are also a range of booklets to work through including Breaking Unhelpful Thinking Patterns, Thoughts and Feelings Diary and Accepting Anxiety.

Active Monitoring is available at some Oldham GP Surgeries and at the TOG Mind office in Oldham City Centre, enquiries for this service can be sent to office [at] togmind.org or by calling 0161 330 9223.

Diverse Communities

Oldham is a very diverse town, and that’s why TOG Mind developed a role within the Community Development Team to support diverse communities across Oldham.

The Diverse Communities Link Worker provides emotional support to adult patients and carers from diverse ethnic groups diagnosed with Dementia, Autism & Learning Disabilities. This role offers support and strategies to manage health and wellbeing, including help to engage with therapeutic services, self-help guided therapy and to access primary care services.

Also, it facilitates well-being education and awareness events within the local community, as well as provides support information in other languages, including Urdu, Gujrati, Kacchi, Memon, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Surti languages. The objective is to work with the community to remove the stigma around mental health and wellbeing, encourage engagement of help and support and hold advice surgeries in community groups and mosques.

Current groups available are:

• Autism Carers Group
• Dementia Carers Group
• Men’s Mental Health Group

For more information about groups or 1-1 support please contact our Diverse Communities Link Worker Abdul Shakoor at: abdulshakoor [at] togmind.org or 07515 282 098.

Living Well

Our Living Well service involves us working in partnership with Mental Health services in Oldham to provide wrap-around care and support to individuals with the aim of improving their mental health, general wellbeing and social situation.

These services include Pennine Care, Early Help, housing services, Healthy Minds, Age UK and GP’s. Navigators provide wellbeing sessions that involve guided self-help, a listening ear and conversations around practical support where appropriate.

Navigators can also provide referrals into other services through a ‘warm handover’ whereby clients feel supported in accessing further services in their recovery journey.

Referral Process

Referrals are accepted from the public and professional services, if you feel this service might be appropriate for you, please enquire by calling 0161 330 9223 or emailing office [at] togmind.org.