MindWell
MindWell is an accessible website that has been co-designed to provide a single ‘go to’ place for information about mental health and local services in Leeds.
Introduction
MindWell was launched on 10 October 2016 on World Mental Health day. The platform has been co-designed to provide a single ‘go to’ place for information about mental health and local services in Leeds. MindWell is funded by Leeds Health and Care system with Thrive by Design and Volition working in partnership to deliver the award winning flagship MindWell platform to citizens and practitioners across Leeds.
Supporting citizens and practitioners across Leeds
MindWell was created to fill a clear gap in the market for a free, comprehensive resource for mental health information and support in Leeds. The platform provides support for all adults age 18 or over, people living with mental health difficulties, people who are concerned about someone else and professionals such as GPs.
Creating a vision for MindWell
The process of creating MindWell was a city-wide collaboration. Thrive by Design facilitated the co-design of the platform working with people across Leeds to understand their needs to build a vision for MindWell. Members of the public, service users and carers together with people working in mental health services, in adult social care, in the third sector, libraries and businesses have all been involved in the co-design process which incorporated extensive user testing.
Easy access to up-to-date information
Since its launch, MindWell has provided quick and easy access to information for all adults in Leeds. It provides access to:
Information about a range of common mental health problems such as anxiety and stress.
Support for practical issues such as housing problems or money worries.
Information to support people such as carers and new parents or parents-to-be.
Help for what to do in a 'crisis' or mental health emergency.
Self-help information including downloadable resources and videos which can help you to look after your mental health and help yourself to feel better.
Information is written in plain English and includes British Sign Language and audio descriptions along with ReachDeck software which translates content into over 200 languages.
Impact statistics (10 October 2016 to 19 October 2021)
Google Analytics have shown us that since its launch in 2016 MindWell has had:
1,928,848 page views
73,396 ‘I need help now’ page views
390,012 users
588,686 sessions
Responding to the Coronavirus pandemic
When the UK was hit by the Coronavirus, MindWell launched the Coronavirus Mental Health Information Hub on 9 April 2020. The hub provides multiple resources such as official guidance on looking after mental health during the outbreak, updates on mental health services and online and practical help.
The Hub is also a key resource on Leeds City Council’s ‘Coronavirus - help for people and communities’ page and the ‘Your Wellbeing’ area of the Leeds City Council Active Leeds web pages.
A tweet announcing the launch of the Coronavirus Mental Health Information Hub had:
212 engagements
9,276 impressions
Impact statistics during the Coronavirus pandemic
On 26 March 2020 the UK went into a national lockdown. During this period until 8 March 2021 which is when the third national lockdown started easing, MindWell saw a 30% increase in users in comparison to the previous year.
There have been 501,304 page views overall which is a 21% increase from the previous year. The top five most viewed pages were:
MindWell home page
I’m looking for myself
Depression and low moods
I need help now
Coronavirus Mental Health Information Hub
Feedback
“I know that there is somewhere I can to go to easily find information on services in the city.”
“It helped me to find information when there was nowhere else to go to. I need to find a new group as my current one is ending soon.”
“It helped me to connect with a peer support group in Leeds that has helped me.”
“I go through MindWell in A & E for people to use self-directed at home. I tend to tell service users to use the platform. It’s good for people to get information from.”
“The information is well presented and laid out . . . clear, concise handouts.”
“We only offer short-term counselling as part of our service . . . so I use the site to find out about where participants on our programmes can go locally for longer term, affordable counselling and support.”
Awards
MindWell has also been recognised for its contribution and has won a number of awards, including the Plain English Award 2017, and the Patient Engagement Award at the Medilink Yorkshire and Humber Healthcare Business Awards 2017. You can find out more about the awards MindWell has won here.
We are happy to talk to other localities seeking to set-up a platform to provide information about mental health and local services. If you would like to find out more about our work drop us a line on info@thrivebydesign.org.uk
*The statistics from Google Analytics were taken from the date provided to 30 October 2021