An innovative drive to improve health and well being for adults with mental ill-health and their carers has been led by the East Midlands Joint Improvement Partnership (JIP). The focus has been to increase the number of people who have choice and control over their support packages (self-directed support).

Derby City Council will deliver an impressive £19.2 million in net savings over the next three years as part of their Delivering Efficient Corporate And Transactional Services (DECATS) project. Following a three-year implementation stage the project should then deliver a further £21.4 million per annum from 2014/2015.

All local authorities are seeking to deliver improvements in business practices, customer satisfaction, and staff morale against a backdrop of reduced financial resources and increasing customer demands. Nottingham City Council is carrying out a three-year trial of Systems Thinking to see whether this approach delivers such improvement.

Derby City Council has helped lead a turnaround in the approach and delivery of medication management across the East Midlands. This has resulted in a changed approach from top management through to care staff, driven by the establishment of the East Midlands Medicines and Social Care Management Group, and a new medicines management policy.