Demand for mental health services, particularly among young people, is expanding at rates that resources can’t keep pace with. NHS Leeds South & East commissioned the design of a central online resource for local adolescents and their carers, where they can find information and make sense of the disconnected services available locally.
End users – the people whose opinion matters most – were brought together with writers, designers and developers in workshops and forums. They were consulted on everything from naming, branding and colour, through to UX and functionality.
MindMate launched in October 2015 and has helped transform support for young people with complex issues. As awareness grows, so do MindMate’s performance statistics. It reached and helped almost 1,500 young people in May 2016 alone, and average session times are up 68%. It’s such a success that other NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups are using it as a ‘best practice’ example to create similar services in other locations.
