Commissioning high quality modern mental health services presents real challenges - but help is at hand for commissioners with the publication of a new guide .  ‘The Commissioning Friend for Mental Health Services' is designed to support primary care trusts and local authorities and assist them in developing their mental health commissioning practice. Read more and download here

Published jointly by Commissioning Support for London and the National Mental Health Development Unit, the guide, which covers mental health services across England, will act as a useful reference tool and up to date "friend" on key issues to support commissioners to carry out their day to day work.
The guide provides an invaluable insight into:

• key challenges for mental health commissioners

• understanding the policy and legislative framework

• personalisation - giving people more choice over services and decision making control to individual service users

• the commissioning context

• co-production, partnership and integration

• effective mental health commissioning

• measuring effectiveness