Gray Healthcare's new community recovery model benefits users in the least restrictive environment

Feb 2 2010

Gray Healthcare has appointed former director of operations of Cambian healthcare Noel Tracey to lead its expanding Community Recovery Team, as Clinical Director.

Noel has more than 15 years' experience of senior management in mental health in both the NHS and the private sector. In his previous role as director of operations at Cambian Healthcare, covering 12 psychiatric rehabilitation hospitals, he created and implemented a stress vulnerability model that was a key factor in optimising the performance of nursing teams across the group. As strategic forensic services manager for Pennine Care NHS Trust he led the development of specialist services and the return of service users to their home area. He led a multi-disciplinary team covering 5 NHS hospitals and 1 prison, providing NHS inreach with a rehab philosophy across all levels of security.

Noel Tracey will lead the recovery team at Gray Healthcare, and will work closely with chief executive Jonathan Gray to implement the company's unique Structured Recovery Model. "I feel this will be my most challenging role yet in my 22 years in mental health but my most rewarding, enabling service users with complex and challenging mental health needs to return back to the community instead of staying in inpatient services for longer periods of time than necessary" says Noel.

"By placing service users into their own homes, we are promoting social inclusion for those who need monitoring and ongoing support as they migrate from secure hospitals and other inpatient facilities to community integration. Gray Healthcare has developed a radical new approach to patient recovery within environments that are closer to an independent way of life. This offers a better outcome for each service user, with a secure and sustainable future, and solves a growing problem for the NHS."

"Gray Healthcare links in with Community Mental Health teams, and has developed its structured recovery model in collaboration with all the stakeholders to provide a bespoke support and treatment package that is tailored to meet the needs and safety of the individual, providing up to 24hr support. This is an innovative solution to recovery policy, allowing patients to move to a long-term environment of least restriction in their own home, but surrounded by a highly qualified multi-disciplinary team trained around risk management and identification of early warning signs."

Demand from PCTs for places on Gray Healthcare's Structured Recovery Program is already high. Chief Executive Jonathan Gray explained "Noel is joining us at a very exciting moment. We now have a community recovery model that offers great benefits for service users in the least restrictive environment, for the PCTs and for the NHS. Noel's skills and experience will enable us to develop our model at the right pace and to promote a recovery strategy.

"Noel Tracy is a highly respected clinician, and I am confident that we will see a new trend in integrated care developing. Gray Healthcare has pioneered this approach and we will stay at the forefront of community psychiatric rehabilitation care in the United Kingdom."