Spotlight on Wirral Place

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Wirral Place commissioning team was honoured as an Outstanding Commissioner, in the NHS category, at our VSNW Funding and Commissioning Awards 2024, for its groundbreaking work in transforming children’s mental health services in the area.

The award recognises Wirral Place’s innovative approach to commissioning, which prioritises collaboration, co-production, and long-term sustainability. Their efforts led to the creation of Branch, an online mental well-being hub for children and young people, supported by a £750,000 annual investment for at least seven years.

The hub, designed with input from young people, represents a bold, forward-thinking model for delivering community mental health support at scale.

Our Funding & Commissioning Awards honour outstanding individuals and organisations driving excellence in funding and commissioning within the North West’s voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector. Winners are nominated by the sector itself, celebrating their exceptional contributions.

Our panel noted:

Collaboration and co-production: The commissioning process brought together the NHS, Public Health, Wirral Council, and the VCFSE sector. Young people were involved at every stage, from service design to tender evaluation, ensuring the project reflected the community’s needs.

Equity and transparency: Branch uses an alliance model that ensures funding and decision-making are shared equitably among diverse providers, including national and local organisations like Action for Children, Kooth, Koala North West, and Open Door Charity.

Sustainability and flexibility: The seven-year contract provides stability while remaining agile enough to adapt to emerging needs. The alliance structure allows for pooled resources and innovative problem-solving, ensuring long-term impact.

Lee Pennington, Director of Open Door Charity, who nominated Wirral Place:

“Wirral Place is a game-changer in commissioning. Their collaborative, inclusive approach has created a service that not only addresses immediate mental health challenges but also builds long-term resilience. Branch has set a new benchmark for what’s possible when partnerships are prioritised.”

The initiative’s community impact extends beyond immediate mental health services. The Open Door Charity’s £4.2 million ‘Joy’ development, part of Branch, aims to redefine how mental health care integrates into the community, transforming perceptions and accessibility on a national scale.

Wirral Place’s success exemplifies the power of ambitious, co-produced commissioning. The work demonstrates how pooling resources, engaging stakeholders, and embracing flexibility can lead to innovative solutions that serve communities more effectively.

Warren Escadale, Chief Executive of VSNW, said: “The pressures on children and young people have never been greater, and the NHS in Wirral have committed to embracing and scaling up what our sector can collectively achieve. We often rely on end of year underspend as a sector but here we can see commissioners embedding the sector with purpose and vision. Wirral Place are worthy winners of the 2024 Outstanding NHS Commissioner.”

Darren Birks, lead commissioner for mental health services in Wirral at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, said: “We’re really pleased to have received this recognition. It’s been a long road over the last two or three years to come together with this jointly funded and jointly commissioned piece of work, but we are hoping that, with the launch of Branch and the alliance, it’s going to make a real difference to the children in Wirral.”