Published at 16:30, Monday, 08 October 2012

A MENTAL health service that a man says saved his life has been given a funding boost.

The money has been secured for the Croftlands Trust, Barrow, which has received a slice of a pot of funding from Cumbria County Council after a pilot GP referral’s success.

Service user, Stephen Turner, was the pilot for the GP referral scheme. He described how at his lowest point he was purposely choosing to walk down back streets to avoid contact with people.

He said at this point Lyn Young, of the Croftlands Trust, “found” him.

Mr Turner said: “I was the chairman of a mental health charity and the stress got to me. I couldn’t get any support. They literally saved my life. You will never meet a more professional bunch of people.”

The 54-year-old described his struggle to get help and support.

He said: “I didn’t have a district psychiatric nurse or a social worker so I couldn’t have access to the Croftlands Trust originally.”

Janet Morgan, project manager at the trust, said: “We approached his GP to ask could we do a trial. Stephen was our pilot for getting GP referrals.”

She said that following this pilot earlier this year, the Croftlands Trust bid for a pot of funding set aside by Cumbria County Council.

She said “The funding is for 50 people and it’s until October 2013. The pilot scheme is to see if the service is something that GPs will use.

“It’s for people with mental health issues to keep them out of secondary health teams.”

The Croftlands Trust was founded 25 years ago and the Manchester Street branch opened five years ago.

Ms Morgan said: “We are working one-on-one with people to explore their issues and concerns.”

She said the trust hopes to become the primary port of call for mental health after the GP services. She said: “We also help people access other specialist services.”

The prevention programme gives service users a weekly appointment for six months.

Mr Turner showed his gratitude for the organisation by nominating the Croftlands Trust for a Love Barrow award last week.

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk