A press release from the social enterprise Oasis-Talk:
It is with great sadness that the Board have made the unanimous decision to close Oasis-Talk as of March 2021.
Oasis -Talk has proved itself as a high performing, innovative, quality provider of a range of therapeutic services to people in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. We delivered a significant proportion of primary mental health provision through the NHS IAPT contract until September 2019, but were unsuccessful in winning the new contract for the region which also included North East Somerset.
The Board then decided to continue Oasis- Talk but with a new business model and use the existing skills, reputation and service models to build a thriving organisation.
Two factors have now had a negative effect on that plan
- The resignation of our CEO Vicki Palmer, to take effect from April 2021. Vicki started Oasis Talk and has led the organisation for 8 years. She has been the driving force in creating and sustaining the profile and reputation of Oasis-Talk. The Board fully understands her decision but recognises the difficulty of trying to replace such a positive and influential figure.
- The effect of Covid-19. The new business model depended on a planned growth in private therapy provision in order to help fund activities with a social purpose that delivered assistance to people who did not have the means to pay or were in communities that did not access help of this kind. One example is the very successful work with BAME and elder groups. In response to Covid-19 and lockdown, we moved all of our therapy online or via telephone but, not surprisingly, the growth in private therapy did not materialise. We do not know how long the individual or economic effect of Covid-19 will last. Hence we do not have proof that our private business can grow sufficiently. Had Covid-19 not happened then we would have had clear evidence of the likely success or otherwise of the model by now.
The Board recognises the great work that Oasis -Talk has done and in taking the decision now, we hope to be able to properly conclude any outstanding commitments for individual or group sessions. We particularly want to recognise and thank all of our staff past and present for their hard work and professionalism.
Finally, we want wish all of our partners and funders in the voluntary charity and social enterprise, public and private sectors all the very best for the future. We know that good quality provision for wellbeing is needed now more than ever and regret that oasis Talk can no longer be a part of that provision.
From Oasis-Talk