Community Mental Health Transformation

NHS England have tasked all Integrated Care Systems to join up services and eliminate gaps in care

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Background

ICBs across England have been tasked with transforming systems of care in line with the 2019 Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF). This policy initiative places the person at the centre of a needs led delivery of care within the system as a whole creating opportunities to change the culture of mental health service delivery. The ambition to eliminate gaps in care and create integration across VCSE, mental health providers and primary care is not supported by clear evidence, leaving systems to innovate. This programme of work, linked to the PenARC includes evaluations and a research evaluation in four sites and a set of knowledge exchange activities.

Overview of the work

We developed a consortium with 3 community pilot sites (East London, Hertfordshire and West Essex, and Somerset) alongside a central evaluation team, and have continued with a research evaluation in Buckinghamshire.

The emphasis is on rapid feedback to support site development, and also sharing of generalisable knowledge of value to the NHS as a whole.

Aims

The aim of the evaluation collaboration is to maximise the learning opportunity provided by CMHF implementer sites to improve mental health services across England.

The scientific aims include:

To understand how the community mental health transformation can provide care to individuals who do not meet the threshold for secondary mental health services but are deemed inappropriate for primary care services such as IAPT.
To identify how community pilots engage with and deliver more appropriate services individuals identified within key population groups i.e those with a personality disorder, eating disorder or in need of rehabilitation services etc.
To explore the role of local collaborations across a range of agencies in the transformation of service provision in each site.
To understand the key characteristics which contribute to effective implementation.
To gain a better understanding of the needs of the workforce across statutory agencies and VCSE's.
To understand how the new models of service delivery are supporting the reduction of health inequalities.
To identify how the culture change process can be assisted during implementation.

Progress and knowledge exchange

We have completed three evaluations and written reports available from sites and synthesised learning from across sites. Supported by the University of Plymouth Knowledge Exchange Fund we have delivered three webinars, created a website and are offering support in the form of local workshops to sites wanting to develop their services further. Additionally the MHRI team have developed a south west Knowledge Mobilisation Network for individuals to exchange ideas and support each other in the complex task of community mental health transformation.

Watch our webinars

Our webinar sessions are based on the theme of Community Systems and Mental Health

Addressing the gaps and looking to the future

Clinical conundrums of the community mental health framework

Balanced systems in the community mental health transformation

Plymouth collaborators

Professor Richard Byng

Professor in Primary Care Research/PenARC Deputy Director
Charley Hobson-Merrett

Research Fellow - Mental Health Evaluation
Dr Rebecca Hardwick

NIHR South West Peninsula ARC (PenARC) Senior Research Fellow (Mental Health)
Mrs Amy Saunders

Research Fellow
Miss Caroline Quinn

Senior Research Administrator
Mrs Laura Gill

Research Group Co-ordinator