Development of a new programme designed to improve patient care and experience in community services
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has developed a new programme to improve standards of care for all our community mental health services.
The Community Care Development Programme will ensure community services better meet the needs of adults who use our service, using learning from service user, carer and staff engagement activities and previous initiatives.
In order to make improvements to our current model of community mental health care, and in order to realise benefits for service users, their carers and our staff, the Trust embarked upon a period of engagement with all those groups to develop a new approach to community care to be rolled out across the Trust.
As a result of this engagement and learning a set of core components have now been agreed as the minimum standards of community care to be implemented across all our boroughs.
Ade Odunlade, Chief Operating Officer, said: “This programme represents a vital and exciting opportunity to co-design new ways of working within our community teams, in partnership with those who understand our services and needs best—our service users, carers, local communities, and frontline staff. By adopting a unified, one-team approach supported by the right enabling structures, we can strengthen continuity of care and foster a culture that places the whole person and their holistic needs at the heart of everything we do.”
Professor Derek Tracy, Chief Medical Officer, said: “Patients, carers, and staff have said they value greater continuity of care, and minimising bumping around complex systems. We know the evidence supports a more preventative strengths-based approach that taps into what are called the social determinants of health. Our new community approach aims to have this philosophy, working more closely with people in their communities. I know change is always a challenge for us all, and everyone is already working so hard: it will be essential to hear staff feedback at all stages as we trial and learn in the months ahead."
To ensure that the core components are implemented in a way that best meets the specific needs of our local populations, each borough has created a local delivery group to co-design what each of these components will look like in their areas. These groups will initially focus on:
- Enhancing continuity of care via all teams and resource provided from one centre with a one-team approach.
- An ethos of ‘easy in, easy out’ to community services, underpinned by active community caseloads.
- Personalised approach to care through building relationships using DIALOG+ to inform care planning.
- Integrated VCSE working to meet holistic care needs and longer-term support in the community.
- Crisis slots available daily in community teams.
Following this we will then focus on the remaining components:
- In-take function located within the centre.
- Proactive crisis intervention within community services.
- Suite of available interventions, with a focus on ‘active’ delivery with a maximum of 28 days between contacts.
- Specialist roles identified within the core teams with protected time for personal development and delivery of specialist interventions.
