The Department of Health first extended the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme in 2007/08, supplementing the early successes of the two IAPT Demonstration Sites Doncaster and Newham. This page explains the background to that period of development and provides links to related documents. For current implementation guidance, please refer to the Services webpages.
Three-quarters of the country's primary care trusts wanted to join the Pathfinder stage of the IAPT Programme and half sent in a fully-worked up bid. Funding was limited and 11 were chosen to take part. They used service redesign techniques to develop:
- a defined care pathway,
- service specification,
- service framework, and
- routine outcome monitoring.
Each Pathfinder site also identified an interest in addressing the specific barriers and positive benefits for improving access to psychological therapies for particular sections of their local population. Experts were invited to support these PCTs through special interest groups offering advice and support focussed on the needs of the specific sections of local communities.
The PCTs and the special interests were:
- Derby PCT: Black and Minority Ethnic Communities
- Ealing PCT: Black and Minority Ethnic Communities
- East Riding of Yorkshire PCT: Older People, Long Term Conditions
- Hertfordshire PCT: Older People; Perinatal - New Mothers and Fathers; Long Term Conditions
- Buckinghamshire PCT: Older People
- Stoke PCT: Older People, Medically Unexplained Symptoms
- Salford PCT: Perinatal - New Mothers and Fathers; Medically Unexplained Symptoms
- Dorset PCT: Offenders; Long Term Conditions
- Brighton PCT : Young People LGBT
- Bury PCT: Children and Young People
- North Tees PCT: Long Term Conditions
An evaluation of the Pathfinder sites was published in October 2008.
A range of resources were provided to support the Pathfinder sites including: