People who use psychological therapies services and those who care for them have a great deal of expertise to offer commissioners and clinicians planning and delivering IAPT.
Meaningful involvement requires time and investment.
To ensure equity of access, people using psychological services and those who support them need to :
- Be well informed
- Have choices about what exists in their local area
- Be clearly signposted to services that best fit their needs
- Know how to give feedback about the quality of services they have received
The following give examples of how existing IAPT services have been involving people who access these services and those who care for them in service development and improvement. There are many ways to involve these people. It is vital that it happens and we hope these examples will help you to develop this important work.
If you wish to share the good involvement work you are doing in your IAPT service please send your examples to IAPT@dh.gsi.gov.uk. Similarly if you want to discuss ‘involvement' or highlight it to the Programme's National Advisers, you can contact them via IAPT@dh.gsi.gov.uk.
Visit the Involving People Resources page and People`s Stories page.
INVOLVING PEOPLE STRATEGY EXAMPLES
1) SOUTH WEST
In the South West they have three IAPT experts by experience consultants who advise and assist PCT s on meaningful involvement in the following ways:
- Involvement in the recruitment process, e.g. short-listing, interviewing
- Working in partnership with management teams for IAPT, e.g. steering groups
- Assisting in evaluation of local IAPT services
- Being part of a ‘patient' net-work for IAPT, e.g. information talks, social meetings, newsletters
- Setting up self-help groups, e.g. peer support
- Champion people in each PCT area for ‘patient involvement' in IAPT
- Developing a regional network of IAPT ‘patients' to represent people's views
- Linkage of the regional ‘patient involvement work' with the national IAPT team and national advisers
The expert by experience consultants contact details are:
Iola Davies: iola@bristolmind.org.uk
Sue Forbes: sue@101a.co.uk
Kate Atkinson: katemhf@tiscali.co.uk
2) EALING
Ealing have communicated information about their IAPT service to the local community in a variety of ways.
This service is ‘The Mental Health and Wellbeing Service' supported by ‘Wellbeing Advisors'
- Posters promoting a self referral line available in several languages, reflecting different cultures, ages, sexes and ethnicities. These posters are widely advertised in GP surgeries, pharmacies, libraries, places of worship, community sites etc.
- A variety of leaflets about their IAPT service in different languages
- Business card promoting the self-referral number
- An advert on the Life TV channel
- A webpage on the PCT website
- Promotion of the IAPT service on local radio
- Articles in local ‘free magazines'
- A stall promoting IAPT service at local events
- Presentations for other staff
- On discharge patients are given a satisfaction questionnaire
- On discharge patients are given a chance to join a ‘patient' focus group
Contact: Layla Stock: layla.stock@nhs.net
3) EAST LANCASHIRE
This area has developed the ‘East Lancashire Feedback Coordinator Service'. This is a new and innovative service provided by ‘Together', working for wellbeing.
It is designed to help people with mental health needs who access primary and or secondary mental health care services across East Lancashire, to influence aspects of service delivery, development and design.
The service employs two part-time ‘Involvement Workers' and trained volunteers.
Their work feeds into the local IAPT Board and the NHS East Lancashire LIT
Contact: Joy Arrandale: joy.arrandale@eastlancspct.nhs.uk
4) NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY NHS TRUST
In July 2008 Nottinghamshire County NHS Trust commissioned an engagement programme of key stakeholders to investigate their views on how best to provide psychological therapies in the county in the context of common mental health problems.
The programme involved a series of ‘rapid' interviews with a cross-section of key stakeholders spanning service user groups, G.P.s, therapists, counsellors, voluntary sector managers and the PCT.
The subsequent report focussed on summarising what an ‘ideal' primary care mental health service would look like which would include an enhanced provision of psychological therapies.
5) ISLINGTON
Islington have developed a ‘Psychological Therapies and Wellbeing Service'.
In order to develop the service they invited people who had recently
used the services for anxiety and depression to give their views for
future service improvement. They did this through a series of meetings
and by providing opportunities to respond by telephone or email.
They sought views on:
- The name of the service
- Service location
- Service hours
- How best to raise awareness of and publicise the service
- The employment service
- Future support groups
Contact details: Caroline Humphries, IAPT Programme Manager, caroline.humphries@islingtonpct.nhs.uk
Add your case study to this page; send it to iapt@dh.gsi.gov.uk .