SilverCloud Health are pleased to announce that we will be a Gold Star Exhibitor at the 2016 IAPT National Networking Forum taking place on the 26th of January 2016 in Manchester. This annual event is an exciting opportunity for commissioners, service managers, high intensity therapists, PWPs, counsellors and clinical psychologists to network with IAPT communities around the country. This event offers a wide range of presentations and practical workshops that aim to enhance clinical skills, develop ideas and provide opportunities to improve service quality and provision for our clients.
In attendance this year is an impressive array of key stakeholders in the IAPT community including Marie Chellingsworth, Executive Director of CBT programmes, University of East Anglia, Kevin Jarman, Health and Work Unit and Steve Davies, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and IAPT National Clinical Advisor for Older People to name but a few. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to gain practical advice on topics such as the integration of employment support and psychological therapies, guidance on engaging those with long terms conditions and support in meeting the challenges of working with increasingly more complex cases.
Our Partners in Berkshire Healthcare Foundation trust, will also be discussing innovative strategies and advice on optimising IAPT services in their presentation “Innovative Strategies for improving waiting times, patient flow and workforce planning”. This highly anticipated presentation will be delivered against the backdrop of the mandate for all IAPT services to provide “treatment within 6 weeks for 75% of people referred to IAPT Programme, with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks”*1 by a looming March 2016 deadline. A deadline which has put many IAPT services under enormous pressure with little practical guidance.
In her presentation, Judith Chapman, Clinical Director, Specialist Mental Health Services & Talking Therapies (IAPT) of Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust will be addressing the intense pressure this mandate has placed on many IAPT services and provide some guidance on meeting these demands through discussing the innovative strategies her service has adopted including:
- Practical ways to meet referral to treatment requirements in IAPT
- Understanding where delays in the pathway occur and how to prevent them
- Innovative solutions to improve patient flow
- Optimising your workforce planning to streamline service delivery
In particular, our partners in Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust will be discussing their innovative use of internet based interventions in partnership with SilverCloud Health to reduce wait times and optimise patient flow. Since their implementation of SilverCloud Health programmes, Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust have made enormous strides towards meeting the wait times mandate including:
- Providing 4,878 patients with 24/7 access to mental health support to date
- Signing-up approximately 250 patients per months to the SilverCloud Platform
- Optimising service resources by saving almost 50 clinical hours per month
- Averaging a minimal 8.8 day wait to access Silvercloud support
Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust will also be discussing the robust recovery rates of 57% they have achieved with SilverCloud, the overwhelmingly positive feedback reported by service users and additionally how they are supporting other IAPT services to implement similar models to meet this mandate such as the NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group who are currently piloting an online supported service solution from SilverCloud Health and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to support up to 100 individual patients on their current waitlist.
According to Dr Ian Hulme, CCG mental health lead and GP with Meadowside Medical Centre, Congleton said: “We’re working hard to reduce waiting times for talking therapies, and this pilot service is an important part of that effort, offering immediate access to online cognitive behavioural therapy for common mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress."
Delegates are invited to come along to our Exhibition stand #3 throughout the day for more information on how SilverCloud Health can support IAPT Services to meet the enormous demands placed on them.
*1 https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/iapt/service-standards/
