RAIDiant success for innovative mental health project

Around 7,500 people across Greater Manchester, including the Rochdale Borough, have benefitted from new and innovative psychiatric liaison services.

The initiative, known as RAID (Rapid Assessment Interface and Discharge), is run by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.

It involves experienced mental health workers working with hospital colleagues to support people with mental health and/or alcohol problems.

Their role is to assess people who may require mental health or alcohol support and to ensure they receive this support quickly, to reduce the risk of problems escalating.

The teams also provide people with any additional practical, emotional and social support they need. This is either offered first-hand by the team, or by signposting people to other services that can meet their needs.

There are three strands to the RAID Service:

• Accident and Emergency Liaison: For people who attend A&E in relation to mental health issues and as a result of self-harm.
• Alcohol Liaison: For people who attend A&E, or who are staying on a ward, with alcohol or drug-related problems.
• Older People’s Liaison: For older people on hospital wards who are experiencing dementia, delirium or depression

A service user from Rochdale has recently received support from the Alcohol Liaison Team for long-term alcohol misuse and is now well on the road to recovery.

He said: “Without a doubt the RAID Team has played a pivotal role in my ongoing recovery journey and I can’t thank them enough for their expertise and guidance.

“Since day one, the care I have received from the RAID Team has been excellent. Everyone has been welcoming, caring and understanding. They have encouraged and supported me every step of the way which has increased my confidence and motivation.

“I know that there will be challenges ahead, but I feel I now possess the skills to overcome them. I’m looking forward to using my experience to support others who have problems with alcohol misuse.”

Stan Boaler, Pennine Care Mental Health Service Director, said: “We are delighted about the success of RAID and are proud of what is proving to be an invaluable service.

“We have been working with our NHS partners for some time to reduce the need for people to be admitted to hospital, or to reduce the amount of time people spend there. The RAID Service is playing a key role in helping us achieve this.

“It is also delivering numerous other benefits for local people, the NHS and the staff it employs. We look forward to building on the successes of the last few months.”

The service is delivered at several hospitals across the area, including The Royal Oldham Hospital and Fairfield General Hospital. The Accident and Emergency element is also delivered at Rochdale’s Urgent Care Centre. These are all run by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Since its launch, the RAID Service has supported hospital staff to ensure that people can be safely discharged from hospital more quickly; reduced demand on A&E and other hospital services and improved people’s experience of the NHS and their overall health and wellbeing.

Feedback from both patients and hospital staff has also been overwhelmingly positive.

These achievements were the focus of a recent event, attended by RAID staff, GPs and representatives from local hospital trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups.

They heard real life stories from people who have benefitted from RAID and also had the opportunity to shape the future of the service.

Steve Taylor is Divisional Director for Medicine and Community Services at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

He said: "Both our patients and clinical staff in our hospitals are benefiting greatly from the mental health support provided through the psychiatry liaison service.

“Many patients in hospital experience mental health issues and this newly introduced service is helping patients get the appropriate support they need promptly. As part of this service, the hospital teams are being educated and trained on how best to assess, treat and care for patients with mental health issues.

“This is a very good example of local health professionals from differing specialities working together to improve services and better meet the needs of patients."

Dr Chris Duffy, local GP and Chair of NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We were already aware of the positive impact of the RAID Service is having on reducing demand on A&E and helping ensure people are discharged from hospital safely, but were recently able to appreciate the real difference it is making to people’s lives.

“Hearing real life stories from those who have benefited from the service brought home how important it is for people’s wellbeing that they receive this sort of support alongside any medical treatment.”

The RAID Service is an 18-month pilot project that launched in October 2012 and will run until March 31 2014. Pennine Care is working with local NHS organisations with the aim of securing permanent funding for the initiative.