King’s Health Partners project shortlisted for the HSJ Partnership Awards

King’s Health Partners is delighted to announce its Integrating our Mental and Physical Healthcare Systems (IMPHS) project has been shortlisted for Best Mental Health Partnership with the NHS at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2022. The award recognises the project’s outstanding contribution to healthcare in collaboration with Consultant Connect – in what has been an exceptional and challenging period across the sector.

Following the intense and in-depth judging process, IMPHS was shortlisted ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held on 24 March 2022. Standing out amongst tough competition from hundreds of other exemplary applicants, IMPHS was selected based on its ambition, visionary spirit and the vital improvements it’s made to the physical healthcare of people with serious mental illness.

In 2019, King’s Health Partners Mind & Body Programme received funding from Maudsley Charity to deliver the IMPHS project at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). The project focusses on improving the physical healthcare of people with serious mental illness through research, service development, and education and training. It was found that colleagues in mental health inpatients services at SLaM felt they were spending too much time trying to get into contact with colleagues in partner organisations to obtain physical health advice for their patients and service users. In response, Consultant Connect was introduced to help streamline communications by connecting mental health clinicians with specialist physicians at both Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts, who can provide advice on managing physical health conditions across SLaM in community and inpatient mental health services.

Consultant Connect serviceSince Consultant Connect was introduced in 2020, clinicians at SLaM have sought advice and guidance more than 1,400 times from more than 50 specialisms from colleagues at Guy’s and St Thomas’s and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. In 70% of recorded cases, the conversation with a specialist meant SLaM clinicians could treat their patient’s physical health condition without the need for a hospital referral or admission.

Ray McGrath, lead nurse for King’s Health Partners IMPHS comments:

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for Best Mental Health Partnership with the NHS. Our staff across King’s Health Partners have dedicated themselves to finding really impactful and out-the-box solutions for their mental health patients and service users. This is a testament to the success of Consultant Connect, the Mind and Body Programme and IMPHS and our commitment to delivering rounded, whole-person care and outcomes that matter most to patients and service users. This nomination has been a tremendous boost to staff across King’s Health Partners and I am sure it will bolster our continued efforts to improve physical healthcare of people with serious mental illness.

 Jonathan Patrick, CEO at Consultant Connect said:

Consultant Connect is proud to work with IMPHS in facilitating vital improvements for physical health support at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. In 70% of cases, the service has resulted in SLaM clinicians treating their patient’s physical health condition without the need for a hospital referral, transfer, or admission. This work has been particularly vital during the COVID-19 pandemic as it became important to avoid unnecessary transfers between hospitals due to increased infection risk. We are thrilled that this important work has been recognised by the HSJ Partnership Awards.

The full list of nominees for the HSJ Partnership Awards 2022 can be found here.

The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Westminster Park Plaza, London on 24 March 2022.