Integrating our mental and physical healthcare systems project (IMPHS)
About the project
Integrating our Mental and Physical Healthcare Systems (IMPHS) was a 3-year funded project commissioned by the Maudsley Charity that sits within the Mind & Body Programme at King’s Health Partners, hosted by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (FT), and delivered in partnership with King’s College London concluding in March 2023.
Read the IMPHS booklet here or watch our webinar below for an overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hVZgb_gI_k
IMPHS is great work – it is fantastic to see the emphasis on evaluation, sustainability, and lessons for implementation. We all know how hard this work is, and how much it matters.
- Dr Mary Jane Docherty, Deputy Medical Director, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Project aims
The project sought to:
- Understand barriers that adults living with long-term mental illnesses may face when managing their physical healthcare;
- Test and evaluate interventions that could better facilitate integrated mental and physical healthcare in routine practice for patients accessing services both now and in the future.
In doing so, the project aimed to develop a body of work that could be shared with healthcare staff, commissioners, organisations, patients and carers to support high quality physical healthcare for adults with long-term mental health problems.
Project legacy
This legacy page outlines the key outcomes, learnings and opportunities for improvement identified through delivery of the IMPHS project and has been written with clinical and non-clinical professionals in mind. Our hope in sharing our portfolio in this way, is to share evidence of a range of physical health interventions that could inform the work healthcare staff and organisations do to improve health outcomes for adults living with long-term mental illnesses.
Our portfolio
Feasibility trial where health champions volunteered to support adults with SMI develop personal health goals over a 9-month period.
Mixed methods study that investigated what digital technology adults with SMI use to manage their physical health and the benefits this has on personal wellbeing. (Mixed methods research combines elements of quantitative research and qualitative research in order to answer your research question)
Pilot project that launched an in-reach physical health clinic at Maudsley and Lambeth inpatient units.
Implementation and use of Consultant Connect as a communications platform to connect primary and secondary care services to better support physical health of common patients.
Physical Healthcare in Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) 
Service evaluation exploring barriers and facilitators that influence how physical healthcare is approached within South London and Maudsely NHS FT's Adult CMHTs.
Educational programme focused on developing a professional network of pharmacists across South London and Maudsley, King's College Hospital and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS FTs. Including co-development of webinars, and prescribing guidelines to support routine practice.
Coordination of the development and launch of the Beth app within South London and Maudsley NHS FT. Beth is an online platform designed to support easy integration of patient physical and mental healthcare
Research and evaluation
Evaluation of the IMPHS project was led by researchers from King’s College London – Centre for Implementation Science in collaboration with colleagues from King’s College London – Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience: Department for Psychosis Studies and the universities of East Anglia and Southampton.It is hoped that any changes we make to physical healthcare within South London and Maudsley NHS FT and its partner organisations, either by improving and integrating existing pathways and systems or through the adoption of new initiatives, will be of interest to other NHS Trusts and external organisations. We hope our work will be useful in planning for service development, and that it can be used to provide recommendations for future practice and research.
You can find out more about the project and our learnings by watching the webinar series here.
Acknowledgements
Our funders
Thank you to the Maudsley Charity for its continued support in delivery of the
IMPHs project since 2019. The Maudsley Charity works in partnership with South London and Maudsley NHS FT and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London to promote positive change in the world of mental health. They support innovation,
research and service improvement, working with patients and families, clinical care teams, researchers and community organisations with a common goal of improving mental health.
Our partners
Thank you to King’s Health Partners for its unwavering commitment to promoting integrating mind and body care, and the access this partnership has provided to be able to work collaboratively
with organisations (King’s Health Partners, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT, South London and Maudsley NHS FT and King’s College London), clinical services, teams, professionals, and experts by experience that have contributed significantly to the overall quality and outcomes of the IMPHS project.
With particular thanks to the following groups and organisations that have supported the IMPHS programme over the last three years
All the staff, service users and carers across South London and Maudsley NHS FT and King’s College Hospital for their time, expertise and involvement.
All our colleagues at the Centre for Implementation Science at King’s College London and Universities of East Anglia and Southampton. All our associates at the South London and Maudsley NHS FT Quality Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS FT Partners, the South London and Maudsley NHS FT Volunteer Network, UCL Partners, Oxleas NHS FT, the Centre for Mental Health, Equally Well and Consultant Connect.
Contact
To find out more about the IMPHS project, please contact us at imphs@slam.nhs.uk
