How do we best address imbalances in mental health care systems? That is the key question being asked through a major new research program being launched in the South West.
The five-year £11million initiative will explore why care and support services for people with mental health problems are not working as effectively and efficiently as they could, and how experiences for individuals, communities and staff could be improved.
Through this, the program team intends to develop and test solutions that ensure people are able to get the help they need, when they need it.
The program is one of five additional Mental Health Research Groups (MHRGs) being created through an investment of almost £55million by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).
It is being led by researchers at the University of Plymouth’s Community and Primary Care Research Centre (CPCRC) , part of the Peninsula Medical School , working with colleagues from the School of Psychology , the Plymouth Business School and CIDER – Cornwall Intellectual Disability Equitable Research . The program also involves academic partners from the NIHR ARC South West Peninsula (PenARC) , the University of Exeter, Kings College London, the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, and the McPin Foundation.
The Mental Health Research Group will involve people accessing mental health services and community groups providing mutual support, as well as voluntary sector organisations and social and primary care providers. The four main NHS mental healthcare organisations – Livewell South West, the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Devon Partnership NHS Trust and Cornwall Foundation Trust – are also key partners.
This broad partnership will work together to agree priorities and to design the research. This collaborative embedded way of working is designed to ensure a focus on problems on the ground so that results can be fed back rapidly to decision makers and put into practice.
