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An integrated mental health service 

The Liverpool Step Forward Service is a new Mersey Care integrated mental health offer that launches on 5 October 2020. Part of the remit of our service is to support mental health more effectively in primary care by integrating mental health expertise alongside physical health interventions in primary care, working with integrated care teams (ICTs). Through the co-location of mental health specialists in primary care, integration of mental health into these teams will ensure faster access to mental health interventions and stronger links between general practice, community services and mental health specialists.

Who are we

  • Community based psychosocial service supporting the alignment of community mental health teams with primary care networks
  • Part of the integrated pathway step up step down mode
  • A range of practitioners: clinical psychologists, psychological practitioners and assistant psychologists working within Liverpool ICTs
  • Part of the enhanced Life Rooms offer engaging with voluntary, community and social enterprise colleagues and service
  • Developing pathways with key services such as single point of access, improved access to psychological therapies (IAPT), secondary mental health services etc. in order to provide a seamless patient journey.

Who do we serve

  • Commissioned to deliver services to people aged 18 upwards including interventions for older adults (65+) where presentation is considered functional (non-organic) in nature
  • Will consider input for anyone who presents with common mental health problems whose difficulties are considered of greater complexity than would be typically seen in IAPT services but whose complexity would not be considered to meet secondary care threshold
  • Typical presentations of patients may include:
    • Complex trauma
    • Emotional and behavioural dysregulation (emerging personality disorder)
    • Medically unexplained symptoms
    • Moderate or chronic self- harming (but not severe or life threatening self-harm)
    • Difficulties with managing emotions safely.

What will we do

  • Provide clinical psychological/psychosocial formulations and interventions
  • Advise and support primary care and ICT partners in case management
  • Strive to improve transition management and planning
  • Offer three pathways within our service:
    • Pathway 1: consultation with GP/ICT
    • Pathway 2: joint work undertaken with the primary care mental health team (PCMHT)
    • Pathway 3: psychological therapies pathway.

Where are we based

  • Base (for communication purposes) is: Lifehouse, Summers Road, Brunswick Business Park, Liverpool, L3 4BL (NB: we are currently offering mainly remote digital appointments
  • Core hours of service are Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm.

How can we be engaged

  • Step Forward clients remain under the care of their GPs whilst accessing our interventions. We want to work alongside GPs to support GP and patient
  • All requests for services are processed using the managed referral via the ICT multi disciplinary teams. Use ‘Primary care mental health team referral form’ on EMIS and send to EMIS ICT Org (29233).

Colleagues from the PCMHT will tell you more about the service over the coming weeks. Both PCMHTs and Step Forward Service are available for informal discussions around patients you might consider appropriate. For further information on the service please contact:

 

 

 

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
V7 Building, Kings Business Park
Prescot, Liverpool
L34 1PJ
Tel: 0151 473 0303

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