This is the first in a quarterly series that will share news, progress and information relating to PROSPECT LPC

PROSPECT LPC are the commissioners of Cheshire and Merseyside adult secure mental health and learning disability services. We aim to use resources effectively to meet the needs of patients to ensure they are placed in the least restrictive and most appropriate placement, as close to home as possible, whilst managing the demand and overseeing the quality for the services we commission.

Our plans for the next three months can be broken down into the following areas of activity:

  • Lived Experience Charter Status
  • Service developments
  • Quality

The Lived Experience Charter is an award that providers of NHS England Health and Justice services and integrated systems can apply to complete and receive.  Having Lived Experience Charter ‘status’ will demonstrate that organisations have quality standards, best practices, and a commitment to improving the inclusive recruitment and retention practices of people with lived experience.  

The Lived Experience Charter breaks down barriers, challenges unconscious bias, and negative assumptions about the recruitment of people with lived experience and creates systemic change across organisations. 

The LPC would like to encourage its Providers to apply for Charter status, but in the first instance the PROSPECT LPC commissioning team has been accepted for completion of the process. It is believed that this will support the team’s reflection on the recruitment processes that have been tried and tested for the PROSPECT Internship and sessional Project Support Worker roles and look to formalise the approach to recruitment of people with lived experience going forwards.  

We have until January 2024 to complete our evidence submission.

An overview of the service developments that PROSPECT LPC have invested in has been described in the following video.

Prison Pathway Team

This team has been jointly commissioned as a 2-year pilot by PROSPECT LPC and NHS England North West Health and Justice Commissioners. The team aims to be a bridge between local prison services and secure mental health services, supporting staff, prisoners and patients with the transition and pathways between prisons and hospital.

Plans for implementation are being developed by Mersey Care, and recruitment is due to start imminently.

Cheshire and Merseyside LDA Specialist Community Forensic Team

We now have a multi-disciplinary team working across this area funded by PROSPECT and the Integrated Care Board. This jointly funded service will enhance the support available in the community for people with learning disabilities and/or autism and will aim to reduce the number of people that need to be admitted to hospital. 

Please see the dedicated drop down below to learn more about this service and meet the team leader.

Our usual quality oversight activities will continue as normal, but we have a number of projects and key workstreams that will also be progressing in the next few months.

NHSE bid monies

PROSPECT LPC and our partners have been successful in bidding for NHSE funding for initiatives which focused on improving patient care, pathways, services or environments. The initiatives that will be led by the LPC include projects to:

  • Develop peer support to enhance physical health improvements;
  • Improve provision for patients with Autism Spectrum Condition in secure services;
  • Improve the quality and standardisation of approach to undertaking external long term segregation reviews.

The projects will be initiated by early 2024, with progress reported into the PROSPECT governance structure.

Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) Implementation The PSIRF will replace the current Serious Incident Framework and represents a significant shift in the way the NHS responds to patient safety incidents.

PROSPECT LPC’s three Providers are at different stages in their implementation of the new PSIRF, and as Commissioners we’re working with our Providers to understand their

implementation plans and how assurance will be received. Over the next few months, we will continue to work closely with Providers, adapting to challenges that arise, to ensure that we have oversight of patients’ safety.

Start date: September 2023

REMMY.jpgRemmy is the newest member of the PROSPECT Commissioning Team and is undertaking an Internship role which aims to give a local young person with lived experience of the care system experience of the NHS and an opportunity to develop work-based skills.

We spoke to Remmy about his role and what parts of the opportunity interested him most.

What is your role with PROSPECT Provider Collaborative?

I started my Internship in mid-September and since then I have been completing induction learning, and supporting the team with the development of a newsletter and updating data sets such as tracking the discharge trajectories of patients.

The role will be varied so I have the chance to see different parts of working in the NHS and Mersey Care.

Why did you apply for the Intern position?

I applied for this role to get hands on experience of working in a role in the NHS and to learn more about the NHS generally. I want to help people so I thought it was a good chance to get an overview of different services and roles which will help me to decide what I’d like to do for my future career. Earning a salary whilst gaining this experience has also really boosted my confidence.  

What have you been enjoying about your new role?

I have really enjoyed lots of elements of my new role. I love the flexibility of working from different bases, and have liked getting to know my new colleagues, seeing where I can help and learning new skills. It has been good to challenge myself and get used to a new routine.

What are the challenges in your new role?

It has been a huge learning experience coming into a new role. English is my second language so there has been a language gap, but my understanding and confidence is growing all of the time. Getting used to terminology and understanding the services was the biggest challenge over the first few weeks.

What do you hope to achieve in your new role?

My main aim is to develop my skills, experience and confidence. I am looking forward to supporting the service user engagement work that the team is setting up. I also really want to see how I can help and inspire other young people with lived experience like mine.  

What’s one thing that people may not know about you?

Outside of work I like to play football. I am a huge Manchester United and Saint George FC fan. I started supporting United when I was 7 after my Uncle gave me a United shirt as a present and I have loved them ever since.

In the next update, we’ll introduce the new Prison Pathway Team and meet other members of the PROSPECT team.