PROSPECT news updates

PROSPECT have three Project Support Workers employed as part of the team, who have lived experience of the services we provide. They are using their insights and experiences to shape our commissioning activity, inform our priorities and lead on our engagement activities with service users, carers and staff.

Since being in post, the Project Support Workers have focused on work around:

• Providing feedback on their experience of the recruitment process and making recommendations for adjustments for recruiting lived experience roles
• Leading engagement with service users and carers to set the Cheshire and Mersey plan for the Women’s Secure Pathway Transformation programme
• Supporting the review of care plans

For 2025/26 the aim of our Project Support Workers is to start leading on elements of the team’s quality activity. They will start attending quality visits that we undertake of all of our services, and lead on discussions with patients and staff so we have a robust understanding of what is working well in our services and what can be improved.

 Women’s Pathway Transformation Programme

The Women’s Secure Pathway Transformation Programme is a national piece of work which aims to transform the pathways, care and treatment for women’s secure services. Services will be transformed through engagement and evidence-based research, by being trauma-informed, flowing effectively and incorporating effective individualised routine and meaningful and therapeutic activities that ultimately meet the needs of women.

There are 4 national priority areas for 2025/26 which focus on:

• Development of national service specifications
• Development and implementation support for local areas
• Implementation of a Clinical Advisory Panel to share best practice and recommendations

Development of a national evidence repository.

PROSPECT is responsible for the local implementation of the Women’s Secure Pathway Transformation Programme across Cheshire and Merseyside. We have undertaken engagement sessions with service users across our women’s services, identifying what they think is working well and what could be improved. This intelligence, along with data around demand, capacity and workforce, is being used to formulate the action plan for the local transformation activity.

The local workstreams will focus on:

• Engagement and co-production across all activity
• Developing commissioning intentions and pathway management processes for Cheshire and Merseyside women’s secure services

Transformation of the Learning Disability and/or Autism pathway and Step Down services.

• Workforce
• Models of Care
• Inpatient Standards and Environment

A full plan, with visions and objectives for each workstream, is expected to be developed by November 2025.

Cheshire and Merseyside Specialist Community Forensic Team

We are delighted to announce the launch of the new Specialist Community Forensic Team dedicated to serving individuals with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism across the Cheshire and Merseyside region.

This initiative is a joint commission by Cheshire and Merseyside ICB and Prospect Partnership, aligned with the Transforming Care programme and NHS Long Term Plan.

The Specialist Community Forensic Team’s purpose is to work alongside existing services to enhance the support provide to people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism where there are also significant forensic concerns. This includes people leaving prison, secure hospital placements and people based in the community where there is a risk of reoffending or readmission.

For further information please reach out to us on 01925 644 004 or cmscftlda@merseycare.nhs.uk

The introduction of a Single Point of Access has been a key aim for PROSPECT Lead Provider Collaborative. This system will enable referring teams to submit just one referral per patient to adult secure services in Cheshire and Merseyside, as well as supporting the clinical decision-making process.  

The new referral portal has been launched which enables the submission, triage and decision-making around referrals to be managed in a safe, secure and user-friendly way.

Making a referral to PROSPECT commissioned services

Access the new Single Point of Access system.

All new referrals for low and medium secure services will be submitted via the system. This includes:

• Aspen Wood – Mersey Care - male and female low secure learning disability services
• Alderley Unit - Cheshire and Wirral Partnership – male low secure learning disability service
• Rowan View – Mersey Care - male and female medium secure learning disability and mental illness services
• Saddlebridge - Cheshire and Wirral Partnership – male low secure mental illness service
• Rathbone – Mersey Care – male low secure mental illness service
• Chesterton – Mersey Care – female low secure mental illness service
• Marlowe – Mersey Care – male low secure mental illness service

Find out how to register and submit a referral using the system.

What are the intended outcomes of the new Single Point of Access system?

By introducing the new system, we aim to:

• Reduce the number of referrals that are submitted by referring teams – currently a separate referral form is sent to each service, whereas with the system one referral is submitted and can be moved across services as required
• Reduce duplication between referral and access assessment processes – data submitted on the referral form can be carried through to the access assessment form to prevent double data entry
• Gain oversight of the demand (number of referrals) and decision making / rationale across the PROSPECT Partnership
• Collate data to inform commissioning intentions and understand service compliance with national specifications

Support

If you need help or support completing the online referral form or have any other queries or problems, please contact the PROSPECT team by emailing prospect@merseycare.nhs.uk.   

PROSPECT Sets Ambitious Agenda for Mental Health and Learning Disability Services (2025-2027)

The PROSPECT Lead Provider Collaborative has launched its commissioning intentions for 2025–2027, setting out a transformative roadmap for secure mental health, learning disability, and autism services across Cheshire and Merseyside.

The strategy builds on the collaborative’s achievements since it assumed commissioning responsibilities from NHS England in 2021. PROSPECT has made significant strides in reducing inpatient stays, enhancing community-based care, and minimising out-of-area placements.

Benefits realised to date

PROSPECT’s progress has been underpinned by a series of innovations in clinical practice, service design, and patient engagement. A co-produced clinical model guides decision-making across the partnership, supported by a standardised access assessment and multidisciplinary admission panels. These changes have streamlined referrals and reduced duplication, drift, and delay.

A major milestone has been the implementation of a Single Point of Access Portal, enabling electronic referrals and improving transparency and efficiency. Quality assurance processes have also been embedded, ensuring consistent oversight across services.

In terms of patient pathways, the impact has been tangible:

• Male medium secure unit (MSU) waiting lists have been cut by 50% since December 2024.
• The number of secure beds in use for Cheshire and Merseyside patients has dropped by 43 since July 2022, and the use of independent sector beds has decreased by 23 since November 2021.
• Out-of-area placements have been reduced from 12 to 4, with further repatriations planned.
• For patients with the longest stays in male MSU mental illness services, discharge times have shortened by an average of 10 months.

Service developments have also been a key focus. The Specialist Community Forensic Team (SCFT) for mental illness has been recurrently funded following a successful pilot, and the Cheshire and Merseyside Learning Disability and/or Autism SCFT has been jointly funded by PROPSECT and the Transforming Care Partnership. These teams support high-risk discharges, unblock pathways, and enhance community oversight. The Prison Pathway Team has also been implemented, jointly funded with Health and Justice Commissioners, bridging the gap between prison and health systems, improving clinical prioritisation and reducing waiting times.

PROSPECT has also prioritised lived experience in its commissioning approach. Three Project Support Workers with personal experience of secure mental health services have been recruited, alongside an intern with care experience. This has strengthened engagement and co-production in both commissioning and quality assurance.

Commissioning intentions for 2025-2027

Looking ahead, PROSPECT’s commissioning intentions are shaped by national reforms, changing population needs, and ongoing transformation programmes. Key initiatives include:

• The Women’s Secure Pathway Transformation Programme, which aims to redesign services for women using a whole-person approach.
• Expansion of the HOPE(s) clinical model to support patients with mental illness.
• A refreshed commissioning plan for learning disability and autism services, addressing underoccupancy and adapting to diagnostic trends.
• Quality improvement initiatives focused on physical health, workforce development, research, and reducing restrictive practices.
• Evaluation of new services such as the Prison Pathway Team and SCFTs to inform future commissioning.

These intentions reflect PROSPECT’s commitment to responsive, inclusive, and data-driven service transformation—ensuring that secure care across Cheshire and Merseyside continues to evolve in line with national priorities and local needs.

The expected changes to the Mental Health Act are likely to significantly impact the scope and delivery of secure mental health and learning disability and/or autism services. The key changes for our services include, but are not limited to:

• limiting the length of time that people with a learning disability and/or autistic people can be detained under the act, if they do not have a co-occurring mental disorder that needs hospital treatment and have not committed a criminal offence;
• ending the use of police and prison cells for detaining someone experiencing a mental health crisis instead of getting them access to a facility where they can get the proper support, such as a hospital;
• speeding up transfers from prison to hospital by limiting the time it can take to transfer prisoners who need treatment in a mental health hospital to a maximum of 28 days.

We want our commissioning intentions to reflect the need to work towards achieving them across the partnership.