The tabs below share the latest news, progress and information relating to PROSPECT
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.
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
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
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.
PROSPECT Role: PROSPECT Lead for Quality
Start Date: March 2022
What is your background?
I qualified as Mental Health Nurse 21 years ago and have worked in and around mental health, learning disability and autism services. I have a diploma in mental health nursing, a BSc in Health and Social Care Practice, and an MSc in Advanced Practice in Forensic Mental Health from the University of Manchester. My roles have focused predominantly on complex risk, criminal justice and offender health, and I have worked in and around non-health systems including Prison, Police Custody and Criminal Courts.
What is your role with PROSPECT Provider Collaborative?
I have strategic oversight of quality, patient safety and governance across the PROSPECT Partnership, and from a commissioner perspective. This means I work collaboratively to ensure that services delivered are of a high standard and that patient experience, learning and improvement are fundamental to the delivery of services.
My role is made up of a few key areas, including:
- The development of governance structures to underpin quality processes across the PROSPECT Partnership
- Delivering quality assurance through provider, service user and carer engagement, review of data, site visits, and communication with partners across the wider system
- Supporting quality improvement initiatives with each of our provider partners and promoting collaboration in quality improvement across the wider partnership
What does a day in the life of PROSPECT’s Quality Lead look like?
Variety is the spice of life they say, and each day is different with activity and attendance at meetings related to commissioning, safeguarding, patient safety, quality improvement and service development. Data review and interpretation is a regular action for a quality lead, creating an understanding of key themes and trends across the Partnership. Governance and developing the processes that underpin PROSPECT’s frameworks for quality, collaborative commissioning and service delivery as part of a Lead Provider Collaborative are foundational aspects of the role.
What are your current priorities?
Ongoing governance review, continued engagement with partners across PROSPECT and the wider system, and work on the host commissioner guidance and forum. PSIRF is now being implemented by our partners across the LPC effectively, and we have progressed with the PROSPECT commissioner oversight Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which we hope to have agreed with each provider partner this month.
What are the main challenges in your role?
I think the main challenge is the wider system architecture and maturity. The commissioning landscape is currently evolving, which can make the system difficult to navigate. There’s also so much good work going on across the Partnership, as well as some areas that we could really look to enhance. It is important to create the time to share best practice and work together to build on improvements.
What would you say is your biggest achievement to date as Quality Lead?
I think my biggest achievement has been the development of commissioner-led incident review panels, which required partner engagement from each of the three partner organisations, and the creation of a robust set of principles and structures. This process is now evolving in response to PSIRF and feels like its maturing well and supporting learning, improvement and proportionate oversight and I’m proud that as a collective we have been able to responsively build this successfully.
What’s one thing that people may not know about you?
The actor Pete Postlethwaite was my Godfather.
Name: Dr Alex Cookson
PROSPECT role: Learning Disability and/or Autism Clinical Advisor
Start date: September 2023
What is your clinical background?
I have worked with people with learning disabilities since I was around 13 years old, and as far as I remember I have always wanted to work in learning disability services.
As part of my Doctorate, one of my placements was cancelled which meant I was able to undertake a 12 month placement at Whalley and my second placement was also 12 months working in children learning disability services. Given that I knew that learning disability services was the specialist pathway I wanted to work in, this was ideal for me!
I started my career in Mersey Care in 2007 working in learning disability community services, and I have remained part of Mersey Care ever since. My experience as a Clinical Psychologist has been wide ranging working across the community learning disability service, as well as spending time working into what was the Liverpool Aspergers team on a sessional basis and providing training and consultation across the Trust.
Currently I work into the learning disability service as a consultant clinical psychologist and work privately, offering specialist assessment and interventions to people who are Autistic and/or have a learning disability.
I am also the Associate Director for Learning Disabilities and Autism for the Trust, with a key role in developing and delivering the trust strategic intentions and priorities for autistic people and people with a learning disability.
What is your role with PROSPECT Provider Collaborative?
The Learning Disability and/or Autism (LDA) Clinical Advisor role is new to PROSPECT and will be delivered on a rotational basis across the Partnership.
My remit is to provide subject matter expertise, consultation and advice around patient’s care and treatment, as well as the wider system in which we’re working. I see the role as being a critical friend to partners in the collaborative to help identify where there may be blocks or barriers and support the identification of ways to overcome them. I also offer quality assurance from clinical perspective, both within the PROSPECT commissioning team and across the wider partnership.
What have been your priorities for the first few months in post?
As it’s a new role, one of the key priorities has been thinking about where the role fits and is best placed, and to start providing an immediate supportive role to the PROSPECT team and wider collaborative.
I’ve also been able to start providing a second clinical opinion for complex patients, supporting the wider system with regards to formulation of need and clinical pathways.
What are the challenges in your new role?
I think one of the biggest challenges relates to the amount of change within all parts of the system currently which can make the landscape difficult to navigate. This can present challenges in understanding how we can shape and influence decision making at both a local and regional level system, as well as understanding who the key people are and how we can achieve connectivity with other Clinical Advisors.
We also know that there are gaps in the current provision across the system, for example there is a lack of a clearly defined secure pathway for adults who are autistic only; some patients with an autism only diagnosis will be able to well supported in mainstream services with reasonable adjustments, but for some patients we know that the environment does not meet their needs and a specialist service may be needed. There’s a big piece of system work needed to understand what that specific model of care needs to look like.
What do you hope to achieve in your role?
I want to provide a good understanding of what the role of Clinical Advisor should be and how best to utilise this role moving forward. I am aiming to use my time in role to help shape and influence new and emerging pathways, as well as supporting the system to have made progress around a service model for autistic adults.
What’s one thing that people may not know about you?
I don’t think that too many people know that I am a purple belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu. I love the outlet that training gives me and really enjoy it!
Start date: September 2023
Remmy 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.