Our research and innovation projects

The HOPE(S) model is an ambitious human rights-based approach to working with individuals in segregation developed from research and clinical practice. 

The clinical model was developed by Mersey Care and reduces the use of long-term segregation sometimes experienced by autistic adults, adults with a learning disability and children and young people. 

We are conducting a research study called ‘A mixed methods research study to co-develop a forensic learning disability clinical model and care pathway’.   

The study aims to inform the development of a clinical model and care pathway to ensure that an effective discharge pathway is expedited leading to better outcomes for people with learning disabilities with a forensic history, their families/carers, and staff working in inpatient health services providing care for these individuals.  

The objectives are:  

• To identify evidence-based characteristics of models of care (including what works/challenges/recommendations)
• To explore experiences/accounts of practice, including that of professionals, patients, people with lived experience and their family members/carers
• To bring together professionals and people with lived experience to identify and agree on components of a model and recommendations for practice.  

More information will be published about the research study in due course. 

Mersey Care aims to find new ways to reach local people that we may not have done before with information about mental health support and suicide prevention.  

BarberTalk is a short training session for local barbers, hairdressers, and beauticians to enable them to spot the signs of someone suffering with their mental health and be the support that person needs. The idea is not to make them into counsellors or psychiatrists but to help them provide a safe non-judgmental space to share, open up and or offload and be able to signpost them to support if needed.  

If you are a barber, hairdresser or beautician interested in participating in future BarberTalk training please contact Joleen Shaw in Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Safe from Suicide Team at Research.department@merseycare.nhs.uk.  

 In spring 2024, we also hosted a Safe Space pop-up hairdressing event in partnership with the charity The Lions Barber Collective and Everton in the Community. It provided a chance for residents to get a free haircut, have an open conversation about their mental health and take away a goody bag which includes a range of useful information about local and national mental health services and charities. The aim was to encourage attendees to talk about mental health and get information on the support services available.  

Please note these projects were funded with support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Clinical Research Network North West Coast.  

Clozapine is the only effective antipsychotic for schizophrenia that has not responded to other medication. Clozapine has a high burden though of side-effects including hypersalivation (excessive drooling) experienced by up to 85%.

This study aims to answer the research question - are either hyoscine or glycopyrrolate medication more efficacious than placebo in the treatment of clozapine induced hypersalivation (CIH) and which is associated with fewer cognitive and other side-effects? Find out more on the NIHR website.

First Episode Psychosis is when a person experiences psychotic symptoms (for example hallucinations and delusions) for the first time. Standard NHS care helps to treat psychotic symptoms, but young people may still struggle to return to previous social and work roles.  Researchers think this could be related to depression experienced after First Episode Psychosis.  

The aim of the ADEPP trial is to establish the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of an antidepressant medication (sertraline) for the prevention of a depressive episode following first episode psychosis.  This trial is run by the University of Birmingham and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust are a recruiting site. 

We organise research groups to encourage involvement and engagement in research activities in services and professions across the trust to improve outcomes for our service users. They include:  

• Learning disabilities and autism research  

• Pressure ulcers research  

• Patient reported outcomes measures (PROMS) 

• Telehealth research programme  

• Brain Stimulation research group 

• Suicide prevention research  

• Perinatal mental health  

• Social work research group 

• Older adult services and dementia research  

• Immersive, virtual and augmented reality clinical applications.

If you have a question about our research groups, you can contact research.department@merseycare.nhs.uk.  

We are leading the Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast (ARC NWC) organisation in research internships applications to build research capacity, with a total of 10 interns successfully enrolled with ongoing Trust support. 

A successful ARC NWC research Internship was awarded in 2023/24 to a clinical pharmacist in a specialist perinatal service. Most of our internships have been to support our allied health professionals gain research experience and support. 

Our Research and Innovation team have attended and presented at several external academic conferences including:  

• CANDDID (Centre for Autism, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Intellectual Disability) 
• Let’s Talk Research’ (NHS Research and Development NW) ‘Coproduction. 

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Pictured above: Research Practitioner Michaela Thomson at the CANDDID Stakeholder Conference.