Following ‘No Longer a Diagnosis of Exclusion’, 11 community PD services were set up in 2004 as pilot projects for the government’s personality disorder initiative. They underwent formal evaluation in their first two years, funded by the Service Delivery Organisation (SDO) of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) conducted by Imperial College and published as ‘Learning the Lessons’. Since then, all the projects have survived and continue to offer valuable services in their local areas.
It was widely recognised that the projects – all quite different from each other – were responsible for considerable innovation in clinical and organisational practice, and the early research only partially captured this. In view of the impending end of many government programmes, the PD team decided to undertake an in-depth clinical review to mark the end point of the Department of Health’s coordination of the services. This took place between January and March 2011, with a team of three (researcher, clinician and service user) visiting all the sites to gather data from providers and service users. The methodology used was specifically designed to evaluate the services for ‘QIPP’ (Quality, Innovation, Productivity, Prevention); this framework is extensively used throughout the NHS for ensuring quality is maintained in the face of reduced revenue.
The projects have all identified strong claims to be achieving ‘QIPP’ – particularly innovation. They have therefore now established themselves as an Innovation Network, and each centre will be known as an Innovation Centre – please see our list below.
Berkshire Innovation Centre (Complex Needs Service):
Buckinghamshire Innovation Centre(Complex Needs Service):
Cambridge Innovation Centre (Complex Cases Services):
Camden & Islington Innovation Centre:
Colchester Innovation Centre (The Haven):
Cumbria Innovation Centre (Itinerant TC):
Coventry Innovation Centre (The Olive Tree):
Leeds Innovation Centre (Managed Clinical Network):
North East London Innovation Centre:
Nottinghamshire Innovation Centre (Mandala Centre):
Oxfordshire Innovation Centre (Complex Needs Service):
Plymouth Innovation Centre (IceBreak in The Zone youth centre):
South West London Innovation Centre (Service User Network):
Thames Valley Innovation Centre:
The results of the detailed clinical review will be written up as two reports: the first a short official communication to demonstrate how the Innovation Centres are performing against the QIPP framework; the second an attractive and accessible ‘source book’ for all those with an interest in suitable services for people diagnosable with personality disorder. It will help service users understand what to expect of a good services; it will show planners and commissioners what they need to understand in developing good services; and it will help clinicians and referrers understand how such services work. It is anticipated that both will be published on this website and available in hard copy in Summer 2011.
After the launch of the reports, the Innovation Network is expected to grow to incorporate new members – existing and developing community PD services – and become a valuable resource, and voice within the field. This website will become the definitive source of information about it, and a main tool for dissemination, learning and collaboration. It is worth noting that.
- This list of services only covers England (services in the rest of the UK will be invited to join later in 2011)
- The funding for the 2004 pilots only covers 9% of the English population. Although other services have been established elsewhere, it is probably still less than 25%.
- This website will track the improvement in this figure, through the information available in the ‘services’ section