Birmingham and Solihull ICB has proposed new plans for the region’s Children and Young People Mental Health Transformation Programme, outlining suggested changes to service delivery with the aim of improving access to mental health care and highlighting digital innovation as a “major vehicle for change”.
Through the plan, the ICB identifies a need to “work better and smarter” to tackle health inequalities, improve community outcomes and respond to developments in technology. Digital solutions will be “key” to help by providing preventative and educational tools, the ICB adds, as well as online advice for service users, families and the workforce.
As part of this, digital means are to form part of a new model of mental health care, with Birmingham and Solihull confirming that this model will encompass use of digital to streamline ways of working. Examples given include use of online appointment booking, electronic referrals and online self-help.
Birmingham and Solihull pledges to continue to work with staff to understand how the workforce wants to utilise digital opportunities to improve care, develop their skills, and enhance the systems they use. This will see the ICB “proactively focus on joint workforce programmes to upskill the collective workforce,” the plan states, “rather than operate in silos.”
The proposals are open to feedback until 22 November, with the ICB collecting comments and views to shape any future adjustments.
Mental health in the spotlight
As part of our recent feature series focusing on digital mental health, HTN shared a report on the topic including key updates in this space over the last few months, research into engagement challenges and user attitudes around digital mental health tech, and more. Click here to read.
Looking to other strategies, we explored the three-year plan to improve mental health services from NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, which highlight the role of data as a “key enabler” in realigning services so that inpatient provision better fits the needs of the population.
Other news in this space has included University College London partnering with YouTube Health to improve access and quality of mental health information on the site; NHS 111 service expanding to include a 24/7 single point of access for mental health support; and NHS Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull Talking Therapies launching a referrals chatbot and mental health app.
Also from the region
Looking to other news and insights from the wider region, in the summer we interviewed Martin Sadler, executive director of information technology and digital at Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust, for a chat about some of the trust’s recent digital projects and priorities, including considerations for launching a new hospital and how AI is used in radiology.
We explored the annual plan from Birmingham Community Healthcare, looking in particular at a a key priority to become “a more digitally-enabled and information-driven organisation”.
And we looked at Birmingham and Solihull ICS’s 10-year strategy here, focusing on the role of data in tackling inequalities, identifying opportunities for intervention, and enhancing understanding of areas of shared priority.
