Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust has published its annual report for 2021/22, which details its successes over the past year along with continuing ambitions and improvement aims, including its digital strategy.
The report set out four key aims to reduce health inequalities, improve outcomes for service users, eliminate unwarranted variations and create a more sustainable workforce model.
To begin, the report expresses its theme of ‘partnership’, highlighting the one-year anniversary of the trust and neighbouring mental health trust Barnet, Enfield, and Haringey (BEH) partnership. It notes that the partnership has built a strong working relationship that has made a “real and positive difference” to its current service users, residents, and staff.
It moves on to detail how the partnership has benefitted residents with a new model of community services, which encompass the five boroughs of North Central London (NCL). This includes a specialist service for those suffering from PTSD, personality disorders and complex depression amongst others.
In July 2021 a three-year £25 million transformation programme began which has seen community and crisis services organised into newly-developed Camden and Islington divisions, which include services such as Perinatal Mental Health Services, iCope and the Recovery College.
The report also indicates that the trust’s digital approach to its services has improved, with investment into new technology for new buildings continued, digital systems upgraded to support staff and a service user tablet loan scheme launched.
One of the priorities highlighted is the need for a single-bed management process across the two organisations, to support bed capacity management. The report states that the trust will soon have a digital system to assist with this priority.
Further on, the report highlights the launch of a digital inclusion scheme. The scheme aims to deliver a course for students wishing to learn digital literacy called ‘Discovering the digital world – tools to improve your wellbeing’, furthering the community’s understanding of the role digital can play in their health. The local college has also introduced a new course, co-produced with the Perinatal service, entitled ‘Self-compassion for parents’ which had been successfully delivered to the students.
The report moves on to detail another division, iCope, which provides three improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) services. It describes how more than 15,800 people entered a course of treatment with iCope during 2021/22. During the period covered in the report, iCope continued to deliver interventions remotely using online video sessions, phone calls and existing digital programmes.
Key areas of focus in the past year have included, delivering new WiFi installations, data networks across its six sites, the launch of the tablet loan scheme to reduce digital exclusion, the introduction of HealtheIntent an NCL platform that allows staff and the wider community to view of patient records, and the introduction of DIALOG+ a care-planning tool.
For the trust’s priorities for the coming year it includes establishing an innovations pathway that aims to support the delivery of its clinical strategy. It also has plans to introduce a ‘trust integration engine’ which will enable the integration of all clinical systems at work and will, over time, lead to more optimal workflows and reduce duplication of data across different systems.
The report then goes on to talk about its interactive engagement, noting that “in response to the pandemic, many engagement activities have continued to be delivered virtually and through electronic channels.” This has increased the usage of social media platforms, such as Twitter, to communicate key messages to its members.
To facilitate this and continue to offer support to its service users, carers, and the wider community, the role of Digital Inclusion Manager was introduced. This has allowed the trust to support individuals with devices and equipment offering training and assistance in how to use them effectively.
For the full report, click here.
