project update title

PURPOSE: DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED CARE PATHWAYS (ICPS) IN MENTAL HEALTH

Integrated Care Pathways were developed over 20 years ago and have been used widely in many areas of health care across the world.  There is an extensive evidence base for their effectiveness in improving the care provided to patients.  After wide consultation, NHS QIS adopted ICPs (together with a focus on service user outcomes and improving the use of information by mental health services) in its Mental Health Strategic Work Programme 2005 – 2008.

“An ICP determines locally agreed multidisciplinary practice, based on guidelines and evidence where available for a specific patient/client group. It forms all or part of the clinical record, documents the care given, and facilitates the evaluation of outcomes for continuous quality improvement.”
Definition by National Pathways Association, 1998

ICPs focus on achieving agreed outcomes for individual users of the service, working towards their recovery. They are a means of recording any variations from best practice and identifying gaps in the care of an individual. This variation analysis is the most important part of using ICPs and helps to develop a culture of continuous quality improvement.

In Delivering for Health (2005)
NHS QIS was tasked by the Scottish Executive Health Department to develop national standards for ICPs for:
        - Schizophrenia
        - Bi-polar disorder
        - Dementia
        - Depression
        - Personality disorder.

Dr Alastair Cook, Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Lanarkshire, is chair of the steering group that NHS QIS has set up to oversee and lead this work. The steering group is both multidisciplinary and multi-agency with service user, informal carer, and voluntary organisation input.

The aim of this group is to produce a framework for local ICP development and an accreditation system.

NHS Boards will develop local ICPs based on the standards for these conditions by 2008. This will be done with the close involvement of service users and their informal carers, together with partner agencies from local authorities and voluntary organisations. Implementation of the standards will be accredited by NHS QIS.
updated on 08/09/2006
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