The event aimed to address challenges and identify opportunities to improve system flow for adults with mental health conditions. This has been an important workstream for the Cheshire and Merseyside system as we know that many people using mental health services are experiencing avoidable delays, especially when being discharged from hospital.
Simon Banks, Place Director for Wirral and Strategic Lead – Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, opened the event by welcoming delegates and highlighting opportunities for organisations to work together to improve quality and patient experience.
Simon reflected on the importance of partnership working which not only includes NHS organisations but also Local Authorities as many of the challenges experienced by people can be wider than their mental health needs and include housing issues that can be impacted by a prolonged and sometimes avoidable delays in hospital.
View Simon’s reflections on the event:
Delegates then heard from a range of speakers including Lesley Watts, Joint Chief Executive of both Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, as well as being the National lead for Discharge and Flow. Lesley gave a national perspective, shared opportunities for improvement, and commended Cheshire and Merseyside colleagues for their desire to achieve progress through collaboration. Lesley also urged system colleagues to share data and knowledge to ensure the needs of patients are always put first and to reduce variation.
View Lesley’s comments on the event:
Reflecting that long waits and delayed discharges can lead to unintentional harm being caused to patients, colleagues from the NHS England Regional Team gave an overview of what actions are being taken at local, regional and national levels to address timely mental health discharges and reduce unintentional harm.
From a provider perspective, Suzanne Edwards, Director of Operations / Deputy CEO, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS FT and Lyndsey Kelly, Divisional Deputy Director MH Inpatients, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust gave presentations from a mental health provider perspective highlighting mental health flow, the impact of remaining in hospital for those clinically ready for discharge as well as wider system impacts, and the areas of focus to support system flow.
Commenting at the event, Suzanne emphasised the importance of working in partnership especially with Local Authority colleagues to overcome barriers to effective discharge and to have a consistent improvement mindset to test different ways of working.
View Suzanne’s comments on the event:
This view was echoed by Jason Oxley, Director of Adult Social Care Operations at Liverpool City Council who commented that Local Authorities need to be fully involved in the whole care pathway to avoid the unintentional deconditioned of patients who are delayed in being discharged from NHS services to the most appropriate setting for their needs.
The event concluded with attendees taking part in an interactive workshop to identify professional standards and shared principles for joint working, as well as sharing ideas for meaningful actions and next steps that can be taken as a system to improve patient experience and outcomes for people with mental health needs.
Simon Banks, commenting on the event, said:
“This was a great opportunity to bring together colleagues from across our system to review our progress and to continue to push ahead with innovation and collaboration. I am really encouraged by the work we have done to date but recognise that there are still challenges ahead.
“I’m confident that by having continued focus on improving system flow we can make a real difference to the care and experience of people with mental health conditions in Cheshire and Merseyside.”
Content provided by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside.
Published on Wed, 11 Jun 2025 14:30:00 GMT
Modified on Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:09:27 GMT
