A service evaluation study of the impact of ageless policy in a London inner-city early intervention in psychosis service.

BACKGROUND: Schizophreniform disorders tend to have an early onset. Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services aim to provide early treatment, reduce long-term morbidity and improve social functioning. In 2016, changes to mental health policy in England mandated that the primarily youth-focused model should be extended to an ageless one, to prevent ageism; however, this was without strong research evidence. AIMS AND METHOD: An inner-city London EIP service compared sociodemographic and clinical factors between the under-35 years and over-35 years caseload cohorts utilising the EIP package following the implementation of the ageless policy. RESULTS: Both groups received similar care, despite the younger group having significantly more clinical morbidity and needs. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our results may indicate that service provisions are being driven by policy rather than clinical needs, potentially diverting resources from younger patients. These findings have important implications for future provision of EIP services and would benefit from further exploration.

Improving availability and accuracy of the junior doctors' on-call handover through digitalisation.

Clinical handovers from out-of-hours activity are essential for relaying information about events such as new admissions, outstanding or complete investigations, physical health reviews, ward jobs and risk. This information enables the day team to effectively prioritise and follow-up any necessary tasks.Junior doctors at a hospital site in the London Borough of Newham were aware that the existing handover system, constituted of a word document circulated via email, was lacking robustness and that the handover was not sent out reliably on a daily basis.Quality improvement (QI) methods including process mapping, PDSA ('Plan, Do, Study, Act') cycles, driver diagrams and run charts were used to understand the issue, create a more robust process and measure the improvements made, all supported by regular QI project meetings. The change ideas included moving from an informal Microsoft (MS) Word document, which was emailed out, to an Excel spreadsheet stored centrally on MS Teams. Column headers were added for admissions, ward jobs, seclusion reviews, matters relating to mental health law and Accident and Emergency (A&E) assessments, as well as defined columns for outstanding jobs and standard tasks that need to be completed for all admissions. Responsibility for circulating the handover list was given to the incoming day duty doctor if the night doctor was too busy, with admin support to chase the circulation of the handover. Results were studied for the following 18 months.The percentage of handovers being appropriately sent out increased from a median of 80% to 100% during the project period, and the availability of handover data where the data were visible to doctors on MS Teams but had not been sent out also increased from a median of 80% to 100%. The system was deemed safe, effective and easy to use, and has already been replicated at neighbouring hospitals.

[Transference focused psychotherapy and mentalization based treatment. Εvidence based psychotherapies for borderline personality disorder].

Over the past decades mental health services around the world are faced with a high number of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) which has resulted in a particular emphasis on research for specialist treatments for this class of disorders. At least 5 psychotherapeutic models are based on evidence from clinical trials that support their effectiveness. In this review we present the latest research evidence as well as a summary of the basic characteristics of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy and Mentalization Based Treatment, which are not yet widely used in Greece. The two modalities originate from the psychoanalytic tradition and they have various points of convergence and divergence with regards to their structure (individual, group, combined) the role of the therapist and their use of basic theoretical concepts (eg. attachment, aggression). Their descriptive presentation in the form of a treatment manual and the standardisation of their training model, makes them accessible for training therapists and allows their introduction in psychiatric training programmes. We present a clinical case as an example of the application of the two approaches, along with the clinical and research paradigm originating from DeanCross Personality Disorder Service in London and the Centre for Understanding Personality Disorder, in order to compare the basic theoretical and technical characteristics of the two therapeutic modalities in view of their unique application within one outpatient service in the community. DeanCross provides a mixed MBT model (group, individual) with psychiatric input, which has been updated by the introduction of TFP in individual and group formats. Our review aligns with the international current that does not regard the two models in competition with each other; instead, we present a successful paradigm of their compatibility and mutual enrichment. The successful introduction of these therapies in the British public healthcare system, which is similar in its characteristics to the Greek national health system, is an encouraging prognostic factor when it comes to the applicability of these models in the Greek paradigm. It is a necessary prerequisite that clinical and theoretical knowledge of services that care for populations with a high prevalence of BPD is updated, and the current review makes a contribution in this direction.

Transference-focused psychotherapy as an aid to learning psychodynamic psychotherapy: qualitative analysis of UK psychiatry trainees' views.

AIMS & METHOD: Learning psychotherapy can be difficult and stressful. We explore core trainees' (n = 5) views on undertaking a psychodynamic psychotherapy training case using transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP), in an East London NHS Foundation Trust supervision group. We used framework analysis of focus group interviews to examine trainees' concerns, their views about this experience and its impact on general psychiatric practice. RESULTS: Trainees described various concerns on starting: providing an effective intervention, insufficient experience and training-related pressures. However, they found that TFP addressed some of them and was helpful for learning psychodynamic psychotherapy. Difficulties around the countertransference remained at end-point. Trainees suggested that introductory teaching and learning through observation might be worthwhile. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Trainees' experience suggests that an evidence-based operationalised approach such as TFP can be integrated into the core psychiatry curriculum as a psychodynamic psychotherapy learning method. Trainees report benefits extending to other areas of their practice.