Our commitment to whole person care
We’re transforming care in our mental health inpatient and learning disability wards by integrating physical health support alongside mental health treatment. This approach ensures that every patient receives proactive, preventative and responsive whole person care.
Why it matters
People with severe mental illness often face significant physical health challenges. Our new approach aims to:
- Improve management of long-term conditions
- Prevent avoidable deterioration
- Reduce unnecessary hospital transfers
- Enhance patient experience and staff confidence.
What’s changing?
The new model’s been fully tested and evaluated on five of our wards and will now be rolled out to all inpatient wards in Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley* via a phased implementation, ahead of winter, to ensure we get the right care, to the right person, at the right time.
The model of care provides:
- Proactive support models: community matrons, district nurses, telehealth and specialist services (diabetes, respiratory, pharmacy)
- Collaborative working: multidisciplinary team (MDT) principles embedded across inpatient and community services
- Digital integration: telehealth and remote monitoring for timely interventions
- Training and development: joint sessions to strengthen skills in physical health management.
Benefits for service users and staff
Our community physical health services, specifically urgent care, will provide these services and will significantly improve the physical health of our service users whilst in hospital with:
- Increased staff confidence in managing physical health
- Improved compliance with physical health checks
- Reduced delays in escalation and fewer avoidable hospital transfers
- Enhanced patient experience and outcomes.
Timeline
- September 2025: Baseline assessments and workforce engagement
- October/November 2025: Undertake detailed planning activities
- December 2025: Go Live in 11 wards
- January to April 2026: Full implementation across Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley
- May 2026: Final evaluation and sustainability planning.
*Planning in Halton, Warrington and St Helens where the Trust does not provide community physical health services, will involve collaboration with local partners to ensure equitable provision across the entire Trust footprint.