We are delighted to announce that the London Mental Health Dashboard, which launched October 2016, is shortlisted by for an HSJ Award for ‘Most effective adoption and diffusion of existing best practice’. The winner will be announced on Wednesday 22 November. 

The London Mental Health Dashboard is described as a one-stop data shop. It presents data at organisational, sustainability and transformation planning (STP) and London level. With the support of the mental health trusts and programme sponsors, the dashboard has reached 500 users across nearly 60 organisations. A live demonstration is taking place at this year’s Health & Care Innovation Expo on 12 September. George Howard (Mental Health Lead, Healthy London Partnership) and Stephen Watkins (Director, NHS Benchmarking Network) will lead an interactive workshop showing how it works.

The dashboard is the result of more than a year of work. In 2015, NHS England regional directors and executive teams of mental health trusts, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and social care agreed that the availability and accessibility of data for mental health providers and commissioners needed to improve. The London Mental Health Transformation Board asked NHS Benchmarking to construct it.

The dashboard launched in 2016 as a transformational tool for London’s mental health community and provided evidence on strategic priorities. It is updated quarterly and allows users to monitor the state of mental health services across London, including changing levels of demand. It also provides evidence for STP development plans and supports discussions between commissioners and providers.

The metrics included are:

• Prevalence of mental ill health across London, for adults and young people
• The impact of mental illness and associated social determinants – employment and accommodation
• Activity and capacity – including referrals, waiting times and outcomes
• Patient and staff experience – including ‘Friends & Family’ measures
• Staffing – nursing and medical levels in inpatient care
• Deep dives into areas aligned to the Five Year Forward View objectives including CAMHS, first episode psychosis and perinatal mental health

The success of the Mental Health Dashboard has set a precedent for future work in this area, and discussions are underway for establishing a world cities mental health benchmarking group involving London and other global cities. It was presented at the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL) in Canberra in March 2017.

We are continuing to develop the dashboard. Work is underway to expand it to include the London Ambulance Service, the Metropolitan Police and other mental health data sources.

Our partners involved in the London Mental Health Dashboard include:

NHS Benchmarking Network | NHS England (London Region) | London Transformation Board | London Office of CCGs | Cavendish Square Group | Trusts and CCGs across the London NHS system

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