Summary
Improving the wellbeing of the NHS workforce, with a self-help CBT programme for insomnia, and working to improve ways of working, with a website & app to improve and streamline Mental Health Act referrals, and a platform to facilitate repeat dispensing for straightforward cases.
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All functions save time and relying less on paper forms facilitates home working and saves time collecting documents.
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Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), Sussex
What the project involved
The NHS’s constitution values of ‘Commitment to quality of care’ and ‘Improving lives’ are key to developing innovations that make a difference. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting more pressure on staff than ever, both personally and at work, the AHSN Network’s Workforce programme focuses on workforce productivity, looking at one or both of pathway redesign and/or innovation including digital or AI.
In the South East region of England, the three AHSNs (KSS, Oxford and Wessex) have been working together supporting three programmes.
KSS AHSN led the high-level impact analysis for these projects.
- Sleepio is a digital sleep improvement program that is scientifically proven to help overcome poor sleep and thereby improve mental health. Workforce benefits included improved health for colleagues, and reduced time carrying out CBT. There is potential for reduction in prescription costs, and increased Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) gains for patients. Led by Oxford AHSN.
- S12 Solutions is a mobile application and website designed to support the workforce in providing a simpler, quicker, and more secure platform to organise best fit doctors for section 12 (s.12) Mental Health Act (1983) assessments, and efficient completion of MHA processes including payment claims. Led by Wessex AHSN.
- Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) has been part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework since 2005 and from 2019 has been a General Medical Services (GMS) contract requirement to provide a more efficient way to manage repeat prescriptions. Led by Wessex AHSN.
Outcomes
See the linked infographic sheets for indicative in-year impacts for the three projects, with high-level results tabulated below.
| Â | Sleepio | S12 Solutions | eRD |
| Net benefits | £2.5m | £237k | £4.7m |
| Indicative benefit Cost ratio | 2.97 | 2.17 | Not applicable (see infographic) |
| Hours released | 719 | 7,859 | 18,330 |
Modelled and unmodelled benefits are included on the sheets, and appropriate measures of impact in each case.
For each, the significant positive impact can clearly be seen.
Next steps
Since the publication of the impact reports, Oxfordshire and Kent and Medway have gone live with S12 Solutions and more practices are using electronic Repeat Dispensing with more clinicians’ time being saved.
NICE have recommended Sleepio as a cost-saving insomnia treatment option, requesting comparative effectiveness studies with face-to-face CBTI.
