Royal College of Psychiatrists’ award accreditation to Bolton service
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Bolton Home Based Treatment team has been accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ (RC Psych).
The GMMH team successfully met the RC Psych standards related to service provision and structure, staff, appraisal, supervision and training, assessment, care planning and transfer or discharge and interventions.
Accreditation to the RC Psych Home Treatment Accreditation Scheme (HTAS) assures staff, service users and carers, commissioners and regulators of the quality of the service being provided.
HTAS aims to work with teams to assure and improve the quality of crisis resolution and home treatment services for people with acute mental illness and their carers.
An external assessment team consisting of a consultant psychiatrist, nurse manager, carer representative and Royal College advisor reviewed the Bolton HBT team. They reported that team is: “…a cohesive team who clearly have a passion for delivering home-based treatment with a very good knowledge of local resources, and there is a good range of resources available”.
The report continued: “The Home Treatment Team have worked extremely hard at creating and maintaining positive relationships with the other teams in the acute care pathway. The team manager should be commended for being passionate, energetic and an excellent leader. The team should be commended for the very positive feedback they have received from a high number of service users and carers.”
Nofie Johnston, Senior Manager for Mental Health Urgent Care in Bolton, explained how the team has achieved the prestigious accreditation: “In the past, people experiencing an acute episode of mental illness were admitted to acute inpatient wards to receive treatment.
“This is necessary in some cases, but in others the person with the illness, their families or carers may feel that they would rather be supported at home. Treatment at home enables a more holistic approach to the person's health and their social support systems, and avoids some of the stigma which may come from admission to an acute inpatient ward.
“If treated in the community, any social stressors which might have contributed to the episode of acute mental illness are more apparent than they would be if the person is removed from their social environment to a hospital. Without addressing social stressors, the person may return from hospital to the same situation and relapse.”
The accreditation lasts for three years, subject to annual reviews.
