The Rise and Decline of EIP in England (1996-2014)
Poster C50, Saturday, October 22, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Jo Smith1, David Shiers2; 1Worcester University, 2University of Manchester
Background England was one of the first countries to achieve a national roll out of EIP as part of a politically driven reform of community mental health services through the Mental Health National Service Framework (NSF 1999), becoming international field-leaders in providing universal coverage with a comprehensive EIP package to those aged 14-35 presenting with a FEP. However since 2010, the momentum appeared to stall as EIP services began to experience significant cuts to resourcing and budgets. Materials and methods: An EIP Policy Implementation Guidance (DH 2002) delineated a national service model specification and identified minimum service fidelity criteria and national minimum dataset requirements. An EIP leadership programme at a national and regional level supported service development through a national EIP network. Results: £104 m investment funded 178 teams providing comprehensive EIP coverage across England. Service evaluation and cost economic analysis demonstrated EIP service value (Knapp et al, 2014). Since 2010, more locally determined NHS commissioning resulted in significant cuts in over 50% of EIP services (Rethink 2014) with only 69% of NHS Trusts offering EIP services (The Commission on Acute Adult Psychiatric Care, 2016). Yet, national guidance (NICE, 2014) recommended that anyone with a FEP should receive timely access to an EIP service. Conclusions: EIP service development in England was put at risk by a shift from national to local NHS prioritisation. However, publicly profiled evidence of cuts combined with NICE endorsement of EIP resulted in EIPs re-ascendance through 'Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services' (NHSE 2015).
Topic Area: Service System Development and Reform