Two new clinical leads have been appointed to head up the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) workstream for adult mental health crisis and acute care.
Dr Neeraj Berry (consultant psychiatrist and group medical director at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust in Newcastle upon Tyne) and Dr David Somerfield (consultant psychiatrist in old age psychiatry at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust) will continue the work of former GIRFT lead Dr Ian Davidson, who has retired from the role after six years.
The two new leads will also now be focusing on the management of mental health patients who present to urgent and emergency care, working with teams locally and nationally to ensure the whole pathway links up to deliver timely, effective interventions. This includes access and elective community interventions, to prevention and improving the options available for those who reach crisis point.
Dr Berry was appointed consultant in 2003, and has extensive clinical experience of adult inpatient, crisis and community mental health pathways, specialising in psychiatric intensive care. He is currently an associate dean at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, where he has led on new General Medical Council portfolio pathway guidance all psychiatric sub-specialities. He said:
“I am delighted to join such an established national programme and am looking forward to working through GIRFT to help bring about the desired cultural change in mental health services.”
Dr Somerfield became a consultant in old age psychiatry in 1999. He has previously been an associate registrar in leadership and management at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and introduced the college’s leadership and management fellow scheme. He has led several large-scale service design and development programmes and taken a particular interest in the use of technology to improve quality of care and productivity. He said:
“I am delighted to be joining GIRFT and look forward to working with colleagues to further develop our urgent and crisis care pathways, delivering the Urgent and Emergency Care plan and future NHS 10 Year Plan for the benefit of our patients.”
GIRFT’s work with mental health adult crisis and acute providers began in 2019, when Dr Davidson began deep dive visits to teams across England, looking at how services were being delivered and who was delivering them, with the aim of ensuring that patients receive the appropriate level of treatment in a timely way to avoid mental health conditions becoming more chronic and difficult to treat.
In 2021, the GIRFT national report for mental health – adult crisis and acute care was shared, highlighting that mental health problems represented the largest single cause of disability in the UK, with one in four adults experiencing at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any given year. The report made a series of 17 recommendations to guide improvements, addressing inconsistencies in data collection and reporting, and how to ensure a well-managed flow through the crisis pathway and between different services so that people receive the right treatment at the right time.
Professor Tim Briggs, Chair of GIRFT and NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery, said:
“Our national report in 2021 showed how the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for mental health services, and this in turn has led to a marked increase in the number of patients with mental health conditions presenting in the emergency department.
I’m delighted to have Neeraj and David on board to pick up the excellent work carried out to date by Ian Davidson. Going forward, their experience and knowledge will be invaluable in supporting trusts, ICBs, regions and other national teams to implement best practice in caring for mental health patients who arrive in urgent and emergency care.”
