Published on: 12 March 2024
Three local teams at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, supporting the treatment and recovery of people who experience mental health difficulties such as psychosis, have all been recognised for the treatment they provided to a patient with mental health needs in the community. 
The Early Interventions Team South – who support people aged 14 to 64 who experience psychosis for the first time, the Physical Health Monitoring Team and the Hope & Resilience Hub team – who support the recovery and home treatment and resilience aspect of the urgent care service have been praised for their collaborative and innovative approach to patient care.
In the Trust’s Delivering Excellence Every Day (DEED) awards, which recognise and celebrate Derbyshire Healthcare staff and volunteers who have gone ‘above and beyond’ in their work, and thereby demonstrated one or more of the Trust’s values, the three teams were awarded for working together to begin a course of medication for an individual with treatment-resistant schizophrenia at home, rather than requiring him to go to hospital.
The local resident was successfully started on clozapine, an anti-psychotic medication. This is the first instance of clozapine initiation in the community in Derbyshire in several years. It can be a complex process as there may be side-effects and the patient must be closely monitored. Often the process has to begin in an inpatient (hospital) setting – but this can be discomforting for the patient and means that there is one fewer bed for someone who needs to be admitted for acute inpatient care.
The award nomination read: “These three teams have successfully worked together to initiate a young man with treatment-resistant schizophrenia on clozapine in the community. An inpatient admission wasn't an option for this patient so, without thinking outside the box and collaborating, he would not have been able to access this medication which is already improving his ongoing symptoms. This would never have happened without the determination, hard work and care of the three teams involved.”
Mark Powell, Chief Executive at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, congratulated the teams on their hard work, and said: “This is a perfect example of how working together can achieve the very best outcomes for our patients. We want people to receive the right care in the right setting. Well done to all three teams for their innovative thinking and collaborative approach.”
Kate Gibbs, Early Intervention Team Service Manager, said: "I am immensely proud of achieving this wonderful recognition. We would not have been able to do this without the support of our Pharmacy colleagues within the Trust who co-ordinated with all those involved. Without these services working together it would have been too much for any one team to support.
“I am so pleased to hear that this is making a positive difference to the patient and their family. We hope that we can roll this out to other local people and make a difference to more lives – now we know how! Thank you everyone involved."
Sara Johnson, Hope & Resilience Hub Service Manager, said: "We all feel proud that we have been included in this nomination. It was a privilege to work alongside the patient and his family and the fact it has helped to improve his recovery is an amazing achievement by all involved.
“Initially the team and I had our reservations as we had not done community clozapine initiation previously but with support from the Trust’s Pharmacy team, and regular engagement from the patient and their family, it was a huge success."
Finally, Stacie Swann, Physical Health Monitoring Team Service Manager, said: “The team are delighted to receive this award and to have worked closely with both services and the service user to enable them to stay in their own home to initiate Clozapine.
“Everything that we do keeps our service users’ needs at the centre of our decisions and we are thrilled that this has been a success. We hope following this success that community clozapine initiation will be an option for many more individuals in the future.”
If anyone has experienced good care from a member of staff at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, they can nominate them through the DEED scheme by filling in a DEED nomination form.
