Mental health, learning disability and autism provider collaboratives have an important story to tell in making the shift to community a reality. As set out above, one of the core objectives of mental health provider collaboratives has been to manage budgets and pathways, use resources efficiently, and then identify opportunities to reinvest savings into community services.
This transformation is already happening across the country, primarily driven by reducing out-of-area placements through several key strategies:
- Investing in robust community-based care allowing for earlier intervention and support, reducing the need for inpatient admissions and lengthy stays.
- Simplifying processes and pathways, ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate care, which helps reduce unnecessary hospital stays. This is often supported by introducing a single point of access to standardise both assessment criteria and bed management.
- Reducing independent sector placements by pooling capacity, collaboratives have been able to minimise the use of independent sector placements and reallocate the money they would have spent within the NHS system.
- Reinvesting savings generated from these efforts into community services, enhancing the support available locally and enabling further reductions in hospital admissions and out of area placements.
By treating patients locally wherever possible, collaboratives have reduced the higher costs associated with out of area placements, while improving outcomes by keeping patients closer to their support networks.