National recognition for HPFT project improving access to psychiatric care

10 Mar 26

The Community Perinatal Team has won a national award for significant improvements made in reducing waiting times and increasing the number of people attending their first appointment.

Framed certificate for the National Improvement Award recognising HPFT, displayed on a table.

The Community Perinatal Team supports women experiencing, or at risk of developing, moderate to severe mental health difficulties during and after pregnancy. Timely access to specialist care is vital for recovery and wellbeing, and the team wanted to ensure more women could be seen sooner.

The project set out with the simple aim to make sure people receive timely, expert psychiatric oversight to help prevent deterioration and support their recovery. Using quality improvement methods and working closely across the whole multi‑disciplinary team, the work delivered strong results. Waiting times fell, missed appointment rates dropped, and the proportion of first appointments attended within 12 weeks rose from 45 percent to an average of 77 percent.

The team's project entitled ‘Faster Access to Psychiatrists through data driven and systematic quality improvement methodologies’ was awarded the National Improvement Award at the National Improvement Conference hosted by NHS Impact and NHS Confederation.

Congratulations to all involved.

A link to the project poster can be found here: www.hpft.nhs.uk/media/3o2lmri5/faster-access-to-psychiatrists-a1-february-2026.pdf

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National recognition for HPFT project improving access to psychiatric care