Embedded Files
There is continuing interest in what currently happens to people in the gap between primary and secondary care (known as the ‘missing middle’) and how best to support them. Together with lived experience members and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) services, the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth have come together to jointly lead the ‘South West Mental Health Gap Practice Research Network’ (SW MH Gap PRN).
This network will build upon the knowledge and expertise that currently exists within mental health care systems, such as NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression (NHS-TT), to help primary care and secondary mental health care trusts to identify, innovate, support and evaluate the care being delivered.
The SW MH Gap PRN plans are to:
The SW MH Gap PRN plans are to:
1. Provide training and development to upskill practitioners.
1. Provide training and development to upskill practitioners.
We aim to organise at least 3 continuing professional development (CPD) events per year on topics nominated by local mental health services.
The first of the CPD events to build upon include:
Adapting CBT practice for autistic people in NHS Talking Therapies services by Ailsa Russell (University of Bath) on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. Sign up details coming soon.
Brief Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) for self-harm, depression and anxiety by Stephen Kellett (RDASH NHS Foundation Trust) on Monday 8th December 2025. Sign up details coming soon.
Health economic evaluation in routine practice. Speaker and date TBC.
In addition to this, we will also hold at least 3 clinically relevant research talks per year and at least 3 evidence catch up talks per year, via the University of Exeter Think Tank seminar series.
2. Use a holistic, problem-based approach
2. Use a holistic, problem-based approach
Using a holistic approach, identifying areas and supporting innovation and evaluation of practice in real world settings and local systems to solve problems identified by services.
This could benefit from a regional perspective allowing for the generation of a consistent approach using available data. This will be shared through the SW MH Gap PRN webpage.
This could benefit from a regional perspective allowing for the generation of a consistent approach using available data. This will be shared through the SW MH Gap PRN webpage.
In the future this may lead to the co-development and delivery of formal research innovating and evaluating treatment and treatment delivery pathways (evidence-based practice).
3. To develop a coherent narrative.
3. To develop a coherent narrative.
The focus of this work will be to develop a coherent narrative to support local services to develop a bigger vision alongside ICB`s and their commissioners to identify what works well and can lead to practice based innovation alongside the generation of knowledge about what works effectively.
The SW MH Gap PRN is jointly co-ordinated by the AccEPT clinic, University of Exeter and Plymouth University. The University of Exeter has expertise in innovation, evaluation and implementation of psychological therapies, and the Plymouth University has expertise in mapping, evaluating and improving local mental health care systems.
The universities are keen to partner with local systems to evaluate and disseminate the good practice that is already taking place within the region using this website . Local systems and services can work with the universities on particular projects that they would like to evaluate.
The universities and the local NIHR ARC have a small number of resources to support this work and in the first instance would be happy to offer consultation to the systems to help identify how local evaluations could work.
Page updated
Report abuse