Since 2020, there has been an increase in children with mental health presentations ending up on general paediatric wards. Hospitals are identified as a place of safety for young people in crisis, though admission to a paediatric ward is not without risk for the child and staff involved in their care. Stays are often prolonged and classed as delayed discharges. This evaluation looks at 22 admissions to general paediatric wards within an acute health trust in Greater Manchester.

Local CAMHS teams identified 22 patients with a mental health presentation who had been admitted to paediatric wards and had delayed discharges between September 2021 and December 2023. Their electronic notes were analysed to identify number of bed days and CAMHS contacts, legal status, and discharge destination. Incident reports of each admission were analysed, and categorised into ‘Restraint/Rapid Tranquilisation’, ‘Assault on staff’ ‘Self harm’ ‘Abscondence’ and ‘Other’.

Of the 22 cases analyses, total bed days were 1469. The average number of bed days was 66.7. 6 admissions were over 100 days with the longest being 186 days. The majority (19) of the presenting complaints were categorised as ‘self-harm’ and /or ‘suicidal ideation’. The average number of core CAMHS contacts was 23 per admission, with an average of 9 consultant contacts, 5 Junior doctor out of hour contacts, and 32 meetings (e.g. discharge meeting, strategy meeting) requiring CAMHS attendance. 11 admissions involved assault on staff, with the highest number of assaults 48 during a single admission. 18 of the admissions required additional staffing (clinical support worker, security). Three patients required police to be called to the ward due to assault on staff. 9 of the patients were discharged to a social care placement, 8 were discharged home. The remaining were discharged to inpatient unit, day unit or to a family member.

Mental health admissions to paediatric wards are associated with a high level of CAMHS contacts provided by Tier 3 staff, which creates a previously unseen burden on the service. Admissions can be prolonged. Patients are cared for in an environment which is not designed to meet their needs. This is demonstrated by high level of patients absconding from the ward and increased restrictive measures such as restraint and 1:1 observation. Admissions are also associated with high levels or assault on staff. Further work is needed to evaluate the economic impact of additional staffing on paediatric wards, as well as the impact on paediatric nursing and security staff.

This study aims to explore the characteristics of the individuals who engage in suicidal behaviour.

Hypothesis:

1. 1) Patients attempting suicide are more likely to have co-existing axis I or axis II disorder when compared with patients with no reported suicidal attempt.

2. 2) Various OCD related domain like symptom types, symptom severity, age of onset of OCD, duration of illness and presence of other OCD spectrum disorder has higher chances of attempting suicide.

3. 3) Family history of suicidal behaviour increases the risk of suicidality.

Retrospective file review of all patients registered at the OCD clinic, NIMHANS hospital, Bangalore, India between Jan 2008–Dec 2018 was undertaken. Out of 1017, 814 met the eligibility criteria. Individuals with a documented suicide attempt were compared with those without. Chi square test, unpaired t-test and Regression analysis was done to identify predictors of life-time attempt.

Lifetime attempt was noted in 19.8% patients (161 out of 814). On comparison, female gender, unemployment, lower socioeconomic status, severe to extreme avoidance, severe to most severe CGIs, presence of depressive disorder, history of engagement in suicidal acts, past NSSI, past suicidal ideation, younger age at onset of OCD, younger age at first OCD consultation and YBOCS at index assessment are significantly associated with higher risk of suicidal attempts. Female gender, BPL status, age at onset of OCD and presence of depressive disorder can significantly predict lifetime suicidal attempts. Out of 814 eligible patients reviewed, 32 patients i.e. 4.79% had made ≥1 suicide attempt after their first contact to the OCD clinic. Risk of re-attempting suicide is highest in the first three years post index visit to the OCD clinic.

One in five individuals with OCD attempt suicide with higher risk in female population, greater illness severity (higher baseline YBOCS scores and early age of OCD onset) and presence of comorbid depression. Importantly, risk of repeated attempt is greatest within three years of contact but no factor could determine reattempt risk. Hence, regular screening for suicidality in patients with OCD could be of utmost importance in preventing any future attempts. The findings also highlight the need for future studies that explore the neurobiological underpinnings of suicide vulnerability in OCD.

Psychiatric illnesses are common in the perinatal period and many women are treated with psychotropic medications. Prescribing psychotropic medications often raises concern among patients and clinicians, because of a lack of information and no license to prescribe during pregnancy. This project aimed to evaluate the interventions offered in a perinatal clinic against the Perinatal College Centre for Quality Improvement standards. This included evaluating medications prescribed in the antenatal and postnatal periods; counselling regarding medication risks and benefits, provision of verbal and written information and psychosocial interventions.

Data of 60 patients (30 antenatal and 30 postnatal) attending perinatal outpatient clinics covering two cities in Midlands, England, consecutively from November 1st 2023 were collected from electronic clinical notes and clinic letters. Patients who did not attend their appointment were excluded.

The mean age of the sample was 30.3 ± 5.2 (range 19–41). Average gestational age was 6.5 ± 2.1 months (range 2.0–9.5) for antenatal women, and average postnatal duration was 6.5 ± 5.0 months (range 0.1–22.0) at the time of review. All women had psychiatric diagnosis, except one who was discharged back to primary care. The most common diagnoses were mixed anxiety and depression (38.3%), emotionally unstable personality disorder (38.3%), and postnatal depression (20%). The majority (75.0%) were prescribed psychotropic drugs. Antidepressants were prescribed in 66.7% of antenatal and 76.7% postnatal patients; most commonly prescribed overall were sertraline (33.3%) and citalopram (23.3%). Antipsychotics were prescribed in 30.0% of antenatal and 46.7% of postnatal patients. Aripiprazole and quetiapine were most commonly prescribed in the antenatal (both 13.3%) and postnatal (both 20%) periods. A larger proportion (40.0%) of women had as required medications; promethazine (20.0% vs 30.0%), diazepam (6.7% vs 13.3%) and zopiclone (3.3% vs 13.3%) were most frequently prescribed, with figures indicating prescription rates in the ante- versus postnatal period. None of the medications were prescribed above licensed limits nor met criteria for high dose antipsychotic monitoring. Verbal and written information about medications was provided in 78.3% and 35.0% of all cases respectively. Most (65.0%) women were offered psychological therapies, and of these, 69.2% received it.

Most women in the perinatal period were prescribed psychotropic drugs, with higher proportions in the postnatal period. The findings suggested areas of improvement, such as offering written information, documenting the discussion of medication counselling, and to increase the psychotherapeutic support. It also suggests developing manualised educational interventions to improve information sharing with patients, and perinatal care.

This team of simulation fellows at a London teaching hospital created an immersive simulation course for core psychiatry trainees to explore the intersection between physical and mental health and impact on provision of care. The course was fully mapped to the updated Royal College Core Training Curriculum as well as Crisis Resource Management principles, and focusses on the integration of care across mental and physical health provisions. Scenarios are set in a range of inpatient and community environments to allow participants to consider differences in delivery of holistic care, prioritisation, ethical and legal considerations across settings. This would be particularly relevant for participants early in training with limited prior exposure who may be unfamiliar with handling emergencies on psychiatric wards and the nuanced limitations in providing medical care.

Scenarios were written in consultation with speciality experts and allied health professionals including mental health nursing, dietetics, and pharmacy. The course is written to enable participants to explore the intersection between physical and mental health, and the practical and social implications of an individual's mental and physical condition on provision of care. Alongside debriefing technical and non-technical learning objectives, participants reflected upon the wider determinants of each patient's current physical and mental state and discussed ethicolegal considerations such as patients’ legal status, capacity to consent, and practicalities of transferring patients between services and facilitating holistic care.

The pilot course took place on July 4th following consultation with stakeholders including senior simulation and education leads within the Trust, and deanery Training Programme Directors, to ensure the course was formally endorsed to allow participants to apply for study leave to attend. Post-course feedback was collected through use of Likert-scales and white space questions; the response was highly positive and showed the programme met its aims and filled a training need. Feedback showed increased confidence managing integrated physical and mental health issues and balancing conflicting priorities with increased understanding of practical and social implications of mental and physical condition on provision of care.

Next steps involve collaboration with service users to allow accurate representation of the unique needs of a diverse population, and potential use of actors to sensitively and ethically portray simulated patients. Local psychiatry training schools could be approached to consider formal implementation of the course within academic programmes, in addition to potential reformulation of scenarios for use in established courses at the host site such as Undergraduate or Foundation training days.

To determine if the physical health monitoring of day-care patients in the Adult Eating disorder service (AEDS) is done in line with the recommendations of NICE guidelines and relevant Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders (MEED) Guidance on Recognition and Management.

1. For every attendance of patients to the day-care Clinic it is expected that the physical health monitoring to be offered would include:

• • Weight

• • Height (if first attendance)

• • BMI

• • HR (Pulse rate)

• • Sitting/Standing BP

• • Temperature

2. Relevant blood tests and ECGs on a schedule based on patient's BMI or as needed based on clinical indication.

23 patients were identified as having been seen in AEDS day-care centre between April 2021 till the point of discharge. 9 were deemed inappropriate due to incomplete information. Of the remaining 14, 9 patients were randomly selected, their documentation were looked from admission to day-care to the point of discharge. The monitoring was audited at 3 points of contact over the course of their first clinic appointment, the middle and point of discharge.

1. 1. Comparing data from previous audit, the average admission in day-care decreased from 5.5 to 3.5 months.

2. 2. There was overall improvement in the ECG and blood test monitoring.

3. 3. At the admission and the last assessment there was 100% monitoring of BMI, weight, blood pressure and pulse.

4. 4. There was a drop in temperature monitoring by 11.1% in the first and last assessment due to faulty equipment.

5. 5. The ECG and bloods percentage dropped by 11.1% at all the monitoring points.

6. 6. At the midpoint there was no documentation of BMI, Blood Pressure, and pulse for 1 patient.

1. 1. Investigations were delayed from the patient's side.

2. 2. Due to COVID there was difficulty in accessing the primary care appointments for investigations.

3. 3. The temperature equipment was not working properly.

Recommendations:

1. 1. Keeping a fixed format for documenting day-care visits on the SystmOne software. A Sample format made available for documentation.

2. 2. Document all the parameters checked in the patients’ electronic records on the same day.

3. 3. Day-care clinical team to upskill on ECG via training.

4. 4. Team Resources to be allocated to have in-house ECG in day-care.

5. 5. SUSS test to be done for all RED (High risk) patients as clinically indicated and clearly document in the notes, e.g. SUSS: done/not done and reason with date SUSS conducted on.

Rates of stillbirth and neonatal deaths are high in low- and middle-income countries including Pakistan and these are one of the most stressful life-events for parents and families. Society does not appropriately recognize perinatal loss and support from healthcare professionals is often very limited or non-existent in Pakistan. Therefore, we aimed to co-develop and assess the feasibility of a bereavement support program for parents who experienced stillbirth/neonatal death in a public health facility in Pakistan.

This study adopted a sequential mixed-method design. The first phase involved co-development of a bereavement support program through a consensus process involving multidisciplinary health professionals, stakeholders and parents with previous experience of perinatal death (n = 23) using the Nominal Group Technique. Phase 2 includes a feasibility assessment using before and after cohort design. Sixty women (30 per phase) with recent experience of stillbirth and/or neonatal death will be recruited, from a public hospital in Pakistan. The main outcome measures will include recruitment and retention and acceptability of the study processes and data collection.

Following the consensus process, agreed intervention components included an educational workshop for healthcare staff, creation of a bereavement champion group of health workers in the facility and offering post-natal telephone peer support to bereaved mothers. The educational component for healthcare staff includes Advance Bereavement Care (ABC) workshop for all staff and bereavement champions (n = 15 healthcare workers) who later received one day's training and one-day training refresher. This component aims to improve care, act individually and as a group to identify areas for development, encourage good practice and support colleagues. The peer support component includes telephone support provided by women with previous experience of perinatal death (n = 7) trained by the research team. Supervision arrangements are in place for champions and peer supporters. The feasibility study is ongoing.

The co-development process ensured the cultural relevance of both components of the bereavement support program. The process also contributed to improving the sense of ownership by healthcare facility. Feasibility study will confirm whether parents are willing to take part, acceptability and whether future research to assess the effectiveness of the intervention on improving care after SB/NND is feasible.

This is a qualitative evaluation of a simulation/debrief based training session to address discrimination in an NHS workplace, delivered to psychiatry trainees. Videos portraying discrimination acted as the simulation, followed by a diamond model informed debrief.

This evaluation aimed to:

• • assess the effectiveness of this training session in terms raising awareness of discrimination, problematising discrimination, empowerment to act and skills building

• • explore the extent to which these stated aims are relevant to participants’ experience of discrimination, harassment and bullying at work

• • establish if this is a meaningful and acceptable training model for this topic

• • establish if there are more relevant themes that this training session should be focusing on and if so, what these are?

A total of 8 trainees were interviewed between December 2022 and May 2023, having recently completed the training. A thematic analysis was undertaken by two researchers following established recommendations, seeking to bring out latent themes with an inductive, interpretative approach within a constructionist paradigm.

Trainees attended with existing knowledge, skills and attitudes about discrimination, harassment and bullying, and about the training session itself.

Both the simulation and debrief were valued by trainees. The debrief was more than just a discussion. Portrayals of discrimination in the videos/simulation could have been more subtle, and tackled a more diverse range of examples such as LGBTQ+.

The learning objectives were largely met, and related to real challenges that trainees face. Trainees took away more than this, citing learning related to team cohesion and developing their sense in which discrimination in the context of mental illness requires special consideration.

This model of training is providing good value in addressing a topic of strategic importance in a novel way. The impact on empowerment and skills development is likely to be particularly valuable in impacting real world responses to workplace experiences of discrimination. Promoting team cohesion and a space to thoughtfully consider the special case of discrimination in the context of mental illness are important additional benefits. The simulation/debrief model is likely to be crucial, providing learning which would be inaccessible to didactic or e-learning based modes of delivery. The simulation materials may be improved by depicting LGBTQ+ issues, and a more subtle portrayal of discrimination. While this evaluation was situated in a psychiatric context, it could have wide applicability to tackling similar challenges throughout NHS workplaces.

Cognitive disorders, such as dementia, are a possible comorbidity and an important differential diagnosis to consider in older adults admitted to psychiatric wards with a functional disorder. Whilst cognitive assessment tools (e.g. ACE-III) and neuroimaging (e.g. MRI scans) are well established, there is significant variability in how and when they are used, which can result in inconsistences in their use. The aim was to identify the types of inconsistencies that may occur, and to provide a standardised framework in order for these tools to be used consistently on our functional rehabilitation ward.

This QIP retrospectively assessed data for all patients discharged over a 7-month period between October 2022 and May 2023, from an older adult functional rehabilitation ward. Clinical notes were reviewed to determine whether a cognitive assessment and neuroimaging had been considered, and if so, whether the assessment or investigation was appropriate and completed without delay. Correspondence to the GP or CMHT was reviewed to determine whether this had appropriate information about the relevant cognitive screening completed, and had included an appropriate follow-up plan. Data collected was checked for accuracy through screening by a second clinician, after which a consensus meeting was held to account for discrepancies.

25 patients were discharged during the 7-month period. 52% were identified as having an issue or delay in their cognitive screening and correspondence; 32% had a delay in completing a cognitive assessment; 32% did not have an appropriate follow-up plan communicated in their discharge summary regarding future monitoring of their cognition; and 8% had a delay in considering or requesting neuroimaging.

Team discussion identified that staff uncertainty relating to the use of cognitive tools and neuroimaging was a significant contributing factor to the issues identified in our results. We subsequently delivered training using a flowchart for doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals on the ward, which included information about the benefits and disadvantages of different screening tools and imaging modalities, in order to assist selection of the most appropriate tools on a case-by-case basis. The flowchart included the need for MDT discussion and senior psychiatrist involvement, but aimed to improve team confidence in understanding the rationale for these decisions. Based on the results of our post-intervention data, we will consider adapting the training and flowchart delivered to meet the needs of other older adult services in the trust.

All medical staff working within NHS psychiatric hospitals in the UK are required to complete mandatory life support training. However, there is no such mandatory requirement for associated training around the effective use of the emergency medical equipment used during medical emergencies on inpatient psychiatric wards. This quality improvement project focused on developing a sustainable educational intervention aimed at all staff types within one London inpatient psychiatric hospital. Staff of all grades and roles encountered frequent difficulties and delays in relation to the emergency medical bags and equipment, including issues around skill and confidence.

A survey was initially sent to medical and nursing staff working on an inpatient psychiatric unit, which highlighted participants’ lack of confidence in using the equipment. It emerged that staff exclusively handled the emergency medical equipment during relatively rare emergencies. This resulted in unfamiliarity with the equipment and consequent difficulties in using it competently. A novel educational intervention dedicated to upskilling staff with emergency medical equipment was created, focusing on contents and use of individual equipment within the medical emergency bag. Pre- and post-intervention quantitative feedback regarding confidence and familiarity was obtained using feedback forms containing Likert scales. Qualitative feedback was also obtained.

More than six training cycles, each consisting of at least five training sessions, have now been completed with both qualitative and quantitative measures of improvement captured. Individuals noted on average a 31.62% (±3.605%) improvement in self-reported confidence and familiarity with equipment. The most frequently identified positive themes were that the intervention familiarised staff with equipment and was educational, whilst the most frequent suggestion for improvement were requests for additional sessions. From single idea to sustainable quality improvement, the team broadened and gained stakeholder support including clinical and nursing directors, pharmacy, junior doctors, nurses, and matrons.

The intervention has achieved sustainability and is being explored in other partnership psychiatric hospitals. Despite reported increased confidence in handling the emergency equipment, there is ongoing need to develop, maintain and practice these skills, across both the nursing and medical staff, to achieve better outcomes for psychiatric inpatients. Trainee psychiatrists intend to develop the project further, and the training will be incorporated as a mandatory requirement. The project links to the quality standards for mental health point 12 of the Resuscitation council UK. Next stage developments of the project include linking to feedback from emergencies as well as incorporating into existing simulation training.

The GMC Trainer's survey 2022 identified nearly two in ten (18%) trainers do not agree that their employer provides a supportive environment for everyone regardless of background, beliefs, or identity. A striking 52% of doctors working as trainers are identified as being at moderate to high risk of burnout. Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust(SABP) has 63 active educational and clinical trainers.

We aim to enhance the overall experience of Educational and Clinical Trainers in SABP by gaining insights into their views and experiences and identifying key areas for improvement to support trainers in their roles, thereby contributing to a more resilient healthcare workforce.

We devised a 16 item questionnaire to gather anonymous data on trainers' experiences and views in their roles. Our study utilised an observational quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional design. Data capture was done on Microsoft Forms and analysed using Excel.

We had 70% response rate, 90% agreed or strongly agreed they had adequate support and training, 95% feel able to fulfil educational CPD for appraisal however only 83% were able to complete reflections on trainee feedback. 93% agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoy being a trainer but only 67% agreed or strongly agreed that they knew how to access support if they felt burnt out. Only 43% felt that they had adequate time in their schedule to provide supervision. Analysis of responses stratifying International medical graduates and years of experience being a trainer did not identify additional needs.

Effective trainers are fundamental in shaping future doctors. Our survey results highlighted that a high percentage of trainers enjoy their role. Based on the results, strategies were identified to improve support that can be implemented through trainers’ drop-in sessions, advertising trainers' training sessions with more notice and developing the resources on the intranet including improving content and adding videos of training sessions. We also identified that appraisal and revalidation requirements for trainers, trainee surveys needed to be better advertised to improve feedback rates. We recommended that a document on the online appraisal platform (SARD) be added to clarify the requirements for appraisal and revalidation, and how these can be met. We suggested that Associate Medical Directors consider the need to ringfence time for educational and clinical trainers in their job plans.

Audit had been completed with aim to review GP referrals to Perinatal Mental Health Services over a 6/12 month period.

Focus on medication, and information provided on referral proforma; prescribing via letters sent to Perinatal Mental Health Services.

The reason for undertaking this project is due to evidence of variance in practice in prescribing and documenting medications.

The project team retrospectively took 6 months of data each for the four localities and looked at the list from the weekly MDT during that period.

The team identified the GP referrals and then looked in detail at the referral in Carenotes System.

The data was collected on a proforma designed in Microsoft Word and was then sent to the Improvement Team for collation and analysis using Microsoft Excel.

66% used the referral proforma and 20% used the referral letter.

The majority (106) of referrals were for a routine review/nonspecific.

The majority (78) of referrals were post-natal. 25% of referrals did not indicate whether the patient was post-natal or antenatal and hence no Expected Date of Delivery [MS(CPT1] entered.

10% of referrals medication had been stopped. 24% of patients were to review to start medication.

Results show that sertraline had been initiated the most frequently. 65% unspecified. In 26%, sertraline had been most frequently prescribed.

Where medication had been stopped, the majority of proformas (64%) were incomplete. 9% of patients had Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors suspended such as sertraline and citalopram.

In most cases, the reason for referral was unclear.

Medication was often stopped unnecessarily – for most medications, it was not indicated whether medication was started/stopped.

If patients were started on medication, sertraline and citalopram were either started or stopped most frequently.

We also found that some of the referrals were illegible.

We presented the findings within our perinatal mental health team meeting.

We found the following to be actioned, including discussions with local GP practices and/or local GP educational forums.

We hope to re audit following the above action.

Bipolar disorder (BD) leads to marked disability, morbidity, and premature death. Although pharmacological agents are an essential part of BD treatment, psychosocial interventions have played an important role in enhancing treatment adherence, functioning and quality of life in patients with BD. Building on a successful pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a Culturally adapted PsychoEducation (CaPE) intervention for BD, CaPE is currently being evaluated in a large multicenter RCT for its clinical and cost-effectiveness across Pakistan. However, innovations are urgently needed due to limited human resources and disproportionately high clinical needs to bring effective interventions to scale. This study aims to develop and test a mHealth iteration of CaPE, digital CaPE (dCaPE), to be delivered via a mobile app.

The study will utilise a two-phased approach to i) develop a user-centred dCaPE mobile application and ii) assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of dCaPE for people with BD in a randomised controlled trial in Pakistan. For application development, we have conducted discussion groups with stakeholders i.e., mental health professionals (psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses) (n = 8) and patients and carers (n = 10) to gauge their valuable insights for app design, visual elements, cultural sensitivity, motivational and mood-monitoring features, and app functionality to improve user experience.

The findings from discussion groups informed the importance of visual elements, specifically font size and style. Participants recommended the use of soft and soothing colours like white, grey, and soft shades of pink to prevent overstimulation. Additionally, participants highlighted the need for culturally and linguistically inclusive features, including emojis and audio messages for effective engagement and to address the challenge of low literacy. The mHealth approach was deemed highly valuable, especially given the prevalence of mental health challenges and associated stigma. Endorsed by participants, the dCaPE application will offer customized psychoeducation messages along with daily 5-item (mood, energy, sleep, medication, and irritability) screening, a weekly comprehensive test for manic and depressive episodes based on DSM–5 criteria; weekly reminders to regulate sleep and eating habits, and visual representations of weekly mood monitoring reports with the incentive of badges or rewards for goal achievers.

This research has the potential to enhance clinical outcomes, social and occupational functioning, and the overall quality of life for BD patients while addressing substantial mental health treatment gaps with impact and implications extending to various low-resource settings.

1. 1) To hear directly from women suffering from PMDD about their lived experiences of PMDD and the impacts that it has on their daily lives.

2. 2) To raise awareness about the impacts that PMDD can have on patients' quality of life, relationships, and productivity, to improve clinicians’ understanding of patients' needs.

3. 3) To identify a gap in research into PMDD within the UK and highlight the need for further research.

4. 4) To improve awareness of PMDD amongst diverse stakeholders, including women who are not yet diagnosed with PMDD, employers, and policymakers.

Participants were recruited from the UK's PMDD Patient Insight Group and screened using the Premenstrual Symptom Screening Tool (PSST) for PMDD. Eligible participants were purposively sampled, and 15 participants were invited to a semi-structured scheduled interview on Zoom. Interviews were transcribed using NVivo transcription software, and inductively analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis in NVivo 14.

Thirteen subthemes were identified and organised around four main themes: Theme 1: ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, Life with PMDD, Theme 2: ‘The Aftermath’, The Impact of Living with PMDD, Theme 3: ‘Surviving PMDD’, Coping Strategies, and Theme 4: ‘Seeking Treatment’, Experiences with Healthcare. The themes identified in this study highlight the negative experiences of women living with debilitating symptoms that appear during the luteal phase and disappear following the onset of menstruation. Themes also capture the immense burden PMDD places on a sufferer by uncovering how exactly these symptoms affect interpersonal relationships, career progression, quality of education received, and relationship with oneself. Theme 4 focuses on women's negative experiences with healthcare stemming from a lack of awareness of PMDD in the medical community.

The findings of this study highlight the critical importance of understanding the contextualized experiences of women living with PMDD in the UK and bringing to light the immense monthly burden sufferers face. To prevent women and Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB) individuals from experiencing severe and prolonged psychological distress which can have fatal consequences, there needs to be greater understanding and awareness of PMDD in both medical and lay communities. In addition to this, clinicians must be trained in PMDD assessment and research should be encouraged to introduce new treatments and to implement policies that minimize the burden of PMDD in the workplace.

We are a 17 bedded acute mental health ward in a busy inner-city hospital. A handover of all patients, with the multi-disciplinary team, takes place every morning (Whiteboard round). The clinical team felt that the information provided during this meeting needed a review, to ensure relevant patient information is being disseminated, and right clinical decisions are being made in a timely manner.

The team decided to focus on improving links with Community Mental Health Hubs (CMHH) to ensure continuity of care. The challenge the inpatient team faced is the need to interface with community mental health teams from two London boroughs, as the unit became the main admission hospital for Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster (KCW) patients.

The main aim is that 80% of KCW patients' CMHH (including new referrals) will be contacted within 24 hours of them being admitted onto the ward by April 2024.

As part of this QI project, weekly meetings were commenced, with a team comprising doctors, nursing staff (both inpatient and from local community team) and an Expert by Experience (EbE). A questionnaire was produced and circulated to ward colleagues about their views on the quality of whiteboard. A more focused questionnaire was then sent out around CMHH involvement in a patient's admission journey. We took a deep dive into the structure of the local community teams (at least 10 identified) and how referral processes work, as it was evident that staff were unclear at times on who/how to refer.

From this, the first change idea was formed: “information sheets” were produced showing which GPs correspond to which teams, and that patients can be referred this way. The Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) was applied to make these sheets visible to all staff. The outcome measure used was how many patients had CMHH referral/contact within 24 hours.

Data is being collected daily, by reviewing patients notes to see if CMHHs have been contacted. Since commencement of the first PDSA cycle in December 2023, of the twenty-three patients admitted, nineteen have been eligible. Of these nineteen patients, fifteen patients (79%) have had contact or referrals made to their CMHH within 24 hours.

Results suggest that the aim is on the way to being met. Our next change idea is to obtain formal feedback from staff and patients on this process.

During the perinatal period women are at increased risk for mental health illness. It is estimated that around 0.5 in 1000 deliveries will result in admission to the mother and baby unit (MBU). Recovery is achieved by combining pharmacological treatment with holistic approaches. The majority of MBU settings will offer a variety of sessions that aid relaxation, reflection, and bonding. We have chosen to trial an additional service – Yoga class. It is known that Yoga is beneficial not only for strength, flexibility, and chronic pain but also for improved concentration, relaxation, and anxiety reduction.

Service evaluation took place in 8 bed, inpatient MBU. Selection criteria included non-pregnant women who had 4–6 weeks postnatal health check, were interested in trialling the class and were willing to complete pre- and post-class selected questions from the Dialog scale. The total number of Yoga classes conducted was 9 but there was no set number of classes for patients to commit to. Sessions were run between October 2023 and February 2024. Dialog scale was selected as a well-established outcome measure within the ward. We measured 3 areas by a Dialog scale (physical health, mental health, and leisure). The rating range was 1–7 with 1 being totally dissatisfied and 7 totally satisfied. Questions were completed before and after the class.

In total 7 patients attended at least 1 Yoga class. We have calculated pre- and post-class average scores to measure change in selected outcomes. Physical health self-reported evaluation improved from 4.09 (SD = 0.79) to 4.48 (SD = 0.71). Mental health score improved from 3.61 (SD = 0.96) to 4.29 (SD = 0.99). Leisure score rose from 3.67 (SD = 1.3) to 4.34 (SD = 0.55). From the class record it was noted that overall, the uptake of the class was encouraging with 85% of patients returning to the Yoga with on average completion of 3 classes. 6 out of 7 patients did not attend further classes due to discharge or other commitments rather than withdrawing from classes.

From the collected data we can see that Yoga classes appear to be associated with moderate improvements in mothers’ mental and physical health, at least immediately post-class. Whether this translates into long-term benefits remains unknown. Our service evaluation indicates that Yoga can be a beneficial part of holistic management for mothers in the MBU setting. In the future, this study could also involve pregnant mothers, who are an important population within the MBU setting.