Improving the physical health of people prescribed antipsychotic medication in secondary care mental health provider services. AQuA’s approach to providing health improvement support in North West England

International, UK and regional evidence shows premature mortality of service users prescribed antipsychotic medication is far higher than the general population. National audits highlight poor levels of screening, monitoring and interventions by mental health services. AQuA, a membership improvement organisation in North West England, commenced a regional learning and improvement project in 2012 to improve cardio metabolic screening and interventions. Description: AQuA is working with 28 community teams across 8 health and social care economies. The project aims to increase the numbers of people who get a full cardio metabolic screening and referrals on for treatment when needed. The project uses AQuA’s six step approach, utilising Plan Do Study Act cycles and includes continuous quality measures to embed sustainable improvements. Conclusion: Phase 1 audit at 6 months showed a 60-80% improvement in documented cardio metabolic screening. Across phase 1 and 2 teams are improving processes and pathways through developing relationships with local partners in health and social care. Discussion: A regional co-designed approach can be successful in engaging and supporting teams to drive integration at scale but the programme needs to be responsive to emergent issues to effectively enable innovation and learning.