2731 - ROLE OF CLINICAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE TRANSFORMATION

Session: D08S0010 - Clinical Health Psychology & Healthcare Systems 1
AUTHORS:
Ip Lin Sie Lindsay (West London NHS Trust ~ London ~ United Kingdom)
Abstract text:
Background: England's new NHS Ten-Year Plan aims to tackle "wicked" healthcare problems through promoting three major shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. Clinical Health Psychology (CHP) plays a critical enabling role across all three shifts. This paper illustrates that role and its impact through the experience of the CHP Service within Ealing Community Partners, West London. Approach: The CHP Service embedded psychologists across physical-health pathways (chronic pain/MSK, diabetes, respiratory, and heart failure). The service model positioned psychologists as: a) Expert clinicians within multidisciplinary teams b) Trainers promoting psychologically informed care c) Facilitators of reflective practice to promote staff wellbeing amidst change d) System leaders driving prevention and quality improvement. Mixed-methods evaluation combined routine outcome measures, service-utilisation data across the care pathway, and qualitative feedback from staff and patients collected through surveys and interviews. Results: Across the four specialty pathways, patients receiving CHP input demonstrated improvement in depression, anxiety, quality of life and specific physical functioning outcomes. Comparing 12months data pre and post first attendance to CHP, there is a 22.2% reduction in A&E attendance, 33.3% reduction in emergency admissions and a 57% reduction in the average length of hospital stay. In addition, staff survey showed positive shift in attitudes and confidence in offering psychologically informed care. Qualitative feedback from patients and staff were positive, highlighting the elements that make care truly integrated such as bio-psycho-social formulation, leveraging psychological expertise in treatment adherence, and to improve communication especially earlier in the care pathway. Implications: Psychology plays a significant role in healthcare transformation beyond individual clinical input. The CHP model in Ealing demonstrates a transferrable framework for integrated services internationally to consider how they might optimize their psychological workforce to achieve the best value.