“Our goal is to make sure that that the right data is made available at the right time so that the right decision can be made.”
Bethany Paines-Chumbley is a Business Analyst at Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW). In this blog, Bethany talks about the work to develop a National Mental Health Care Record (NMHCR).
Right now, mental health services in Wales don’t have access to a lot of detailed information and most of the data they do have is quite general. The Together for Mental Health strategy set out by Welsh Government, includes the development of a National Mental Health Care Record (NMHCR). This will ensure all organisations are collecting the same information, so that patients get the same level of care, no matter where they are in Wales, improving patient outcomes. The Community and Mental Health Information Services Team at DHCW has been working hard to make this happen.
At first, the team looked at how mental health care is provided and identified the points where data needs to be collected. Then, they collaborated with stakeholders to decide what information should be collected and when. This way, the same data can be entered once but used multiple times.
I joined the team in September 2022 as a Business Analyst. Part of my role was to use this information to write user stories, which explain what a user wants to achieve with a software feature. These help developers understand a user’s needs and amend the existing system.
After adding new fields to an existing module, our Lead Specialist (Analysis) developed the version 5 Health Assessment module. This is how we collect data on the current system for the National Mental Health Care Record. It includes added functionality and enhancements compared to the earlier version, such as new data items and ease of use.
After engaging with our stakeholders, we agreed that Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) and Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) would pilot the new module. PTHB piloted it from June to September 2024. SBUHB started the pilot in July 2024 and is planned to finish in October 2024.
Following the pilot, our Senior Product Specialist extracted data from the system to conduct some analysis. As of September 10th, 2024, PTHB staff had entered 282 Mental Health Assessment records entered onto the system, showing that the module was being used by people across multiple teams.
The next step is to take the Final Proposal through the assurance process and create a Data Standard Change Notice (DSCN). This a document that tells organisations about a change they need to make to their digital systems or data. The DSCN will then need to be mandated through the Welsh Information Services Board (WISB), who oversee appraising information standards. This will ensure that any digital tools comply and collect the National Mental Health Care Record (NMHCR), meaning that there will be a wider rollout of this across Wales.
We are also working on other projects to look at data items needed for specialist mental health services, including perinatal services and substance misuse services.
To store the NMHCR, DHCW will host the National Mental Health database, using its data to generate actionable insights. The services can then use these insights to improve outcomes for citizens.
It’s great to see progress being made in this area. At a professional level, a digital patient record means patients won’t have to repeat their history at each appointment. It will help us achieve our goal of making sure that the right data is made available at the right time so that the right decision can be made.
The project is also important to me on a personal level. After my son was born in November 2023, I started having unpredictable periodic attacks of pain because of gallstones. Despite changes in diet, they happened as often as every week and could last for hours, making me feel really anxious. The anxiety spread into other areas of my life, so I went to see my GP. Thankfully, different treatments have helped me to cope much better. Some of these treatments were courses run by third-sector partners that I wouldn’t have known about if I wasn’t part of this project.