Evaluating Co-production in Mental Health - Wandsworth IAPT

[Sarah Lyall]

The evaluation of the Wandsworth Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Service has been launched! Wandsworth IAPT is a project delivered in partnership between Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network (WCEN) and South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. The London Network heard about the work at our January regional meeting.

You can read the evaluation here: http://spaa.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/IAPT_report_FINAL.pdf

The study was conducted by three academics from London universities and takes a participatory research approach to evaluate:

• What co-production means to those involved in IAPT
• How co-production works in this context
• The benefits and challenges of co-production

Dr Eleni Hatzidimitriadou, Dr Nadia Mantovani and Dr Frank Keating conclude that:

co-production appears to be very rewarding for both public agencies and
communities if supported and implemented with a view to empower people instead of
making false economies for the welfare services