Blog - Primary Care Mental Health Conference, Bristol, May 2023

Blog by Rebecca Howling, Research Portfolio Officer, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB

This year’s Primary Care Mental Health conference was held at Engineers’ House in Bristol. It was a beautiful setting for this annual, one day conference, which this year was held in person. Forty seven people attended from academic primary care and mental health departments across the UK, and from organizations such as the local ICB.

The theme of the morning session was remote care and its management. Whilst not entirely unfamiliar before 2020, remote consultations had a surge during the pandemic because of covid restrictions, but now have become part of our everyday lives which has prompted conversations around evaluation and acceptability.

Throughout the day, we were lucky to hear about some of the ongoing work in this area.  One of the keynote speakers, Professor Fiona Stevenson, gave a brilliant introduction with some quotes from both patients and clinicians. The fascinating quotes gave context for the first few presentations where the focus was on the limitations and facilitators of telephone talking therapies, along with efforts to understand people's perceptions of remote care. Together these presentations set the stage for lively discussion during the questions and answers section (which is often my favourite bit!). The presentations were tight to time and our speakers did an impressive job of giving an overview of their work without it feeling rushed.

We also heard about a codesigned smartphone app aimed to reduce self-harm. This user-centred approach to project planning is fascinating to learn about, and it highlighted the importance of creating interventions with the end-user, undoubtably supporting the success of the intervention.

Our next keynote speaker, Professor Tony Kendrick, gave insight into their work, the REDUCE project, which works with patients to reduce their anti-depressants when they feel well enough to do so. We learnt that this conversation is not always initiated during routine consultations unless prompted. I found this particularly interesting that often both patients and GPs think the other will raise the suggestion when its time, leading to people staying on medication longer than perhaps needed – which I think could be a study in itself!

After lunch, the presentations shifted slightly to focus on using routinely collected data and digital solutions. We heard from Sarah Sullivan whose team is developing an algorithm to support clinicians’ referrals for psychosis evaluation. It was an enjoyable presentation and spurred talk of existing decision tools already in the health care system. The increase of digital tools is still an evolving discussion, and I am particularly interested in hearing about how these resources can support diagnosis and how often they are used in practice.

The Primary Care Mental Health Conference was a great day, bringing together professionals from different backgrounds to explore the critical intersection of primary care and mental health. The speakers were all brilliant and managed to not be put off by the noisy interruptions from the self-cleaning coffee machine – which went off at very regular intervals!

I know I have taken a great deal away from the conference, and the insights and collaborations which are going on will facilitate the essential support that every person needs whilst facing mental health needs. Thanks to all the speakers and organisers, it was a very well-planned day and I look forward to the next!