According to NHS England, one in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness – therefore bolstering research in this area could potentially help millions of people across the country.
The psychosis theme of the Mental Health Mission has been awarded over £4 million by the Office for Life Sciences. Bristol’s Dr Sarah Sullivan will be co-leading the psychosis prediction workstream of the psychosis theme alongside Dr Paolo Fusar Poli from Kings College London.
The Mission will be delivered through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration, a UK wide network of leading investigators specialising in mental health research.
The funding will be used to:
- Bolster research to improve the treatment and care for those with mental illness to address key issues affecting patients and clinicians today. Key priority areas for this research will include specific mental health conditions such as early psychosis and mood disorders which are currently under-researched, as well as research into children and young people’s mental health to improve treatment and diagnosis.
- The use of data and digital technologies is also a focus which aims to enable clinicians to more accurately target prevention and treatment. Enhanced use of technology has the potential to free up clinician time, such as by monitoring people at home through an app, which allows more people to receive treatment and reduces waiting lists for service users.
- Fund two pilot sites in Birmingham (University of Birmingham) and Liverpool (University of Liverpool and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust). They will work closely with industry to boost research and encourage investment. These sites will develop novel ways of working which can be rolled out to other sites in the future.
- Eliminate barriers for industry to deliver ground-breaking new treatments to people with mental health conditions faster.
Read more about Bristol Health Partner’s Psychosis Health Integration Team of which Dr Sullivan is a co-Director