16 December 2024

Dr Adrian James, Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity at NHS England visited CNWL’s Peer Informed Open Dialogue pilot in Westminster.

Read the article below. 

Adrian spoke with patients, staff and carers all involved in the pilot. He said:

“It has been a really special afternoon for me. I’ve worked in a lot of services and I think what really strikes me about the open dialogue approach here, is it really does put the person with Lived Experience right at the centre. Secondly, it highlights how important networks are to all of us. Open dialogue not only uses the network you’ve got but it helps you to grow your own network in the way you feel comfortable with.”

Fiona Eastmond, Open Dialogue Lived Experience Project Officer, spoke about how Open Dialogue changes the experience of a patient in mental health services:

“The journey of a patient navigating mental health support can be a lonely one, Open Dialogue changes this and places emphasis on a patient’s network around them (e.g. their family, friends, carers, social workers). Their network are included in conversations with mental health professionals and becomes a strong foundation of support. Even if someone isn’t present or doesn’t have a network around them, we can ask ‘what would this person say if they were here’.”

Staff spoke to Adrian about network meetings and how they benefit patients. One team spoke about how a carer was the most distressed in a meeting and held a lot of information about the patient and how to support them. In older adult patients, a lot of people are involved with their care - adult children and social services – open dialogue brings them together.

Dr Gareth Jarvis is CNWL’s Open Dialogue Lead and took Adrian on the tour around Westminster’s mental health teams.  

CNWL’s development in Open Dialogue began three years ago. Since then, the team has developed in house training and saw how patients responded to Open Dialogue on a smaller scale.

Patients and staff saw positive outcomes so the team scaled up to create the Open Dialogue pilot, where multiple services within Westminster use the Open Dialogue approach to support patients. 

Throughout this pilot teams are closely monitoring patient feedback and their wellbeing to be sure Open Dialogue is making a positive change.

Gareth Jarvis said:

“Psychologists and psychiatrists have said working in an open dialogue way brings a richness and excitement to their work, feeling they can make a difference and see people feeling better faster. We’re changing the way us as professionals put forward questions and communicate. This change of dialogue with our patients to network thinking is making a positive difference and I look forward to seeing the results and taking it further.”