Deployment of a territorial innovation
Perrain ALICE and Sarron PIERRE-YVES
In a dual context of dwindling resources in psychiatry and a significant increase in mental health disorders, our system was created by the 6 Professional Communities Territories of Health and the Territorial Hospital Group of our department in 2021, to strengthen the outpatient mental health service. – Psychiatric telexpertise for general practitioners (720 in 5 years) and multidisciplinary team meetings for primary care teams. – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy groups (depression, insomnia, burnout): 955 patients referred, 525 patients treated in 5 years. Clinical improvement comparable to individual therapy. – Development of a shared culture among all mental health stakeholders in a given area, across the health, social, and medico-social sectors : webinars, monthly newsletters.Initially deployed in one department, our program has benefited from ongoing state funding since 2023, allowing for expansion to other regions. We are currently deploying in three departments within the region, as well as in other departments across the country. To facilitate this, a deployment guide has been written, outlining the precise implementation process. We propose videoconference meetings with teams from other regions. Quantitative and qualitative monitoring of the deployments in the various regions is planned, including data collection and regional and national meetings with stakeholders in the departmental programs.Our pragmatic approach relies on efficient and readily accessible resources for general practitioners to improve the management of specialist resources. It was designed from the outset to be replicable and adaptable to local resources.The success of this implementation depends on rigorous coordination, strong local ties, and a shared commitment to strengthening the links between general practitioners and psychiatrists.Monitoring the indicators will allow us to quickly identify the necessary adjustments and guide future developments of the system to better meet the expectations of healthcare professionals and patients in the area.Our system ensures earlier detection and more appropriate treatment of mental health disorders as a whole. Deploying it in other regions means choosing an innovative and pragmatic strategy, based on concrete and successful experience, to achieve a lasting improvement in the mental health of our citizens.
