CPH shortlisted in North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards

LJMU’s Centre for Public Health has been shortlisted in the ‘Best example of advancing local NHS systems for innovation’ category at the 2015 North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards for the Centre’s Integrated Monitoring System (IMS).

The North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards is a collaborative celebration event between the North West Coast Academic Health Science Network (NWC AHSN), CRN: North West Coast (CRN NWC) and NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care North West Coast (CLAHRC NWC). 

IMS has been shortlisted for helping identify thousands of individuals using drugs or alcohol problematically. The pioneering system is produced by the Intelligence and Surveillance Team at the Centre for Public Health and has been developed in collaboration with commissioners and partners across several different local authorities. It was recognised that significant activity was being delivered by locally-commissioned drug and alcohol services which was not being included in existing national reporting systems. IMS was accordingly developed as an adaptable monitoring system to report all ‘non-structured’ activity, such as brief interventions, recovery support, referrals, well-being assessments, health screening and syringe exchange, bringing together previously separate databases for alcohol, drugs and syringe exchange. 

Prior to the service, thousands of people with drug and alcohol problems had not appeared in any existing datasets. The service provides commissioners with a much more comprehensive overview of prevalence levels within their communities, as well as allowing services to properly reflect their levels of activity.

Mark Whitfield, Intelligence and Surveillance Manager at the Centre for Public Health, said: “I’m delighted the team’s hard work in designing and implementing IMS has been recognised in this way. It’s a huge technological achievement but also a great example of LJMU’s civic engagement ethos in practice.”

In addition to the shortlisting, the Centre has launched ‘Improve and Protect', a programme from the Royal Society for Public Health and ITN Productions which highlights the benefits and capabilities of this innovative system. The programme features key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles. See the website for more information.

Professor Anne Scott, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Community at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “The Centre for Public Health is at the cutting edge of developments in public health both nationally and internationally. This week brings further evidence of the enormous innovative and creative ability of our colleagues in the Centre. The Faculty of Education, Health and Community at LJMU is very proud of our profile in and contribution to the public health agenda, locally, nationally and internationally.”