First Annual Review of the Forensic Managed Care Network Advisory Board - Spring 2023

Overview

In October 2002 DHSSPS initiated the Bamford Review, a major, wide-ranging and independent review of the law, policy and provision affecting people with mental health needs or a learning disability in Northern Ireland.   Evolving from this, the Forensic Managed Care Network was established in June 2019.  Working across Health and Social Care services and Criminal Justice Agencies, the Forensic Managed Care Network aims to positively shape future service planning and delivery by, promoting collaboration, good practice examples, informing commissioners of priority areas of need and sharing learning and research to make evidence-based service improvements across the region.

 The Advisory Board membership was refreshed in 2021 to ensure key stakeholders across Health and Social Care and Criminal Justice (statutory, community and voluntary) were represented. The Forensic Managed Care Network is not a service; it’s a strategic partnership of services and as a whole system it encompasses the workforce within all agencies and service-users and carers. This whole system approach is critical to improve co-ordination of cross-departmental and multi-agency working. It also facilitates co-production with community and voluntary partners commissioned to provide support services and with service-users and carers with lived experience.

The Advisory Board co-produced a 3-year Strategic Plan which was approved and launched in June 2022. Included in the agreed Implementation Plan was the commitment to undertake an evaluation of the Network annually. This is the first evaluation. It will focus on the Advisory Board.

Purpose

 To evaluate how the Advisory Board is working and identify areas of good practice and make recommendations for improvement.