A ground-breaking technological solution that offers emergency mental health care more quickly has won a national award.

The emergency department psychiatry service’s Technology Assisted Psychiatry (TAP) project had been shortlisted earlier this year for the Positive Practice in Mental Health’s Innovation in Digital Technology Award, and was announced as the winner at the presentation ceremony last night (team pictured above).

The team manager, Charlotte Ball, accepted the award with members of the team and said: “We are delighted to win this award and be recognised by such a valued mental health charity.”

The trust’s emergency department psychiatry service in Oxfordshire provides assessment to patients with mental health issues presenting to A&E at the acute hospitals in Oxford and Banbury. Technology Assisted Psychiatry (TAP) enables speedier assessments via a video-link to the emergency department in Banbury, with 90% of patients using the service in the initial evaluation period describing the experience as ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’

Dr Kezia Lange, project lead on Technology Assisted Psychiatry at Oxford Health, explains the approach below.

More information on TAP is available here.