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Read the below interview with Prof Roz Shafran on their success story.
Can you tell us about why you were awarded this prestigious honour?
The Psychological Medicine team won the BMJ’s Mental Health Team of the Year Award for The Lucy Project in November 2021. Named after the Peanuts cartoon character, a drop-in centre providing accessible, low-intensity early intervention mental health support for patients and families was launched at Great Ormond Street Hospital. There was a significant positive impact of attending the drop-in centre on symptoms and quality of life for children, parents, and siblings. Patients and their families also reported a positive experience and health economics analysis indicated value for money. Here is the BMJ film on the Lucy Project from the awards presentation and links to published papers can be found on our website link below.
Who were the team members involved in the work that was recognised?
The research project was led by Isobel Heyman, Roz Shafran, Sophie Bennett, Anna Coughtrey and Holan Liang from the Psychological Medicine Team at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, a multidisciplinary team made up of clinical and academic staff. The project also formed part of Matteo Catanzano’s PhD. The project would not have been possible without support from the enthusiastic volunteer team at the hospital, the incredible hospital estates staff and Crispin Walkling-Lea, as well as referrals from the different clinical teams. The project was funded by the Beryl Alexander Charity and GOSH CC.
What does the award mean to you?
We were absolutely delighted to receive this award as recognition of the importance of improving timely access to mental health support for children with long-term physical health conditions. We hope it will inspire other hospitals to think innovatively about mental health provision for their patients and families.
What are your furture plans in this line of work?
We are currently rolling out the research project at other children’s hospitals across the UK. This is being led by Anna Roach who is completing this as part of her PhD and Isabella Stokes, a lead EMHP at UCLH which is one of our participating sites. If you are interested in finding out more or getting involved, please email gos-tr.thelucyproject@nhs.net or check out our website: The Lucy Project
