Case Study: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust achieves faster, fairer access to new mental health treatments with PA Consulting

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust secures £10.5 million and recruits trial participants in 4 months with PA Consulting

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool faced a challenge in providing equitable and faster access to new mental health treatments. Late-stage clinical trials were slow to set up and recruit participants, with research investment concentrated in limited centres. PA Consulting was engaged to help develop a blueprint and investment case for a new Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC).

PA Consulting collaborated with the partners to secure £10.5 million in government funding and design the M-RIC operational model. This included reimagining trial recruitment and co-developing a Trusted Research Environment data platform. As a result, the centre recruited participants for its first trial in just four months, against a usual timeline of years, and created a blueprint to accelerate treatments and equalise trial access across England.

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust