MaST
The ability to analyse the data collected by the NHS is critical to delivering high-quality healthcare, especially in mental health where the demand on services is increasing in an environment already stretched in terms of capacity and resource. Community mental health teams have rising caseloads, increasingly with complex mental health problems. Practitioners are prioritising managing risk with limited time to deliver recovery-based care which would support the journey back into appropriate primary care services.
At a system, team or individual caseload level, MaST enables frontline staff, managers and clinicians to identify risks and issues and improve the quality and safety of patient care.
About
MaST is a powerful and easy to use caseload management system which uses predictive analytics to identify those people who are most likely to require crisis services such as A&E, Community Crisis Services or inpatient care.
MaST is used by adult mental health services in the community to support improved caseload management and decision-making about resource allocation, based on service user needs.
MaST enables clinicians to adopt a dynamic approach to skill resourcing and prioritising care pathways. By providing insight into people’s risk of using crisis services and identifying those who may benefit from a review of their care, this more structured approach to decision-making improves resource management and supports better care.
MaST has been adapted during the coronavirus pandemic to combine data sources and can be used to identify people who are particularly vulnerable because of their mental health, physical health or social situation. Trusts using MaST have reported improved patient flow, reduced hospital admissions for people in crisis and a reduction in the number of people lost to follow up.
Additional MaST modules are being developed from early intervention in psychosis and older adult services.
MaST is being used to enable delivery of the Community Mental Health Transformation Framework, supporting:
- System-level insights including predictive analytics and indicators of quality and safety that are meaningful to the range of providers
- Integrated physical health, mental health and social care data
- Continuity of care
