In 2025 we aim to...

Widen participation in research

The introduction of the new Count Me In system will support us in 2025 to increase participation in trials and studies and make it easier for more patients and service users to hear about research opportunities that are relevant to them. We will also continue our widespread Count Me In communications campaign and recruit more Count Me Champions in Mersey Care and beyond to promote the benefits of research involvement.

Link into other NHS data such as GP records

By linking into other NHS secure data environments such as GP records, it will allow researchers to assess the best ways to help GPs support Mersey Care patients and service users in the community.

Strengthen our PPIE output

M-RIC is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, with meaningful Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) at all levels. Service Users and Carer Representatives (SUCRs) actively contribute to all work packages, collaborate with researchers and clinicians, and serve on M-RIC's operational and research groups. In 2025, we hope to further integrate SUCRs and public advisors into our research and ensure their role in decision-making and grant applications. We also plan to engage with a wider number of community groups in the region in our aim to reduce inequalities in mental health research.

Create personas to inform our digital innovation

Working with our service users and carers, we will develop a suite of personas to support our mental health avatar work package. Personas are fictional characters created to represent people within our local communities. We will use these personas to develop and test apps and artificial intelligence that will help improve patient care

Improve NHS employee wellbeing

We will analyse the results of the ESTNL wellness pilot involving over 100 Mersey Care staff testing a digital health and wellbeing app. We will then use the findings for further research into tools to support staff health and wellbeing.

Launch the Mood Clinic

This new specialist service will support our research and help us treat patients in Cheshire and Merseyside who have previously experienced problems with their mood but treatment from their GP or community mental health team has not helped.

Build partnerships to increase our research with children and young people

We will continue to grow our partnerships with the Children Growing Up in Liverpool (C-GULL) study and Alder Hey Children's NHS Hospital Foundation Trust to develop new ways to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Leading on rethinking treatments for psychosis

We will carry out a clinical trial to study the immune system in relation to psychosis. This will help us understand if changing the way we use anti-inflammatory medications could lead to new treatments for people with psychosis.

Raise the profile of public mental health systems

We will continue to grow a Liverpool City Region Adverse Childhood Experiences Alliance (LACES) recruiting partners across the region and jointly hosting a conference to share ideas and best practice. We will continue to evaluate the health impact of multiple programmes of social and economic support for households across Liverpool City Region.

Future proofing

We have a five year funding award from the Office for Life Sciences and the National Institute for Health and Care Research though the Mental Health Mission but our vision for M-RIC extends beyond this. We will help secure our future through further sustainability planning. We will also generate more industry partnerships to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of innovations within our research projects and new services and treatment options.