The 3D Strategy

The 3D strategy is the most significant transformation of our services since the Trust came into being in 2002 and its realisation will enable us to be one of the best performing mental and physical health and wellbeing service providers in the country.3D logo

  • There are 22 projects (the 'cornerstone tasks') now underway, working to transform all areas of service.
  • Most projects are still in the first stage of design, with members looking at how we ensure we capture best practice in our trust as well as others.  As the design phase closes, we will ask for your ideas and feedback to support the development process.
  • Recovery will be at the core of all we do.


The 3D Strategy (looking at the Design, Development and Delivery of services for years to come) is a wide-ranging review which will touch every part of the service we provide from primary care to inpatient services. It will enable us to adopt best practice and integrate clinical pathways between primary care, community, social care services and hospital care. 3D has the full support of clinical staff and is an integral part of improving the care for vulnerable people in our city.

Inpatient and acute services will be reorganised and consolidated onto two sites (the IPR project) so that we can implement best practice clinical models at ward level with dedicated consultant-led teams and revised gateway processes for admission. As part of IPR we have just openeda new all-male rehabilitation unit - Acacia - at Park House, which will give additional support to service users to move back into their community and reconnect with their social networks. See our leaflet with more information.  The 22 cornerstone tasks are:


Acute and urgent mental health care
  • Delivery of services from 2 inpatient sites (instead of 3)
  • Development of an effective urgent care service, including provision of a "ward in the community" 24/7 and consideration of an urgent care "hub"
  • Integrated acute liaison service (adults and later life)
  • Separation of inpatient and community psychiatry (medical staffing) in services for adults of working age
  • Introduction of a dedicated rehabilitation ward, within the current bed complement
  • Improvements to the therapeutic milieu
  • Improving coherent approaches to multidisciplinary practice, including management of leave, AWOLs, care planning, discharge planning


Community mental health care

  • Development of a stepped care model, incorporating efficient and evidence based care pathways for each of: primary care mental health services; intake and treatment services; longer term community care.
  • Design and implementation of a structured network of community teams to best enable delivery of the service model teams and services.
  • Equitable distribution of community mental health resources, allowing for variations in need, demand & Commissioner expectations.
  • Personalisation and recovery-focussed services across the Trust.
  • Development of primary care mental health services as part of a stepped care model.


Prison, Alcohol and Wellbeing

  • Development of a community health and wellbeing approach across the communities of Manchester
  • Provision of integrated general and mental healthcare in prison
  • Development of an effective healthcare approach to alcohol misuse


Specialist mental health services

  • Management of business and market development beyond the City of Manchester


Research, development, and training

  • Improving integration of research findings into practice change, and practice problems' influence on research activities
  • Ensuring service changes maintain compliance with contracts for both undergraduate and postgraduate education
  • Reducing reliance on junior doctors and improving their training experience
  • Systematic evaluation of outcomes and of significant service change


HoNOS PbR

  • Care clustering, as a means of understanding caseload distributions, and of managing unjustifiable variance in practice


General and underpinning tasks

  • Reducing unjustified variation in clinical models and approaches across the City

Projects under 3D