If you are interested in your clinical service adopting IMPARTS, this page contains information about the process.

The first step is to email the team expressing an interest. A member of the team will then get in touch with you to arrange an initial meeting, at which we will discuss factors including:

  • The needs of your patient group and which questionnaires would be suitable;
  • Which clinics you would like to screen in and how many patients you typically see;
  • Any existing psychological support available to your patients;
  • Whether sufficient staffing is available to facilitate screening;
  • Which team member will lead on IMPARTS within your service.

Please note at the moment IMPARTS is only available in King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

IMPARTS Protocol

If both parties decide that IMPARTS is an appropriate tool for your clinic you will be  asked to sign a memorandum of understanding, and assigned an IMPARTS team member to oversee the implementation process. They will work with you to draft a bespoke IMPARTS protocol tailored to the needs of your service and patient group. It is drawn up in collaboration with your team and contains information, including:

  • Roles and responsibilities for facilitating the screening;
  • Where and when your service will use IMPARTS;
  • The patient reported measures/questionnaires that will be used;
  • The care pathways for patients who would benefit from further support;
  • A risk assessment guide for patients with severe depression and/or suicidal ideation.

Care Pathways

Care pathways are tailored to your specific patient group and IMPARTS utilised a stepped care model. Patients are directed to the service that is best placed to their needs, symptom severity and risk. Referrals are for guidance only, appropriate clinical judgement is required before acting on any recommended referral.

Technical Setup

Once your IMPARTS protocol is finalised, the IMPARTS team will begin to develop your tailored electronic screening platform and associated electronic patient record links. Once this is complete, a test link can be sent to your team to trial with a dummy patient ID. Once all parties are satisfied with the screening package we will transfer it to your tablet(s) and deliver it to your service.

Clinical Training

Prior to using IMPARTS in your service, we will arrange training with your team. This will cover both the technical and clinical aspects of IMPARTS. We recommend that all staff who will be involved with IMPARTS should attend, whether they be handing the tablets to patients or making clinical decisions based on the screening data.

Screening and Ongoing Support

Once these steps are complete, you are ready to begin screening. We recommend that one of the IMPARTS team attends on the first day of screening to offer any assistance needed. Once screening is embedded in your clinic as part of routine patient care our team remains on hand to offer advice and assistance, as well as top-up training if you have new members of staff join the team. We will send you regular updates of your screening data, with a breakdown of the core screening results of your patients.