Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what outcome measures NHS England uses to assess the quality of care provided to people living with schizophrenia; and whether her Department plans to strengthen the use of outcome-focused metrics through the forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Severe Mental Illness.

NHS England guidance supports the routine use of outcome measures within mental health services for people living with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Early Intervention in Psychosis services provide timely access to specialist treatment and support for people experiencing a first episode of psychosis, including those who may go on to receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia. NHS England guidance recommends the use of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales, the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery, and DIALOG to assess clinical outcomes, social functioning, personal recovery, and service user experience. These measures support monitoring of outcomes alongside the delivery of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended care.

More broadly, NHS England guidance for community mental health services recommends the routine use of patient-reported outcome measures, including DIALOG, Recovering Quality of Life-10, and Goals Based Outcomes, to help services understand quality of life, recovery, and progress towards personalised goals from the perspective of people receiving care.

The Modern Service Framework for Severe Mental Illness will set a long-term outcome goal for people with severe mental illness and define what high-quality, equitable, and evidence-based care should look like across the care pathway. It will be supported by quality commitments and measures of progress designed to assess improvement over time.