The EIP Network Annual Forum: CCQI’s first hybrid event

On Friday, 7 October, the Early Intervention in Psychosis Network (EIPN) held its seventh Annual Forum at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, only this time our audience stretched far beyond the first floor of 21 Prescot Street.

EIPN’s forum felt the perfect candidate for the CCQI’s first foray into hybrid events, following over two years of almost entirely virtual programmes. The national draw is huge as the only UK-wide event designed specifically for specialist early intervention in psychosis services, supported generously by colleagues at NHS England/Improvement. With previous forums attracting hundreds of delegates, we felt that the option to watch online would serve as a welcome alternative to attending in person where not possible due to capacity or work pressures (or train strikes, as it happened!).

We were delighted to be able to share a varied programme, informed by member feedback and packed full of lived experience. Presentations ranged from a demonstration of using virtual reality to address social anxiety to the development of art and mentalisation-based therapy groups, as well as our usual updates from the quality network and the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis (NCAP). 

Despite some initial teething problems with technology, we were able to broadcast all plenary sessions and parallel workshops to a further 100 or so delegates, bringing our total attendance to about 250.

A review of feedback collected following the event showed that 91% of attendees rated the event as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, with additional, qualitative feedback really highlighting teams’ gratitude for being able to access the content remotely and/or on demand at a later date. Other delegates attending in person welcomed the opportunity to meet colleagues face-to-face for the first time since before the pandemic, and advocated for a repeat of this format in future years to ensure maximum accessibility. Watch this space…!

The EIPN team were particularly thankful for the support of other departments involved in the smooth running of the Forum, namely CALC, facilities, and the AV team, without whom we could not have run such a well-received event.

For more information on EIPN and our upcoming events, please visit our page.