Invited Review Service: its role and how to get in touch
In this article we remind members of the role of the College’s Invited Review Service.
The College’s Invited Review Service (IRS) is designed to support both NHS and independent mental health services where issues occur that cannot be rectified by internal processes or where the circumstances don’t meet the criteria for involving formal regulators.
We provide bespoke, independent reviews when concerns have been identified such as:
- concerns about diagnostic practices
- concerns about an individual or team functioning
- excess serious incidents
- complex organisational matters relating to clinical management and service delivery
- whistleblowing
- quality assurance of an internal review process
- assessment of governance processes.
We offer three main types of reviews, which are adapted according to the specific aim of the review:
- Service review – where concerns about a specific clinical service have been highlighted. Our review team typically carries out a documentary review, undertakes site visits and meets with relevant individuals in the service.
- Individual/Team review – Our review team will provide expert opinion on how an individual or team is functioning. This normally involves a site visit, meetings with relevant individuals and examining documentation.
- Case note review – Our review team will evaluate whether the assessment and clinical management of a patient or patients is acceptable. We assess the care provided against approved/evidence-based practices including speciality-specific guidance, depending on the details of the case.
A final report is provided with the review team's findings and clear, implementable recommendations to improve the quality of patient safety and care.
If your organisation is considering an Invited Review we would encourage an early confidential discussion to better understand how we can help.
An initial approach can be made via email irs@rcpsych.ac.uk by an organisation’s Executive Director (of Medicine, Nursing or Social Work) or Chief Executive.
Please see Invited Review Service for more information.