Benchmarking adult mental health organizations

This paper describes the adult mental health forums that were conducted as part of the National Mental Health Benchmarking Project (NMHBP).

Eight adult mental health forums were attended by staff from eight adult mental health services from around the country. The forums provided an avenue for these participants to document their organizations' performances against previously agreed key performance indicators (KPIs), and to compare this performance with that of their peers. The forums also encouraged discussion about appropriate targets.

Forum participants found that the inter-organizational range for many of the KPIs was substantial, and they used this to inform practice change within their own organizations. They also found that they could set "alert targets" and "good practice targets" for some KPIs but not others. The discussion that ensued informed participants' understanding of factors that were within the control of their organizations that could be modified to improve service quality.

Benchmarking in adult mental health services is not only possible but also likely to be extremely worthwhile as an exercise in improving service quality. For benchmarking to realize its potential, it requires strong national and local leadership, and a spirit of openness on the part of participating organizations.