Towards a better understanding of mental health care delivery systems: From stories to system components

The growing demand for better quality of care, together with an increasing awareness of limited resources, is bringing attention to the need for design in healthcare. In mental health, considered the largest single cause of disability in the UK, the need is great. Existing services often fail to meet current levels of demand and do not consistently deliver good quality care for all service users. The design of better delivery systems has the potential to improve service user experience and care outcomes. This paper reports how through the interactive and participatory method of storytelling, the key components of a mental health delivery system were identified. We explain each of the ten components and discuss their implications for system understanding and service design. A model of a mental health delivery system has also been proposed.