The UK’s first Baseline Biomarker Check (BBC) clinic has been launched at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Warneford Hospital site in Oxford. This pioneering service aims to improve the assessment of people experiencing first-episode psychosis, a condition often first developing in late adolescence or early adulthood.
First-episode psychosis involves experiencing hallucinations or delusions. Early assessment and treatment are crucial for improving outcomes, but the varied causes and responses to treatment can make diagnosis challenging in routine practice. The new BBC clinic addresses this by providing a one-off enhanced clinical assessment that integrates clinical interviews, brain imaging, thinking and memory assessments, and neurological health checks within a single appointment.
Developed with input from people with lived experience of psychosis, the clinic is supported by funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Oxford Health and Wellcome. It offers patients more detailed assessments, shorter waits for results, and the opportunity to participate in research aimed at understanding psychosis development and treatment responses.
Dr Graham Blackman, Consultant Psychiatrist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and BBC clinic lead, stated: “Experiencing psychosis for the first time can be overwhelming for patients and their families. The new BBC clinic allows us to bring together a range of assessments in one place and at an early stage in a person’s care. By gaining a more complete understanding of each individual’s health and experiences, we hope to improve diagnosis, support more personalised treatment and ultimately achieve better outcomes for people affected by psychosis.”
The clinic's integration of research within routine NHS care aims to develop more personalised approaches. Patients can voluntarily participate in optional research activities, including advanced MRI brain imaging and biological sample collection. Researchers anticipate that the data gathered will significantly improve the understanding and future treatment of psychosis.
