The aim of the national personality disorder programme is to assist in the development of health and social care communities who are able to deliver more inclusive services for people with a personality disorder. Hence its focus is to:

• Develop user-focussed services within a delivery context which is well informed about the specific needs of this group of people.

The activities of the programme include:

• The development of 11 community based mental health service pilots which have recently been devolved into local mainstream services;
• The development of 6 forensic pilot sites attached to secure and community settings for people coming through secure services;
• Strengthening workforce development through the development of local and national resources;
• Improving access to information by commissioning a website and giving examples of best practice;
• Publishing commissioning and best practice guidance;
• Personality plus – a creative arts development;
• Having a strong service user and carer voice in all elements of the programme;
• Developing the knowledge & understanding framework to educate people working with those with personality disorder

The programme aims to achieve:

• Improvements in the information about effective service provision to stop isolation of this group of people and to develop examples of best practice.
• A reduction in the stigma associated with personality disorder;
• Improvements in the lived experience of service users using health and social care;
• A recognition that all service areas consider the needs of this group of people to prevent further exclusion from services;
• A range of training packages incorporating basic knowledge and understanding of personality disorder through to specialised therapeutic interventions;
• The development of a commissioning toolkit to inform future practice of commissioning services;
• Providing evidence through research of effective interventions developing through the 11 pilot sites