Joanne McDonnell and Colin Jones explain how the Essence of Care framework was adapted for use in mental health services at their trust

Best-practice benchmarking is recognised as a valuable method in the development of practice. However, implementation of benchmarking procedures is not always straightforward and the process of supporting staff to meet the requirements of their roles is often too little emphasised. This article outlines the challenges posed by the implementation of best-practice benchmarking in health and social care, and reports on a tool that was devised to help with the introduction of the Essence of Care benchmarking in a mental health trust.