Agenda item

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer presenting formally the final report of the Mental Health Issues Working Group. The final report of the Mental Health Issues Working Group was attached to the report.

Mr. Roger Hutchings, co-opted Member representing Healthwatch Sefton, presented the report.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       Progress was still required to ensure that the term “parity of esteem” regarding mental health awareness was fully integrated into all aspects of health discussion.

·       A great deal of work had been undertaken in terms of mental health in recent years, although further progress was always welcomed.

·       Health and safety covered all working conditions, including mental health.

·       The number of mental health first aiders within the Council, compared to first aiders was requested.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health be requested to develop an action plan that incorporates the following recommendations and that the recommendations are taken forward into commissioning plans:

A.       support the development of accurate data to evidence Key Performance Indicators, to include waiting times for services and customer satisfaction, to be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health) on a regular basis, in the form of a dashboard;

B.       support the development of greater parity of esteem for mental health within the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy and other strategic documents;

C.       consider methods of increasing feedback from service users, to include case studies and a “secret shopper” approach, in order to encourage an approach of continuous improvement for service user experience;

D.       consider methods of increasing service user involvement, particularly in their own crisis planning, in anticipation of reforms to the Mental Health Act;

E.       consider methods of encouraging service users to become “experts by experience”, particularly through the use of Mersey Care facilities such as the Life Rooms and Crisis Cafes;

F.       support the development of Integrated Care Systems for a more holistic approach to issues that can impact on mental health, such as housing, addiction, complex lives issues, etc.;

G.       support the inclusion of approaches adopted during the pandemic, such as the use of video technology, within the development of the Technology Enabled Care Services Strategy;

H.       undertake a review of some of the services traditionally provided, in the light of alternative services provided and service user take-up of those services, during the pandemic;

I.        submit a report on the work and outcome of the Sefton Mental Health Review Task and Finish Group, set up between the Council, CCG’s, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the voluntary sector, to the to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health), in due course;

J.        review digital entry points for service users to access the Council’s mental health services, in order to ensure that access is as straightforward as possible via the Council’s website and that links to other organisations are readily available;

K.       submit a report on the work undertaken in relation to transitions from children’s services to adult services, to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health), in due course to include care leavers and other vulnerable user groups;

L.       review the Directory of Services available, in order to produce a map of services, to assist service users to navigate the system;

M.      report progress regarding the formal assessment of diagnosis for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities/Autism Spectrum Disorder conditions in young people aged 18-25 and adults, within the six-monthly monitoring report, on the outcome of additional funding and training of staff provided by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the Clinical Commissioning Groups for the reduction of waiting times for diagnosis;

2.       that the Senior Democratic Services Officer be requested to liaise with relevant officers in order to ensure that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health) receives a six-monthly monitoring report, setting out progress made against each of the recommendations outlined above; and

3.       that the relevant officers be requested to provide numbers of mental health first aiders within the Council, compared to first aiders.