SCRUTINY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION ACTION AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (SCRAIP)
Committee: Community, Leisure Services and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Meeting Date: 11 March 2014
Minute №: 112
Topic: Accessing Mental Health Services Before the Point of Crisis
Update Report
Sarah Robson, Community Partnerships Manager and Sarah Shearsmith, Community Development Team Leader
August 2014
Note: The lead officer is Sarah Shearsmith, who is acting for Katie Latchford during her maternity leave.
Recommendation 1: That from July 2014 a joint mental health services meeting be held on a six monthly basis between Maidstone Borough Council, Kent County Council, Mental Health Trust, MTW and the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group to communicate and share information to ensure mental health and mental health services remain an on-going priority. This group to develop an action plan to include the following;
a. That a single point of access to mental health services is developed providing access to all cases of mental health and not just the more severe cases;
b. That the Maidstone Borough Council Community Development Team ensure there is continued engagement between the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group, Kent County Council Public Health and the Community, Charitable and Voluntary sectors and Maidstone Borough Council to ensure mental health services are commissioned on a well-informed basis;
c. That the plausibility of a central county self-assessment team or unit for mental health be investigated with a view to providing a cost effective and viable service for Kent;
d. Building on the success of the Street Triage Pilot, that the above group work with Kent Police and NHS Mental Health Teams to provide access to a 24 hour mental health service advice line for all police officers;
e. That the Community Development Team promote the Live it Well website as a priority via its communication channels to ensure its profile is raised and maintained
Actions: Regular meetings have already been set up led by Kent Public health and involving West Kent local authorities and CCG. This meeting will develop an action plan focused on developing a prevention and commissioning approach, with current priorities identified as dementia, children (in particular, the need for more timely access to services) and mental health.
1a. This recommendation requires substantial investment by both Kent County Council and CCGs within the County - the recommendation will be raised with both KCC and WKCCG for their consideration.
1b. This work will form part of the meeting above and will ensure involvement of all parties across West Kent.
1c. This recommendation requires substantial investment by both Kent County Council and CCGs within the County – the recommendation will be raised with both KCC and WKCCG for their consideration.
1d. Locally a pilot project is being scoped out with Kent Police, CRI, Mental Health Teams and trainee GPs, led by housing to support work with our street population. The roll out of the street triage pilot is being considered at county level.
1e. The Community Development Team is being trained on the live it well website and its core message of 6 ways to well-being. The team will promote the Live It Well website through all its’ communication channels and embed the principles in delivery of projects and commissioning through the team.
Timetable: First meeting to be set up by July 2014
Update:
1a. A single point of access to mental health services requires substantial investment. It is suggested that this is raised by the Borough Council representative (Alison Broom) at the West Kent Health and Wellbeing Board.
1b. In June 2014, a Task and Finish Group for Mental Health was formed by West Kent CCG Health and Wellbeing Board. The aim of the Group is to understand:
· Mental health improvement opportunities funded by Section 256,
· Opportunities for supporting employers and schools in prevention
· The need for a communications strategy to make sure that everyone who might need the service finds it easy to access.
· How can we build community resilience? What would districts/ boroughs, the various sectors of the NHS need to do to enhance this?
The Task and Finish Group is chaired by Ivan Rudd, Mental Health Specialist and Kent Public Health and is attended by the West Kent Districts. Maidstone Borough Council is represented by Katie Latchford/Sarah Shearsmith.
1c. A central county self-assessment team or unit for mental health requires substantial investment. Eligibility and an agreed assessment criteria will be key if the team will cover both children/adolescents and adults/older people services. It is suggested that this is raised by the Borough Council representative (Alison Broom) at the West Kent Health and Wellbeing Board.
1d. Locally a pilot project is being scoped out with Kent Police, CRI, Mental Health Teams and trainee GPs, led by housing to support work with our street population. The roll out of the street triage pilot is being considered at county level.
Maidstone Borough Council established a multi-agency project to tackle its street population in Maidstone town centre last year. The project has focused on key areas of the town centre including Week Street, High Street, Brenchley Gardens and the Archbishops Palace. The issues are complex and there are many reasons why people are on the street including homelessness, substance misuse issues or professional begging.
Together, the multi-agency group, which includes support from Maidstone Borough Council, Kent Police, Maidstone Mind, Urban Blue Bus, Maidstone Day Centre, CRI and Porchlight has worked together to provide an Assertive Outreach Service, which has successfully engaged some people off the streets into housing or other support services.
The assertive outreach work undertaken over the past few months has established the true size and scale of the problem. Since May 2014, 45 people have been successfully housed or relocated through the Assertive Outreach programme. Maidstone’s street population has a small number of clients, approximately 15, who repeatedly revolve through the support available often aggravated by the current economic climate, benefit sanctions, alongside their own entrenched complex needs and chaotic lifestyles. The Assertive Outreach team will continue to work with and support those individuals recently housed or relocated, alongside those that are hard to reach individuals or sustain engagement.
The pilot has been extended to October 2014. At this stage, the pilot has not been considered at county level.
1e. KCC Public Health will be support work the development of a Communication strategy and action plan that seeks to close the gap in the population’s understanding of mental health services in West Kent. The West Kent CCG Health and Wellbeing Board has supported the West Kent districts and other front line staff across to actively participate in presentations of Six Ways to Wellbeing campaign. Maidstone Borough Council has promoted the Six Ways to Wellbeing through the Council’s website and community days in Park Wood, High Street and Shepway North wards. Over the next 12 months, a programme of health and wellbeing activities will be held in Jubilee Square to promote the Six Ways to Wellbeing.
Recommendation 2: That Maidstone Borough Council’s Community Development Team ensure professionals and the community can access information on child and adolescent mental health services provided by NHS Kent and Sussex via the Council’s website ‘In the Stone’ and the borough update;
Action: Information on the mental health services available to children and adolescents in Maidstone will be made available through MBC website, the youth focused ‘in the stone’ website and the Borough update. This will include information on services provided by the Sussex Partnership, but also by local VCS providers who can offer support.
Note: Further work still needs to be undertaken to support the transition of care from child and adolescent mental health services to adult mental health services, when young people often get lost in the system when they reach 16. Young people who need help and support from mental health services can find themselves with no help and support at a time when they really need it. Through no fault of their own, when they reach 16 or 17 they can find themselves without any support because CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) ends, and they are too young or not ill enough for AMHS (Adult Mental Health Services) which does not start till they reach 18.
Timetable: Website by May 2014, Borough update in first 6 months
Update: Unfortunately, due to changes in management at Switch, who oversee the In the Stone website, there has been a delay in updating the website. However, they have agreed to set up a new page dedicated mental health and support by providing links to www.kmpt.nhs.uk/CAMHS, www.youngminds.org.uk, www.liveitwell.org.uk and Maidstone Mind websites.
The Community development team will produce an article for the autumn/winter 2014 Borough Update to promote available mental health services and other support networks for children and young people in the borough.
Recommendation 3: That the Maidstone Borough Council Community Development Team continue to support the Suicide Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) project via funding and their various communication channels, for example ‘In the Stone’ website;
Action: Commissioning intentions for the commissioning for prevention fund from KCC Public Health have been set and continuation funding allocated to the SAFE project in Maidstone.
As part of the Service Level Agreement MBC has with Voluntary Action Within Kent who run the project, there is an expectation that they will increase their communications work and raise their profile in Maidstone. The Community Development Team will support them to identify channels and publications to fulfil this obligation.
Timetable: Complete by September 2014
Update: Safe is a youth led project working to raise awareness about mental health in young people. The aim is to breakdown the unnecessary stigma that surrounds mental health ad help young people to know they are not alone and there is support to help them with a variety of mental health and wellbeing issues. The Safe project aims to make sure that young people are more aware of the danger signs of youth suicide and that they recognise the signs of mental health difficulties in themselves and their friends. The focus of the project has been to support local young people within schools to raise awareness of mental health issues and to deliver outreach support and activities.
Maidstone Borough Council has been working closely with VAWK to continue the delivery of SAFE within secondary schools within Maidstone. The programme is working alongside students at Oakwood Park; Maplesden Noakes; New Line Learning; Invicta Grammar School; Maidstone Girls Grammar; and Maidstone Grammar School.
Since the funding was confirmed for April 2014, the following work has taken place:
· Weekly Community Safe Committee meetings taking place at Switch Youth Café, up to 10 young people attend these meetings from various schools. The group have been working on a promotional film with ITV Fixers to help raise awareness of Mental Health and are planning a community art awareness event.
· A basic mental health awareness assembly is due to be delivered to all Maidstone Secondary Schools (11 in total) by December 2014.
· A young person from the Maidstone committee completed 2 weeks work experience in June working alongside the SAFE project officer.
Going forward:
· SAFE are planning an awareness event for World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2014.
· Young people are being trained up as volunteers are training is taking place in Safeguarding, Mental Health Awareness and SAFEtalk
SAFE has throughout the quarter used a variety of social media to signpost and raise awareness to include Facebook, Twitter, SAFE web pages and other local youth web pages.
The SAFE project was show cased at a county wide conference for Kent and Medway Grammar Schools on 30th June which was attended by 60+ Head Teachers and pastoral leads from across Kent.
Recommendation 4: That Maidstone Borough Council’s Community Development team together with their partners encourage prevention and early intervention in mental health and well-being by developing a pilot project aimed at primary school children and their parents to develop coping strategies when moving to secondary school.
Action: Commissioning intentions for the commissioning for prevention fund from KCC Public Health have been set and funding set aside to develop a pilot project in primary schools that supports the development of strong mental health coping strategies to aid transition and development in to adolescence.
Timetable: Pilot commissioned by July 2014
Update: A pilot project has yet to be developed following the expansion of Secondary School Work. SAFE are working with Year 7’s on entry to Secondary School to ask them to complete a monitoring questionnaire to find out what issues / fears they face. Work can then be developed based on the need of the young people.
Maidstone Borough Council is working alongside Kent County Council Public Health to develop an emotional resilience programme for young people. We hope to link these two programmes closely together.
Recommendation 5: That a letter of support from the Chairman of the Communities, Leisure Services and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee is sent to Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director of Education, Learning and Skills at Kent County Council supporting the ‘Coping and Resilience Strategy’ and ‘Early Intervention and Prevention Strategy’ being adapted to include children of primary school age and PSHE programmes raising awareness of mental health and well-being in schools.
Action: The Community Development Team will provide information to Tessa Mallet to aid in her drafting of the letter of support.
Update: Letter drafted by Community Development on behalf of Tessa Mallet. Tessa to liaise with the Chair of OSC to approve.