Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Deputy Director of Public Health.

The purpose of this Plan is to describe how, over the next 5 years, we intend to improve the availability, access, appropriateness and effectiveness of mental health services for Children and Young People (C&YP) in Stockport. The  Plan  has been produced by the Stockport Children and Young People’s Mental Health Transformation Project Team;  a multi-agency partnership led by Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in collaboration with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) which includes representatives from health, social care and education services, voluntary sector organisations and parents.

The Health and Well Being Board is asked to receive the documents, note the CCG allocation and support the proposed direction of the plan.

Officer contact: Alison Caven (Stockport CCG)/  Donna Sager (Stockport Council); 0161 426 5517 /0161-474-3928, alison.caven@nhs.net   donna.sager@stockport.gov.uk

The Joint Commissioning Manager, Children & Young People, Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group, submitted a report of the Deputy Director of Public Health (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the Stockport Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Local Transformation Plan that sought to describe how improvements would be made to availability, access, appropriateness and effectiveness of children 7 young people mental health services in Stockport.

Stockport had been successful at gaining £584,466 of additional funding from NHS England to support the implementation of the Transformation Plan.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         In response to a question about monitoring of outcomes it was stated that measures were being developed and new methods of data collection to reflect the changes to the service.

·         The move away from service tiers to services that were more responsive to individual need was welcomed, although it was commented that those would make monitoring more challenging.

·         It was queried whether the aspirations to attract further professionals, such as infant mental health practioners, were realistic. In response it was stated that it was hoped the additional investment, together with the proven track record of quality service in Stockport, would make recruitment attractive. The additional resources that had been provided by NHS England would allow recruitment to be undertaken soon.

·         Concerns were expressed about the additional expectations that may be placed on teachers as part of the plan. In response it was stated that the proposal was to raise awareness of mental health and the new CAMHS service amongst teachers and school staff, particularly secondary schools and colleges. It was not expected that every teacher would provide additional interventions. It was also commented that academies would be included within the offer of this new service, and they had previously been supportive and willing to engage in these kinds of services.

·         Secondary head teachers have consistently identified CAMHS capacity as a priority issue for their school. But it was important to develop services that worked alongside and within schools, as ensure children remained in school and were included was vital to the success of these intervention.

·         The ‘design-by-doing’ approach to service development set out in the plan was a positive approach.

·         The disparity between the expected number of referrals into CAMHS and the actual number, which was less, was striking. It was likely that as the transformation plan was implemented this may lead to an increase and so the Plan needed to take account of this probable growth.

·         Concerns were expressed that the non-recurrent funding being targeted on waiting list reduction for CAMHS referrals was insufficient given the likely increase in demand. It was also commented that reducing waiting times from 20 to 18 weeks still meant that young people were waiting a very long time for an appointment. In response it was stated that other measures in the Plan were intended to provide other opportunities to receive support earlier and perhaps more effectively. It was emphasised that a key element of the process of implementing the Plan, work was being undertaken to align a range of other services that could bridge the gap between referral and appointment. It was also commented that new NHS guidelines were likely that would see waiting time targets reduce from 18 weeks.

RESOLVED – (1) That the ‘Improving Children & Young People’s Mental Health in Stockport’ Local Transformation Plan 2015-2020 be received and the proposed direction of the Plan be endorsed.

(2) That the allocation of additional resources by the Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group, as set out in the report, be noted.

(3) That the Board recognise the importance of improving outcomes for children and young people’s mental health, noting the importance of work with schools.