Agenda item

To consider a report of the Director of Public Health.

The report presents the One Stockport Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy which sets out five ambitions for the next seven years to 2030.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to review the Strategy.

Officer contact: Jilla Burgess-Allen by email: Jilla.burgess-allen@stockport.gov.uk or Judith Strobl by email: Judith.strobl@stockport.gov.uk

The Director of Public Health submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) presenting the One Stockport Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy which outlined five ambitions for the next seven years to 2030.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care (Councillor Keith Holloway) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Members noted the gap in support for young people as they transitioned from children’s to adults’ services and that once a young person reached adult services they were expected to seek their own mental health support and services. It was queried how the council engaged with and provided support for people who were unable to leave the house or actively research available support due to their mental health.

·         In response, it was stated that the council was adopting a whole system approach to ensure that people who were struggling had a number of avenues to get the help and support they needed from a variety of different sources in a joined up and holistic way. It was noted that one of the strands within the neighbourhoods and prevention programme was around accessing information and advice in a number of ways whether that be via social prescribing, GPs, online or telephone with the aim of early intervention.

·         Members welcomed the Whole School Approach to mental health and wellbeing throughout Stockport and the outcome associated, and requested additional information around the proposal to build a specialist provision on the Hazel Grove High School site.

·         In response, it was confirmed that a written response would be circulated providing additional information in relation to the specialist provision at Hazel Grove High School.

·         In relation to community mental health and the stakeholders involved, it was queried whether that included Stockport Mental Health Carers and the police.

·         In response, it was stated that the service was working closely with the Stockport Mental Health Carers group who had previously raised significant concerns from their perspective in terms of accessing specialist mental health services, both in primary and secondary care and had been linked into local providers. It was noted that the group would be involved in and had influenced the structure of the Mental Health Partnership Board and their report including the recommendations made had been considered at the ONE Stockport Health & Care Locality Board and was due to be considered at Pennine Trust’s Board. In relation to the police, it was commented that the Mental Health Partnership Board needed to be ambitious in its scope and welcomed a broad representation of partners including the police as a key partner.

·         It was suggested that the mental health literacy training be made available to Members given their role in the community and work with residents across the borough.

·         It was requested that further information in relation to the Mental Health Partnership Board and Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Delivery Board including the work and anticipated impact of the Boards be shared with Members of the Scrutiny Committee.

·         It was noted that whilst the strategy explored some of the factors which influenced a person’s mental health such as socio-economic and physical factors including age, there was no reference to some of the communities in the borough such as the LGBTQ+ community or Black, Asian and minority ethnic community.

·         In response, it was recognised that the experiences of the equality groups identified was different to other groups within the community and was a focus of the suicide prevention work. Members were assured that the equality groups were being considered as part of the mental health and wellbeing work. In addition, the neighbourhoods and prevention work sought to provide a granular understanding of the differential experiences of some of these issues within the different neighbourhoods and communities across the borough in order to provide equitable support to all residents in Stockport. 

·         Members sought clarification in relation to the references of partners working differently with the community in the report.

·         In response, it was stated that there was no end to the development of the integrated approach and in ensuring that services listen to the voice of people with lived experience, whilst being honest and transparent about the limits of the resources available. It was commented that the report sought to convey that as a system there was a requirement to continually improve in order to provide residents with the best possible services.

·         Clarification was requested in relation to the term lived experience.

·         In response, it was stated that there had been some user-led national groups including Think Local Act Personal and Social Care Future who had consulted people nationally and confirmed that the preferred term to describe people with different experiences was people with lived experience as opposed to service user.

·         It was queried why there wasn’t a focus on promoting independence within the strategy.

·         In response, it was commented that it was hoped that the spirit of wanting to promote and maintain independence was visible within the strategy through the references of self-care and enabling people to look after their own mental health and wellbeing.

·         In relation to the Independent Pregnancy Loss Review published in July 2023, it was queried whether the recommendations contained within the report would be considered in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

·         In response, it was stated that whilst the overarching Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy did not contain that level of detail, the recommendations around pregnancy loss support would be an element within the fifth ambition in terms of providing the right support at the right level for people in difficult stages of their life.

·         Members welcomed the work to refresh the community directory and suggested that councillors be involved in the work in order to link in with community groups.

·         It was queried what work was being undertaken with frontline medical professionals to embed the ‘No Wrong Door’ approach to support people suffering with mental health challenges.

·         In response, it was commented that the ambition was to promote training and awareness around mental health across the whole system whilst breaking the stigma around mental health so that people felt able to raise their concerns and feel listened to wherever they raise their concerns.

·         Within the financial context of local authorities and the health economy, it was queried how this may impact the deliverability of the strategy.

·         In response, it was commented that the service was mindful that they were trying to implement an ambitious strategy within the context of a difficult financial landscape, the mental health status of the population and state of the mental health system, however the strategy had been developed in a collaborative and inclusive way and would continue to implement the strategy using a whole system approach.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.