Archived decisions

Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Health Scrutiny Joint Committee

Mental Health Workshop

22 October 2007

Present

            Members Officers

Hampshire County Council Councillors: Denise Holden

            Dr. R. Ellis (Chairman) David Pryke

            Mrs. A. Buckley

            R. Love

            Mrs. A.M. McNair Scott

Southampton City Council Councillor G. Drake Martin Day

Portsmouth City Council Councillors: Sam Meyer

            David Stephen Butler

            L. Mason

Isle of Wight Council Councillor Mrs. E. Oulton Louise Biggs

            (Vice-Chairman) Claire Foreman

Havant Borough Council Councillor Gwen Blackett

Rushmoor Borough Council Councillor F. Williams

Hampshire Adult Services Liz McGill

                    Margot Mottershead

                    Catherine Pascoe

Hampshire Primary Care Trust Ann Bullen

                    Jim Dassut

Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust Jane Elderfield Martin Robinson

    1. Mental Capacity Act 2005

      Liz McGill gave a presentation on the reasons for and requirements of the Mental Capacity Act which had recently came into force. She explained the need for and key principles of the Act and gave definitions of `capacity' and `lack of capacity'. She went on to outline the assessment of capacity; best interests; additional measures and policies which included advance decision to refuse treatment, lasting powers of attorney, court appointed deputies and advance statement of wishes; independent mental capacity advocacy service and its implementation and implications in Hampshire.

    2. Mental Health Act 2007

      Liz McGill gave a presentation on the changes made by and the implications of the Mental Health Act. She outlined the workplan and the timeframe for implementation of the Act.

    3. Performance against National Targets

      Jim Dassut, Jane Elderfield and Margot Mottershead gave a presentation of the performance against national targets for mental health for people of working age. They gave details of the National Service Framework for Mental Health 1999, the NHS Plan 2000, the Mental Health Policy Implementation Guides, Performance Monitoring of National Service Frameworks, Self Assessment 2006 achievements and current workstream and themed review, financial mapping and service mapping. They outlined the joint Commission for Social Care Inspection/ Hampshire County Council Mental Health Services Improvement Review of July 2006 and it is outcomes. They explained the current national priorities which were:

      · Social inclusion - improving quality of life for people with mental illness, linking better mental health care to opportunities for employment and training, and opposing stigma, in line with the 2004 report on mental health by the Social Exclusion Unit.

      · Psychological therapies - expanding the availability of therapies, especially cognitive therapy, and linking this to better occupational outcomes, in line with the government's 2005 manifesto commitment.

      · Services for ethnic minorities - removing inequalities in patient experience between ethnic groups through more responsive services, community engagement and staff training, in line our Delivering Race Equality programme. There is a national target of 500 community development workers.

      · Amendments to Mental Health Act 1983.

    4. Adult Mental Health Commissioning Strategy for Hampshire

      Jim Dassut and Margot Mottershead gave a presentation on the Mental Health Commissioning Strategy for Hampshire which was currently being drawn up. They gave details of partnership working; services for vulnerable people; delivering race equality in mental health its framework for action of the development of appropriate, sensitive and responsive services, engagement of Black Minority Ethnic (BME) communities with service providers and good quality, intelligently used information on the ethnic profile of local populations and service users and the vision for vision for BME by 2010. They outlined the modernisation of Social Care Services; the Wellness recovery action planning; the current work plan and how needs were assessed at a local level for individuals and carers.

    5. Older Persons Mental Health

      Ann Bullen, Catherine Pascoe and Martin Robinson gave a presentation on services for older people. They outlined the case for change, pressures around the service and the strengths and weaknesses of the current system. A new strategy was being produced and they outlined the issues that needed attention and the commissioning aims. There were four priorities for commissioning which were:

      · Prevention and access to universal well-being services.

      · Balancing specialist and generic services

      · Pathways in and out of hospital.

      · Supporting carers.

    6. Portsmouth - Outcome of Scrutiny following a Mental Health Tribunal

      Councillor Mason outlined the Mental Health Services provided in Portsmouth and the investigations that had taken place by the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel following the death of a mental health patient and the City's poor performance in a Healthcare Commission review of adult mental health services.

      The Panel was alarmed to hear of Portsmouth's poor performance in Adult Mental Health Services, highlighted by the review done by the Healthcare Commission and emphasised by the sad occurrences that led to the death of Mr Geoffrey Hodgkins.

      Consequently, the Panel, for the first time, exercised it's right to call-in the Primary Care Trust to address these concerns on 1 November 2006, bringing the matter more into the public arena.

      Regular updates and close links with the Patient and Public Involvement Forum, who attended several of the Project Team meetings, ensured the Panel had sufficient evidence to justify it's Annual Health Check comment on the PCT in March 2007.

      The ongoing Continuous Improvement Plan had meant that proper Section 75 Agreements around joint commissioning for Adult Mental Health Services and other services were now being developed and that the Panel is involved with and being kept informed of developments regularly.

      During the Annual Health Check the Panel made the following submission on the death of the mental health patient:

      "In November 2006 the Primary Care Trust presented to the Panel the findings of an independent mental health enquiry into the care and treatment of a patient. While the panel was concerned that the necessary systems weren't in place to protect this vulnerable patient, it was impressed by the open and honest way the Primary Care Trust acknowledged its failings and the action plan put in place to address these. The Panel felt assured that lessons had been learnt and that adequate systems were now in place. The Panel has been able to discuss with the Primary Care Trust the way these action plans would be monitored and to put forward suggestions. The Panel received an update on the action plan implementation in January 2007 and is satisfied with the progress made."

    7. Isle of Wight - Older Persons Mental Health Services

      Claire Foreman gave a presentation on Older Persons Mental Health Services on the Island and models for delivery. She said that on the Island no distinction was made between adult and older peoples mental health services and gave details of the national and local contexts and. She explained that joint strategy and commissioning was a priority and that they were:

      · getting upstream with information prescriptions, primary care and day care.

      · developing the market and reconfiguring resources .

      · designing integrated delivery.

      The Isle of Wight had introduced free personal care for older people aged 85+ and this was already beginning to demonstrate benefits with regard to helping people remain independent. This was supported by a process of self assessment. Members requested additional information on the assessment format and the benefits of the approach adopted.