Agenda item

Report of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board providing the Panel with an overview of the developing review of community and mental health services.

The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board which provided an overview of the developing review of community and mental health services.

Ron Shields, Chief Executive, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust;Andrew Strevens, Chief Executive, Solent NHS Trust; Derek Sandeman – Chief Medical Officer, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (Virtual); Isobel Wroe, Transformation Director, Integrated Care Board; James House, Managing Director - Southampton Place, Integrated Care Board; Dr Debbie Chase, Director of Public Health, Southampton City Council; and Councillor Fielker – Cabinet Member for Health, Adults and Leisure (Virtual) were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

In discussion the Panel noted the following:

·  Local Mental Health services had been struggling with capacity prior to covid and since then demand had grown much more than for any other service and that had impacted on patient experience and equity of access to services.

·  The review had identified some problems with the way that services were organised, and proposals had been developed to harmonise and streamline services.

·  The employment support work for people with mental health issues and the partnership work of integrated teams in both children and adults in Southampton had been recognised as examples of best practice.

·  Data and intelligence information had been gathered from health services, which had been collated and used to inform the shape of the services in the proposed strategy. 

·  The review considered ten different options which were all appraised by the review board and integration to one organisation was chosen as the best option with many advantages for patients and partners.

·  Examples were provided of how the integrated organisational structure of services could be improved locally, including:

o  The potential reduction of the problems experienced by some patients as they transition from Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provided by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust to Adult Mental Health Services provided by Solent NHS Trust.

o  Across the Hampshire area there are five different providers of CAMHS, so for people requiring specialist care, it should be simpler to navigate than the current challenging provider landscape.

o  The internal processes would be streamlined.

o  Alignment of community resources would improve focus for specialist services and improve the distribution, use and function of community beds.

·  The redistribution of resources would be required to ensure that local needs could be met and to help improve equity of access to the provision.

·  The plan did not include any proposals to change the level and number of staff and there would have to be consultation with staff on changes to the organisational structures.

·  Any costs will be a clear investment in improving the services and outcomes for people in Southampton and would have to be met from existing budgets.

·  The final proposals would need to be formally agreed by each of the boards and by NHS England.  It is hoped that the new entity would be in place by 2024.

·  It was expected that it would take up to four years for clinical pathways of the Trust’s to be aligned and the one organisation to be fully embedded.

·  Further and broader engagement with stakeholders, including local residents, the voluntary sector and the Joint Commissioning Board / Place Based Governance Board would be undertaken to shape the final proposals.

·  Good community services helped to prevent escalation to acute services.  Being able to access services within their local area was valued by residents as important.

·  Support from friends and family and community and voluntary groups played an important role in helping community and mental health services to function and it is important to involve them in the development of the strategy for integrating services.

·  The Council and the Integrated Care Service for Southampton should work together as equal partners to ensure that best use is made of the limited resources available. 

RESOLVED that the timetable outlining the key milestones for the review of community and mental health services would be circulated to the Panel to enable the identification of appropriate meetings at which the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel could be updated on developments.