Agenda item

Sarah Fellows will be in attendance to provide an update regarding the Wolverhampton CAMHS Transformation Plan 

Sarah Fellows Mental Health Commissioning Manager provided the report, outlining the progress against the priorities outlined in the report.

In response to a question the Commissioning Manager advised that co-morbid substance misuse could be reworded to reflect that the substance misuse is co-occurring and not related to morbidity.

In relation to the financial implications in the report the panel requested an indication of funding available this year including allocation for eating disorders.  Panel were advised that £560,000 funding was available and in addition £30 million was available for eating disorders nationwide. Cllr Milkinderpal Jaspal asked how that figure tallied with the number of people using the service and if there was a shortfall.  The Commissioning manager acknowledged the lack of funding for CAMHS and the need to get more children into care, she advised that there had been slightly more money than expected and that there should be money available to help some more.

Dr Helen Hibbs outlined that there was an area of unmet need where young people were not accessing services early enough and that there would be an additional 20,000 children and young people requiring CAMHS services by 2020. She advised that she was trying to get some funding to address the unmet need.  She advised that part of the problem was the stigma related to mental health and how important it is to get the right services to the right places, such as accessing services in school or near to home and not having to go to specialist services such as the GEM Centre. 

Dr Helen Hibbs advised that the CAMHS strategy is about getting young people early at age 12-13, if capture them early they may not go into crisis.  She advised that 8-18 crisis care is available between the hours of 8-8 however the additional funding may be 24-7 crisis care.  She advised that this is where the work with the schools comes in.

Cllr Stephen Simkins referred to the prevention plan and the forums that are the key strategic drivers in terms of delivery of the plan.  He asked if it was possible to streamline the number of panels.

The Commissioning Manager advised that lots of money could be swallowed up if partners do not work closely.  She suggested that this should be monitored quarterly with key indicators at the Children’s Trust Board and that this is the time to think about a Black Country Model as this is the first steps of a major change.

In response to questions from Cllr Peter O’Neill relating to the time taken for referrals, the Commissioning Manager said that the nine weeks from referral to treatment in Wolverhampton was quite good; she advised that 18 weeks was more the normal time taken. She advised that there is also an emergency referral route and an appointment can be offered within five days.

The commissioning manager advised that the time taken from referral to treatment would also depend on the individual’s circumstances and on the nature of the issue. She advised that a self-harm issue may take less than 24 hours and that there would be quite a specific language around it and the assessment depends on the nature of difficulty, assessment and the type of therapy needed. She advised that more information can be brought as they begin to monitor each case.  The commissioning manager advised that many of the types of problems in CAMHS have changed and are becoming more aligned to adult issues on a local and national level, such as a large percentage of psychosis is related to smoking 'skunk'.

Viv Griffin, Service Director Mental Health and Disability advised that other work was being conducted in tandem with that outlined, including a bid being submitted for additional funding to look at preventative CAMHS work with schools and that this would be quarterly joint reports from Health and Social Care.

Cllr Stephen Simkins indicated that scrutiny could play a role in looking at the governance arrangements and considering a list of targets.  He voiced concerns that 500,000 would be eaten up very quickly.  There followed a discussion about the need to build targets into delivery to prevent this occurring, to aim for a strategy and achievable targets.

The Panel were advised that there is not parity of esteem between children and adult mental health services but that it was intended that by 2020 there would be.  Panel considered that this finite amount of money would not change things significantly.

Cllr Sandra Samuels, Cabinet Member Public Health and Wellbeing referred to the CAMHS in crisis and the mental health commissions that had been set up. The Service Director confirmed this and indicated that never had mental health been so important; she clarified that the national commission had met quickly hence the additional money coming through.  She advised that there were a whole stream of commissions on-going; the bigger health commission was looking at mental health and its impact on employment.

The Service Director advised that bidding is non-recurrent funds potentially £5 million can change the system and that there is a whole range of sources because mental health is on the national agenda.

Resolved:

1.    That Health Scrutiny Panel receive the Wolverhampton CCG CAMHS transformation plan including next steps.

2.    That Health Scrutiny Panel note the development and implementation of the Wolverhampton CCG CAMHS Transformation Plan.