Report ECHS19029

The Committee considered the Joint Mental Health Strategy for Bromley 2019-2025 developed by the London Borough of Bromley and the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group.  The Joint Mental Health Strategy for Bromley set out the vision for promoting better mental health and emotional wellbeing in the Borough.

The Committee thanked Officers for the comprehensive document that had been provided noting that the Strategy before Members addressed one of the most significant issues currently facing society.  Members stressed it was therefore important that the actions included within the Strategy were both appropriate and deliverable.  Whilst acknowledging the significant amount of work that had already gone in to developing the comprehensive strategy, Members made the following comments, observations and suggestions:

• The interface between Adult Mental Health Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was unclear as was how the development of the 0-25 pathway fitted into the Strategy.
• There needed to be further clarity around re-entry into the system in the event of a relapse.  This would demonstrate an understanding that recovery may not always be permanent and that mental health issues were often cyclical.
• There needed to be further consideration of demographics with an acknowledgement that different mental health issues could affect different groups within society in different ways.  There also needed to be consideration of possible cultural and language barriers experienced by minority communities trying to access services.
• It was noted that the LGBT community was invisible within the Strategy and there was no consideration of the different barriers and difficulties accessing services experienced by the LGBT community.
• There needed to be an acknowledgement that individuals suffering with mental health conditions may need to access services in different ways and that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to access may not be appropriate.  In addition, consideration needed to be given to the most appropriate mechanism for reaching more isolated communities.
• Currently little consideration appeared to have been given to people who had more limited access to the internet or homeless people experiencing mental health episodes who may be prevented from accessing services due to the lack of a permanent address.
• More information about early intervention and how and when it might occur needed to be included within the Strategy.
• Individuals who were held in police custody suites or those coming out of prison or on probation were not reflected in the Strategy and it was suggested this was an oversight as this specific group were known to be vulnerable to mental health issues.
• It would be helpful to have further information concerning extra care and dementia patients along with projections around the number of extra care units that would be needed.
• There was no reference to the “Healthy Mind” work that had been undertaken by King’s.  Reference also needed to be made in the document to the Bromley Health and Wellbeing Strategy as loneliness and isolation were recognised as key issues.
• The Military Covenant and the specific mental health issues experienced by ex-servicemen needed to be reflected in the Strategy.
• As it stood the Strategy did not reflect Bromley; there needed to be a clear commitment to ensuring that Officers across the Council were able to recognise and respond to mental health issues.  Mechanisms needed to be in place to prevent individuals who were accessing Council services from having to retell their story to a number of different officers.
• It would be helpful for an indication of costs and budgets to be provided along with details of the financial implications and mechanisms to enable joint funding and ensure that an appropriate level of scrutiny of spending was in place.

Members noted that the document presented to the Committee was marked as version 16; it was suggested that it may have been helpful to present the document to Members at an earlier stage in the process.  Consideration was given to the most appropriate way of ensuring ongoing Member involvement in the development of the Strategy.  It was suggested that a Special Meeting might be appropriate as this could also facility an element of public consultation and stakeholder engagement.  As a first step it was suggested that a Joint Task and Finish Group with Bromley CCG be established.  If the CCG agreed it was recommended that the following Members from the PDS Committee sit on the Task and Finish Group:  Cllr Judi Ellis, Cllr Simon Jeal, Lyn Selwood, Justine Jones, and Roger Chant.  The Committee also agreed to recommend that the Task and Finish Group be reconstituted in the new municipal year.

In response to the comments that had been made, the Interim Chief Executive noted that this discussion marked the beginning of the process.  In terms of finance the majority of the funding would come from Health.  There needed to be further work with health partners in order to ensure that key services were provided to residents.  There was a tight governance structure around the strategy and a number of the different strands would need to be brought together.  The comments made by Members would be taken away and the draft further refined before once again being presented to Members.

A representative from Bromley CCG welcomed the feedback that had been provided acknowledging that there was a need to better reflect the Service User voice.  There was a need to focus on early intervention and prevention however; a number of the actions reflected in the Strategy were currently being delivered.  In terms of funding the Government had committed to a year on year increase in funding for mental health services; there now needed to be a review of the best way to utilise the funding that was available.

The Head of Prevention, Early Intervention and Community Living Commissioning confirmed that there was a clear focus on early intervention with a clear commitment to delivering the actions outlined in the Strategy.  Going forward the Local Authority and the CCG would continue to work together to further develop the Strategy.

RESOLVED: That

1. A Task and Finish Group be established to further contribute to the development of the Joint Mental Health Strategy;
2. The following members sit on the Task and Finish Group: Cllr Judi Ellis, Cllr Simon Jeal, Lyn Selwood, Justine Jones, and Roger Chant;
3. The Task and Finish Group be reconstituted in the new municipal year if appropriate; and
4. A revised draft of the Joint Mental Health Strategy be presented to a future meeting of the Committee.