Agenda item

Presentation of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB.

Councillor Mark Sutton, Becky Murphy Commissioning Officer, Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Bromage, Associate Director – Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism, Lyse Edwards, Sarbjit O’Brien & Deborah Hargreaves presented the Childrens Mental Health Update.

The Committee were updated on the Mental Health Portfolio Structure and the Key Performance indicators. It was reported that there was now a Mental Health System Performance Dashboard and a snapshot of the latest CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services) data was shared with the Committee.

The Committee were informed the NHS long term plan commitments for Children & Young People and the refreshed Mental Health Local Transformation Plan 2022.

The Committee were advised that there had been an increase in the complexity and number of referrals. It was reported that the CYP access rates achieved 35% across the ICS. There had been a jointly commissioned emotional wellbeing service with both Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

It was reported that CYP Mental Health Services were moving to a Thrive Model and away from a tiered approach. The Thrive model was an integrated, person-centred and needs led approach to delivering mental health services for children and young people. It conceptualises five categories or needs-based groups: Thriving, Getting Advice, Getting Help, Getting More Help and Getting Risk Support.  A diagram showing the Thrive model was shared with the Committee. The digital offer from North Staffordshire and South Staffordshire was also shared with the Committee.

Becky Murphy Commissioning Officer, Health and Wellbeing highlighted that there were a number of things that the County Council were working on to support children and young people’s mental health such as support for mental health leads in schools and other educational settings via the Mental Health Leads in Education Network, the development of a PSHE Mental Health Professionals Pack and regular information, good practice and resources being promoted through the half-termly Kind Minds Newsletter. The local authority was also represented on the ICB CYP Mental Health System Improvement Board and the supporting Working Groups.

The Committee noted the following comments and responses to questions:

·         The performance indicator of Children and Young People with Eating Disorders seen within 1 week of a referral was lower for the MPFT than NSCHT. The data was presented as a percentage and could have represented a single child.

·         A delay may have been an example of a case which had required more than one professional and it was deemed beneficial to wait until all professionals were available.

·         Some of the data in the presentation required more narrative to guide Members on focus areas, some of the performance was difficult to interpret.

·         The Dashboard would be shared with the Committee on a quarterly basis.

·         The collection and analysis of outcomes data was being considered by one of the Working Groups which reported to the ICB CYP MH System Improvement Board. The Working Groups aim was to improve how outcomes are collected and measured across the partnership system and how the information was used to inform activity. Feedback on the data from today’s Scrutiny Committee would be used to inform this work.

·         Part of the Staffordshire Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy included good mental health as a priority and there would be a joint lead from Staffordshire and the Integrated Care Board.

·         Early Help and Prevention were a key element of the work taking place around mental health. Prevention was a theme for one of the Working Groups. In Staffordshire, mental health was a key criteria and outcome measure of the Building Resilient Families & Communities (BRFC) Programme. BRFC colleagues, including those involved in developing the Family Hub model, would be engaged in the Prevention Working Group to ensure that activity was joined up and that mental health was a fundamental part of our early help approach. 

·         Work with schools was ongoing to support them to deliver a Whole School Approach to mental health. A Wellbeing Survey had been conducted across all Staffordshire schools in Autumn 2022. The survey asked a range of questions which covered staff and student wellbeing and implementation of the Whole School Approach to Mental Health. While almost 50% of schools had either started to implement or had fully implemented the Whole School Approach, the survey indicated that there was more work to be done with some schools to support them in implementing the approach. An action plan is being developed to address the gaps identified in the survey. 

·         Diabetes may lead to Mental Health issues and should be considered. It was confirmed that the relationship between mental health and physical health was vital and would be considered. 

·         It was unclear which mental health support services were available in each area. The Committee requested that a list of core services and non-core additional services which were being developed in each area be shared with the Committee.

·         Key Challenge relating to increased number of referrals and complexity of referrals. It was reported that the increase was a result of COVID and investments around Childrens Mental Health had been made to respond to the increased demand.

·         The Committee requested information and data to evidence the increase in demand and complexity of Childrens Mental Health which included information around referral rates and ages with a comparison with national evidence.

Resolved – That (a) the presentation be received.

(b) a list of core services and non-core mental health services in each area be shared with the Committee once developed.

(c) the data to evidence the increase in demand and complexity of Childrens Mental Health which included information around referral rates and ages with a comparison with national evidence be shared with the Committee.