Meeting documents

To consider a report by the Commissioning Manager.

The Committee considered a report by the Commissioning Manager which provided a further update on progress against the action plan arising from the Mental Health enquiry day held on 13 December 2017.

Attention was drawn to the fact that mental health was being scrutinised not only by the People and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee but also by the Dorset Health Scrutiny Committee.  There would be a need to separate roles and avoid duplication under the new Dorset Council.

The Review's Lead Member drew attention to the main issue raised at the enquiry day which was access to services and the experience of service users and their carers.  Since then there had been an increase in the number of self-referrals and take up through community mental health teams. 

In response to what was being done for hard to reach groups such as the farming community and veterans which were identified in the report, members noted that funding of £274k had been awarded to deliver the Armed Forces Covenant across Dorset and the devised action plan targeted 8 key areas for veterans and their families including health and wellbeing and mental health support.  The Government had recently issued a strategy for veterans and this very much reflected the Dorset action plan.  Copies of the strategy and action plan would be provided for members by email following the meeting.

One member drew attention to an email he had received from a resident highlighting the Cabinet's decision to charge people for attendance at Day Centres when they were unable to attend which he felt was unreasonable.  The Cabinet Member for Health and Care explained that all residents had to be treated equally.  All residents attending Day Centres were assessed financially and paid the appropriate rate.  As costs remained the same regardless of attendance, attendees were expected to pay the allotted rates regardless of attendance, although members noted that there were some exceptions.

With regard to the farming community, mental health was a particular issue for rural areas.  Members noted that the National Farmers Union and the Farming Community Network had done some work on this area and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution were working on isolation issues.

There was some discussion about the need for equal access to services for all, not just the hard to reach groups, the unwillingness to share health issues by some groups, and the difficulty of accessing mental health services in some areas in Dorset.  Members noted that Adult and Community Services service design work would address demand issues and the reskilling of the workforce to meet future demand.

In response to a question about mental health governance, members were informed that since November 2018 the Council had been providing its own out of hours emergency duty service and this had been amalgamated with the mental health act hub.  The new service provided more resilience for carrying out mental health assessments and a better response for those in crisis.  As demand was continuing to rise, members asked for a report on the performance of the new service for the meeting on 14 March 2019.

Resolved

1.   That the progress made against the delivery plan be noted.

2.   That a report on the new out of hours emergency duty service be provided for the meeting on 14 March 2019.