Agenda item

For the Board to provide Richard Benyon MP with an update regarding the action plan for Mental Health in West Berkshire.

The Health and Wellbeing Board considered a presentation (Agenda Item 3) concerning an update on Mental Health from Rachael Wardell and Andrew Sharp on behalf of the Mental Health Action Group. Councillor James Fredrickson welcomed Richard Benyon MP to the Health and Wellbeing Board and advised that the purpose of the meeting was to provide an overview of the work on Mental Health since he last attended on 30 March 2017.

Andrew Sharp began by tabling a diagram of the groups which held governance for mental health in West Berkshire. He advised that since March 2017, a Mental Health Action Group (MHAG) had been established and there was now greater clarity between how professionals, service users and voluntary sector groups linked with each other, with the Health and Wellbeing Board and with other strategic groups.

The aim of the MHAG replicated the aim articulated by Ali Foster as part of the Brighter Berkshire campaign: “To live in a community that is compassionate, that values good mental health, is without stigma and offers mental health support to those who need it when they need it.”

In terms of the data, West Berkshire was an outlier regarding premature deaths for people with serious mental illness so this would be a key priority for the MHAG’s attention. In addition a patient satisfaction survey had previously assessed ‘support during a crisis’ to be below average, however this had now been brought back up to average. The data had been used to inform the Health and Wellbeing Strategy aims in relation to mental health.

Areas for action had been identified by service users and in the main these corresponded to actions identified through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

There were a number of statutory and non-statutory services available to support people with their mental health. Andrew Sharp stated that non-statutory services needed continued support, whether this was financially or in kind, to keep operating. There was more work to be done to ensure that services were joined up.

A lot of good work was already ongoing. The Suicide Action Group had run a training event for employers and the Emotional Health Academy had improved waiting times for children who needed emotional health support.

A key element for the medium-term work programme of the MHAG would be around ensuring holistic support, with an emphasis on employment. This would be through increasing support in-work for those with mental health issues but also to support people to get back into work.

It was noted that in addition to the moral imperative to provide better support for people with poor mental health, there were also economic incentives. Poor mental health cost the country £99billion per year.

Councillor Fredrickson asked for more information regarding the Suicide Action Group’s work. Jaqui Letsome advised that 70 people had attended a training event on 11 October 2017, representing 60 employers form a range of businesses. Attendees were developing ways to implement their learning in their workplaces and it was hoped to run similar events in the future. Councillor Fredrickson stated that the group had done well to focus on a plan with clear actions.

Richard Benyon advised that he had been involved in some of the work mentioned and was particularly impressed by Brighter Berkshire which had been an extremely well run, focussed campaign. He praised the Suicide Action Group’s work to engage with employers regarding mental health and pressed the need to work closely with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). He had seen the good work of the Emotional Health Academy in providing early intervention services.

Offering a challenge to the Board, Richard Benyon noted that West Berkshire was part of the ‘tech corridor’ and had access to some ground breaking companies. Rural communities in West Berkshire also had, or were about to have, superfast broadband. He asked whether the Board was taking advantage of technological solutions in healthcare.

Councillor James Fredrickson declared an interest by virtue of the fact that he was an employee of Gigaclear, who were delivering the third phase of the Superfast Berkshire project.

Cathy Winfield reported that Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (BHFT) provided digital services directly to young people with eating disorders. The Support Hope and Recovery Online Network (SHaRON) was a chat room monitored by clinicians which enabled them to support a large number of people compared to traditional face-to-face support. In terms of analytic capability, there was also a Connected Care programme which ensured that different NHS organisations and social care had a better ability to understand patient needs and predict risk.

Rachael Wardell advised that the Berkshire West 10 Integration Board were overseeing a project to introduce assistive care technology which would support all domains of health and wellbeing but particularly support people to live independently for longer. A business case would be prepared before the end of 2017.

Councillor Quentin Webb reported that the Health and Wellbeing Board were also considering an integrated solution to digital communications.

Ali Foster reported that there had appeared to be a culture shift as communities were involved in conversations. Thinking different about services required different people. She noted that the Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership had funding available which would provide an opportunity to engage businesses. She reported that the Suicide Action Group had been particularly powerful because businesses had been involved in the discussions.

Councillor Marigold Jacques stressed the importance of the voluntary sector in supporting people experiencing social isolation and loneliness.

Dr Bal Bahia supported the view that there had been a culture change and advised that the Brighter Berkshire campaign had been successful in raising awareness of mental health. He also highlighted that the council’s public health team promote the five steps to wellbeing and expressed the view that physical and mental wellbeing were part of one continuum. The Health and Wellbeing Board members had completed Mental Health First Aid training which had helped him to address some of the language his patients were using to describe their own mental health. The data had been eye-opening and GPs were conducting an audit of their patients who had serious mental illness and had died prematurely.

Ali Foster expressed the view that sustainability, particularly of the voluntary sector, would be the key challenge to ensure there was a robust system in place to support mental health.

Councillor Billy Drummond asked whether there were enough doctors, nurses and carers to support people with poor mental health. Councillor Fredrickson stated that the purpose of the work the MHAG had been to understand what assets were available already in West Berkshire’s communities and what could be improved. Richard Benyon expressed the view that an area such as West Berkshire could always benefit from more people delivering support. He noted that the government had allocated more money for mental health and would like to know if that was beginning to have an impact in West Berkshire. Cathy Winfield advised that there had been increased investment into Talking Therapies and an improvement in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) waiting times. Rachael Wardell commented that the Clinical Commissioning Group had invested into the Emotional Health Academy which had improved outcomes along the whole pathway.

Councillor James Fredrickson thanked the officers for the presentation, including the MHAG as a whole and particularly Tandra Forster who had been unable to attend the meeting.

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.