Issue - meetings

Scrutiny of the Emotional Wellbeing And Mental Health (EWMH) Transformation Programme.

Mr Robert Evans arrived at 10:53am

Witnesses:

Dr Phil Ferraria-Lay, Surrey and Borders Partnership

Julia Cramp, EWMH Programme Lead

Barbara Herts, EWMH Programme Consultant

Sue Robertson, Associate Director for Strategic Commissioning, Surrey Heartlands

Dave Hill, Executive Director – Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture

Mary Lewis, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.     The witnesses introduced the report and provided Members with a brief summary. It was noted that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) were centralised around the early identification and treatment for mental health needs and that there was a focus on providing support to young people to prevent the need for life-long use of support services.

2.     Members requested further information on how the transformation would impact service users who currently receive support. Further to this, Members also asked what was being done to address issues related to waiting times and the impact that they have on young people. Witnesses highlighted that, within different parts of the CAMHS service, there were a number of areas with almost no waiting times and that met national standards. This included services such as the eating disorder service and learning disability service. It was further noted that there had been waiting times for the ‘one stop’ service which were being addressed as part of the transformation programme. In regards to the waiting times outlined in page 29 of the agenda, witnesses stated that there was an improvement plan is place for the Surrey and Boarders NHS Trust.

3.     Witnesses confirmed that the specialist CAMHS contract, which was jointly commissioned by the six Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Surrey, was also part of the transformation programme. When questioned on the value of each contract, witnesses confirmed that the CAMHS contract jointly commissioned by the Council and the six CCGs was £5.2m and the specialist CAMHS contract was valued at £7.9m. It was further confirmed that the transformational funding was £2.9m for the whole service.

4.     Members requested further information on the risks associated with the transformation. Witnesses explained that the biggest identified risks were related to getting the transformation underway and being able to evidence significant change as the programme moves on.

5.     Members questioned whether the transformation would take longer than two years and if mitigations were in place to address this. In response, witnesses explained that the timeline was set and that the contract would be recommissioned in April 2021. The interim stage before this was focused on identifying as much information and learning as possible.

6.     When discussing the current backlog in the service, witnesses confirmed that there was ongoing work to address those waiting for support. Members noted that people who require urgent support would not be placed on a waiting list and would be supported as soon as possible.

7.     Members noted that every parent of a child on the waiting lists for assessment and treatment had been contacted with information about the services to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5

This paper has been produced by North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Guildford and Waverly CCG to outline their progress to date and future plans for developing proposals on Urgent Care.

Witnesses:

Karen Thorburn, Integrated Care System - Director of Performance (Leads on urgent care across Surrey Heartlands)

Jack Wagstaff, Director North West Surrey Integrated Care Partnership

Giles Mahoney, Director Guildford & Waverley Integrated Care Partnership

Dr Asha Pillai, GP, North West Surrey

Dr Seun Akande, GP, Guildford & Waverley

Simon Angelides, Programme Director

Liz Patroe, Head of Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion, Surrey Heartlands CCGs

Nick Markwick, Surrey Coalition of Disabled People 

Matthew Parris, Healthwatch Surrey

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. Officers introduced the item and presented Members with a presentation which outlined the key aspects of the report. It was noted that the report was produced by North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Guildford and Waverley CCG to outline their progress to date and future plans for developing proposals on Urgent Care (and where appropriate Out-of-Hospital Care) in their respective geographies. The presentation delivered to Members is attached as appendix 2 to these minutes.
2. Witnesses were asked to provide any initial feedback on the newly procured NHS 111 service. It was explained that the NHS 111 service had recently been procured to a new specification which included a number of additional functions. NHS 111 now contained a full clinical assessment service which allowed 50% of service users direct access to a clinician for assessment. It was highlighted that feedback was so far encouraging and that the number of users accessing NHS 111 as the first point of contact were increasing year on year. Witnesses confirmed that the NHS 111 service was meeting the national standard for calls answered in a specified time and that the rate of abandoned called had fallen compared to previous data.
3. Members requested further information on the projected timeline for the proposals outlined in the report. Witnesses confirmed that The Big Picture programme was expected to identify a preferred option or options in the next couple of months. Following this, a number of factors affected its timeline which included whether or not a public consultation was required. In regards to the Better Care Together programme in Guildford & Waverley, witnesses confirmed that there would be a significant number of events in the summer which would allow for the identification of the programmes next steps by autumn 2019.
4. Members noted that the service’s standardised specifications for urgent care should promote a better understanding of where service users can visit to access various types of treatment. It was further noted that the use of the 111 service as a central point of contact would particularly help with understanding and navigation.
5. Members requested further information on the risks related to resourcing the various services outlined in the report. Witnesses from North West Surrey CCG stated that resourcing was a major concern for the programme due to the shortage in clinicians, nurses and GPs. It was noted that there was an ongoing workforce development team who were considering a number of proposals to encourage, recruit and retain those who were already in the health system. Witnesses  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5