Agenda item

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 provided.

8.     The Committee requested information on how young people were engaged with to help shape the service. Witnesses explained that there was a large Rights and Participation Team which influenced service delivery. The CAMHS Youth Advisors, who were usually former users of CAMHS services, would actively engage with various aspects of service design including appointments, commissioning and contract quality review meetings.

9.     Members stated that it would be important to apply sufficient resource to the accelerator sites in order to assure they were fit for purpose.

10.  Members sort further information on THRIVE. Witnesses explained that THRIVE was a conceptual framework which promoted a culture change which allowed young people to thrive. THRIVE was recognised nationally and concentrated on having conversations with young people to support them or direct them towards self-help opportunities.

11.  When discussing accelerator sites, the Committee noted that teachers and youth workers would become more involved with supporting young people’s needs related to mental health. Members felt it was important to ensure members of staff had access to a training offer related to emotional wellbeing and mental health needs to ensure they had the tools to help young people.

Recommendations:

The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee:

1. are encouraged by the evidence provided by witnesses concerning the progress made in the last period.
2. agrees to review the evaluation report of the transformation work, in order to inform and influence the writing of the new service specification at a Select Committee meeting in January / March 2020.
3. Recommends that the Performance Sub-Group reviews a suite of performance indicators, including those related to waiting times, to monitor performance throughout the ‘journey of transformation’ and reports to the Select Committee as appropriate
4. requests that the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families works with officers to develop a training offer promoting skills related to identifying and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health. This is to be created in partnership with others involved with training in Surrey, including schools, psychologists, the children’s Rights and Participation team and Surrey and Borders Partnership Trust. It is further requested that details of the available training offer are submitted to the Select Committee within six months with the intention to promote and challenge its contents.