Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16^th December 2020 were agreed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Joint Briefing Note

Representatives from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust and Coventry and Warwickshire CCGs have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

Members of the Education and Children’s Services Scrutiny Board (2) have also been invited to attend for this item along with Councillors P Seaman and B Gittins, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and Councillor K Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills

The Board considered a joint briefing note on the emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people in Coventry, with particular reference to the restoration and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper was presented by Matt Gilks, Coventry and Warwickshire CCGs and Chris Evans, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust. Members of the Education and Childrens Services Scrutiny Board (2) attended the meeting for the consideration of this item along with Councillor B Gittins, Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor M Mutton, Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Councillors Caan and Hayre, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport. Councillor Claire Golby, Chair of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview Scrutiny Committee at Warwickshire County Council also attended the meeting and Aisha Minhas, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, was also present.

The briefing note indicated that in March 2020, Government initiated national lockdown measures to control the spread of Covid-19 virus. This meant mental health services had to rapidly adapt and embrace virtual and remote working to ensure support continued to be provided to local people during these challenging times. The Covid-19 pandemic had had an impact on everyone’s emotional wellbeing and mental health, in particular children and young people. Although services had continued to provide a virtual support offer during Covid, not all children and young people had the equipment, support or confidence to access support through a digital platform. This had meant some children and young people had become more isolated, which was likely to have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing. The briefing note referred to the findings of recent surveys/ reports on the mental health of children and young people and highlighted that around 9,000 children and young people in Coventry could now have a probable mental disorder.

The briefing note detailed the successful initiatives that had been that had been led by health and social care as part of the suite of support available for emotional wellbeing and mental health needs during the Covid pandemic and included:

(i) Kooth, an online virtual support offer for emotional wellbeing and mental health, for children and young people aged 11 to 25. Kooth, went live in Coventry on 12 April 2021, and would enhance the early intervention mental health support offer; widen accessibility through an open referral process; give quicker access; give children and young people more choice and control; and support care leavers.

(ii) A system wide working group, known as the mental health surge working group, had been developed to monitor and review referral data into mental health services. Its purpose was to ensure a co-ordinated system wide response to supporting children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health issues. The working group provided an opportunity for services to come together to build working relationships, understand services, and to help avoid duplication across the system. The group developed a children’s and adults’ mental health service offer leaflet which was circulated to all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Joint Briefing Note

Representatives from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust and Coventry and Warwickshire CCGs have been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The Board considered a joint briefing note on the community based mental health and emotional well-being services for the adult population of Coventry, with emphasis on the restoration and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. An update on suicide and suicide prevention work in the city was also included. The paper was presented by Dr Richard Onyon, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust. Councillor M Mutton, Cabinet Member for Adult Services and Councillors Caan and Hayre, Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport attended the meeting for the consideration of this item. Councillor Claire Golby, Chair of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview Scrutiny Committee at Warwickshire County Council also attended the meeting and Aisha Minhas and Marie Nicholls, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, were also present.

The briefing note indicated that improving the Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing of communities was a key priority both nationally and at a Coventry and Warwickshire level. Partners were working together across the health and social care system to deliver the ambition of the NHS long term plan in the context of understanding the needs of our local populations. By 2023/24 the Long-Term Plan stated ‘All ICSs will have received funding to develop and begin delivering new models of integrated primary and community care for adults and older adults with severe mental illness’. The constraints of Covid-19 had placed additional challenges on delivery, but services had continued throughout the last year, albeit using different ways of engaging with service users.

The Board were informed that Primary Care and Community Mental Health services had been under considerable and increasing pressure. Some people referred to specialist mental health services could have been helped more quickly and effectively if the system was better integrated. GPs were reporting seeing more people with mental health issues as they had come out of isolation as Covid restrictions had been relaxed. Patients were now coming forward who were previously not known to services presenting with mental health needs which was contributing additional pressure within existing services.

Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Care Partnership (HCP) were informed in January that they had been successful in accessing non recurrent NHSE transformation funding to help transform community mental health services in line with the Long-Term Plan. This was in addition to agreed increases in baseline funding. The briefing note highlighted the levels of additional funding over the next four years, to be used to support adults with severe mental illness.

The funding would be used in support of the Long Term Plan’s objectives to have new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care i.e. a community based offer that would include access to psychological therapies; improved physical health care; employment support;, personalised and trauma-informed care; medicines management; and support for self-harm and co-existing substance abuse.  This funding was expected to maintain and develop new services for people with the most complex needs along with  proactive work to address racial disparities and other health inequalities. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Board considered their work programme for the new municipal year, noting that the meeting originally scheduled for 22^nd September 2021 had now moved to 29^th September.

RESOLVED that the work programme for 2021/22 be approved.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

There were no additional items of public business.