Agenda item

Report and presentation of Chief Superintendent Mike O’Hara, West Midlands Police and Chair of the Coventry Multiple Complex Needs Board

The Board considered a report and presentation of Chief Superintendent Mike O’Hara, West Midlands Police and Chair of the Coventry Multiple Complex Needs Board which set out the progress made by the Multiple Complex Needs Programme to improve the outcomes of people experiencing multiple complex needs in Coventry. Copies of the programme’s plan-on-a-page’, the project initiation document; and the evaluation framework were attached at appendices to the report.   

The Coventry Multiple Complex Needs Programme intended to respond to the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy priority to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals with multiple complex needs by looking at ways services could be co-ordinated to deliver better results as well as value for money by reducing demand pressures on services. In particular the programme aimed to pilot new interventions and help bring about system change.   

The report indicated that the programme initiation document had been substantially revised with the primary objective now being to pilot and evaluate new interventions that would lead to cultural and systematic change, rather than developing a new service. There were now three stages to the programme as follows:

1 – Determine current needs and service provision

2 – Pilot new interventions for people facing multiple complex needs

3 – Evaluate interventions and make recommendations for system change.

The appropriate timescales for delivery were highlighted.  

The report informed that in the past year the programme had made significant progress. In November, 2017 the city became one of 25 ‘Making Every Adult Matter’ approach areas across the country. (A copy of the Make Every Adult Matter First Quarter Progress report was set out at a further appendix to the report). In February, 2018 the programme began case-managing a small cohort of people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage in co-ordination with the city’s Harm Reduction and Vulnerable Persons Forum. Then in April, 2018 the programme established a working relationship with people with lived experience of homelessness, substance misuse and offending management as ‘experts by experience’ to co-design service transformation. There was by-in to the programme from partners across the public and voluntary sector in the city, as well as co-ordination and support with the West Midlands Combined Authority public sector reform programme. 

A multi-agency weekly drop in advice and information shop to address problems of homelessness, begging and drug/alcohol addiction in the city centre had been established. This ‘Steps for Change’ had been adopted as one of the projects of the programme. The programme would also be supporting the pilot implementation of Housing First in Coventry. This was designed to provide long term, open ended support for tenants’ on-going needs.

The presentation set out the three stages of the programme, highlighted the accountability structure; informed of the arrangements for monitoring progress and performance; and referred to the evaluation process for making recommendations for system change which would be supported by experts from Coventry University.

Attention was drawn to the programme ‘Plan-on-a-Page’ with a summary being provided of the progress to date. The presentation concluded with the next steps for the programme.    

The Chair, Councillor Caan expressed appreciation for the work undertaken to date. Clarification was sought as to how people were referred to the programme and it was explained that the work used existing funds to work with a small cohort who were already known to the system. Referrals were not being sought.  

RESOLVED that:

(1) The significant progress made on the Coventry Multiple Complex Needs programme be acknowledged.

(2) Consideration to be given as to how approaches being tested and piloted in the Multiple Complex Needs programme may be adopted.

(3) The ‘Making Every Adult Matter’ approach be embedded and mainstreamed across all partners – a priority for the Health and Wellbeing Board

(4) It be ensured that Multiple Complex Needs continues to be a Health and Wellbeing Strategy priority post 2019, in line with the city’s agreement as a Making Every Adult Matter approach area from 2018-2022.