Board sponsors to provide an update on Aim 2 of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy
Minutes:
The Chair reported that work towards sign up of the Prevention Concordat on Better Mental Health was now complete, the application signed by Board partners and submitted in August. The Chair, Director of Public Health and officers had attended the panel meeting on 20th September where the submission had been successful. Excellent feedback had been received on the submission.
Claire Smith, ICB, and Toby Lewis, RDaSH, gave the following powerpoint presentation:-
Priority 1 – Promote better mental health and wellbeing for all Rotherham people
Key areas of progress included
¾ The Board has signed up to the Prevention Concordat on Better Mental Health. The application was successful and excellent feedback received
¾ Some of the actions that would support prevention for this next year included:-
Mental Health Assets would be mapped and launched (this would be available on the JSNA)
Partners were working collaboratively to pull together a mental health data report which would inform pathway development work and transformation of mental health provision
Delivery of the Mental Health Pathway Review
Further roll out of Making Every Contact Count sessions on loneliness and mental health
Priority 2 – Take action to prevent suicide and self-harm
Key areas of progress included
¾ Promote suicide and self-harm awareness training to practitioners across the partnership and members of the public through internal and external communications. Training sessions had been held with partners, sharing learning from real time surveillance system, postvention support including input from a family member who had been bereaved by suicide
¾ Promote postvention support for adults, children and young people bereaved, affected and exposed to suicide and monitor referrals to services including staff affected
Priority 3 – Promote positive workplace wellbeing for staff across the partnership
Key areas of progress included:-
¾ Promote the BeWell@Work award to Health and Wellbeing Board partners and support sign up
¾ Ensure partners were engaged in Employment is for Everyone Programme promoting employment opportunities to those with SEND and improved wellbeing at work
¾ Individual Placement and Support Services (IPS) supports people with severe mental health difficulties into employment
Priority 4 – Enhance access to Mental Health Services
¾ Ensure partners are engaged in the development and mobilisation of the integrated primary/secondary care mental health transformation. This included:-
Implementation of Mental Health ARRS roles – 16/17 roles currents in post
Long term plan eating disorders, IPS and EIP targets by March 2024 – early intervention in Psychosis Service now well established
Implementation of Community Mental Integrated Primary/Secondary Care Transformation Programme – development of a primary care hub was underway, opportunities for co-location were being explored following a Hub and Spoke model
¾ To work in partnership to enhance the Mental Health Crisis Pathway (early intervention, prevention, social care and crisis). This required:-
Partnership working was underway to ensure an early intervention and crisis prevention model was developed
Mobilisation of the Touchstone Safe Space (alternative to crisis) provision. Since the Service was launched in September 2022, significant outreach, engagement and promotion had taken place to integrate the Service and develop the pathways with existing Rotherham services. The number of people accessing the Service continued to grow month on month
https://touchstonesupport.org.uk/intensive-community-support/rotherham-safe-space
Mobilisation of social care pathways – a review was underway to develop a revised Mental Health model, the main emphasis was to enhance the early intervention and prevention offer and to ensure that people of Rotherham had an effective service offer and pathway
Issues to address
¾ Most actions on the action plan were currently on track
¾ Refresh and deliver Better Mental Health for All action plan focussed on early intervention and prevention. This action had been delayed due to changes in national policy direction:-
Delay was due to policy change on National 10 Year Mental Health Plan (the update of the local plan was to be aligned to this national plan)
The actions within the Prevention Concordat application would form the basis of the new Better Mental Health for All action plan. Once the Prevention Concordat had been approved by OHID at the September panel meeting. The submitted action plan would be further developed with partners
Next Steps
¾ Suicide prevention
A new suicide prevention pilot service was being mobilised which would support people who had attempted suicide due to life events, build their emotional resilience, look at coping strategies and connect them to local support within their communities
¾ Partnership work to enhance the Mental Health Crisis Pathway
Social care pathways - A review was underway which aimed to improve each customer’s journey through Mental Health Services to ensure that people who used the services received the right care at the right time and in the right places
The aim for the revised pathway was to increase the focus on early intervention and prevention, a strength-based approach that would focus on making the most out of the person’s lived experience, maximise information support and community connections and to support personal resilience
The revised Service offer and model was in development and this would go through the Council’s governance in December 2023 prior to implementation
Discussion ensued on the presentation with the following issues raised/clarified:-
· Mental Health Assets would be mapped and launched and display Mental Health Services throughout the Borough including dementia cafes, carers support groups, physical activities and social groups. It would also be available on the JSNA
· Partners were working collaboratively to pull together a mental health data report which would inform pathway development work and transformation of Mental Health provision
· Delivery of the Mental Health Pathway Review to improve the journey and outcomes for people with mental ill health
· Further roll out of Making Every Contact Count sessions on loneliness and mental health. This would increase awareness of the impact of loneliness and help practitioners to spot the signs and guide the person towards appropriate support
· Campaigns such as Five Ways to Wellbeing were used to help destigmatise loneliness and enable the wider communities to understand their role in supporting people
· Rotherham’s suicide figures were significantly higher than England – 13.2 compared to 10.4. However, rates had dropped from 14.6 in the 2017-19 period and remained at 13.2 for 2018-2020 and 2019-2021
· A training session had been held with RDaSH on suicide prevention activity in Rotherham, sharing findings from the Real Time Surveillance system and postvention support
· 3 training sessions delivered to SYP sergeants in September covering suicide prevention activity, sharing findings from the Real Time Surveillance system, postvention support for CYP and adults and input with a family member who had been bereaved by suicide
· The Zero Suicide Alliance training was being promoted as part of World Suicide Prevention Day
· Employment for Everyone – a partnership created in Rotherham across a number of community based organisations. A successful joint South Yorkshire bid had been made to the DWP that would bring additional resources to the initiative. The programme was linked into all 5 regional SEND forums and was working with a number of regional employers to promote the benefits of employing people with SEND
· Individual Placement and Support Service (IPS) supported people with severe mental health difficulties into employment and continued to work with partners to increase the number of people accessing the Service. RDaSH/South Yorkshire Housing Association had recently established a joint steering group to drive this work forward
· Work was ongoing to try and improve access to services to ensure they were easily accessible
· Rotherham Safe Space was launched in September 2022. It supported anyone experiencing a mental health crisis and provided a safe place during the weekend evenings and was designed for people in crisis to go for support/prevent avoidable attendances at A&E
· A new Suicide Prevention Pilot would commence at the end of October 2023 in Rotherham. It would have links through the Hospital Liaison Service and Crisis to ensure clinical mental health and physical needs had been met
· Digital solutions needed to be inclusive realising that not all of the population had digital access to services
· Many people were facing issues in terms of the cost of living increase and debt. Work was taking place with partners to look at increasing advice provision for those who were in debt and access to benefits and wrap around support in terms of resilience work
· The cost of living increase was having the knock on affect of people’s ability to travel to medical appointments and purchase prescriptions
Claire and Toby were thanked for their presentation.