Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the proposals for a new Adult Social Care mental health model of provision for the Borough.

2.    Approve the development of a co-designed Council Mental Health Strategy for Rotherham, with the strategy being presented back to Cabinet for approval in 2025, prior to publication.

Consideration was given to the report which summarised the findings from the Council’s Adult Social Care Mental Health model review which had taken place following approval from Cabinet in February 2023. The report also proposed a new model for the Council’s Adult Social Care mental health provision across the borough. The new model would be built on the principles of enablement and recovery and would be delivered through a collaborative approach with partners.

The proposals also included the co-design of a Mental Health Strategy for Rotherham with people with lived experience, their families, and carers, as well as partners and other key stakeholders. The Strategy would be designed in 2024, post-implementation of the new model, and launched in 2025, subject to Cabinet approval. This approach would ensure prioritisation of the immediate issue to address the risks linked to operational delivery and compliance with statutory duties. paragraph 3.4 set out a number of ways that the proposals would provide a collaborative, preventative approach by ensuring residents got the right support, at the right time, in the right place. These included raising the social care profile; providing an effecting and equitable response for people with mental ill-health; strengthening the recover model; ensuring all legislative and statutory duties were met; enabling the Council to better evidence social care interventions; supporting preparation for formal regulation of Adult Social Care by the Care Quality Commission in 2024; supporting Rotherham Place; and solidifying the commitment to form the foundations to progress a collaborative “community hub” model in the future.

Subject to Cabinet approval, implementation planning of the pathway and service model would commence on 1 January 2024. This would involve:

·       Staff structures, role profiles and agreeing new terms and conditions required to operationalise the model, including delivery of a consultation with staff affected by the proposed changes (January – February 2024).

·       Scoping recording requirements and implementing system changes (January – March 2024).

·       Training needs analysis and training plan (February – March 2024).

·       Operating procedures and guidance with defined pathway criteria and remits (March 2024).

·       Aligning the mental health review with RDaSH Crisis and the Community Mental Health Transformation (January – March 2024).

The new mental health model would be operational from 1 April 2024.

Details of the consultation were set out in paragraph 4 of the report and the full findings were included in Appendix 1. 159 people had participated in the consultation which ran from 7 August to 1 October 2023.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB), who advised that the recommendations be supported. They also requested that an update be provided to OSMB (or nominated Select Commission) on the impact of the policy, 12 months after its implementation. This requested was accepted by Cabinet.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the proposals for a new Adult Social Care mental health model of provision for the Borough.

2.    Approve the development of a co-designed Council Mental Health Strategy for Rotherham, with the strategy being presented back to Cabinet for approval in 2025, prior to publication.

3.    Agree that an update be provided to OSMB (or nominated Select Commission) on the impact of the Policy, 12 months after its implementation.