Venue: Council Chamber, Runcorn Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Caroline Halpin on 0151 471 7394 or e-mail caroline.halpin@halton.gov.uk
No. | Item |
---|---|
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME Minutes: It was confirmed that one question had been received from Mr. H. Patel, Chief Executive of Halton CAB. It was agreed that the question would be dealt as part of the following item (minute HEA13 refers). |
|
"Change for the Better" - Consultation on Improving Services for Adults with Mental Health needs Minutes: The Board received
a presentation on the proposals from the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust for
the redesign and reprovision of its services for Adults of Working Age, and for
some Older People (“Change for the Better”) from Mr. J. Kelly, Director of Adult
Services. His presentation detailed:
The Chief Executive
of Halton Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) had submitted the following
question/statement: “We are very concerned about the number of
bed losses that is being proposed for the Halton area and the impact it will
have on other “non-5Boroughs Partnership” funded services. The 5 Boroughs
Partnership have stated that such a reduction is possible because their
efficiencies to be gained from “treating” people in the community and having
better engagement with the voluntary and community sector to support such
people. However I do not believe any meaningful impact assessment has
been done on other services if the proposed bed closures go ahead. Halton CAB’s services are already heavily
over subscribed and it is only thanks to the generous funding we get from
Halton BC that we can play the role we do, i.e. to help mental illness sufferers
claim the right benefits, helping with their housing rights, etc.
Currently we visit patients in the Brooker Centre where we can see a number of
them in one visit. If there are bed closures we would have to do
individual home visits which are much more resource intensive and 5Boroughs
have not mentioned how they would support such activities. I appreciate we are only one agency but I
hope this point illustrates how this strategy can have serious ramifications
for other services Halton BC fund”. In response it was
noted that the proposed model had been piloted in Knowsley, where a recent
study, by the University of Manchester, had not found any evidence of this
model impacting on Voluntary Sector organisations. Arising from the discussion the Board made reference to a number of
issues in relation to: §
the level of funding reduction expected within
Halton; §
how the number of beds required was determined,
whether it was based on need or population; It was noted that bed numbers were
based on Royal College figures, the need index and population size; §
recent media reports depicting serious sexual
attacks taking place in mixed sex wards, whether there was a need for separate
wards as well as separate communal areas and how staffing levels impacted upon
such attacks; §
no physical plans being available for Members
consideration; §
the on-going issue of funding with West
Cheshire Hospital and the 5 Borough’s Partnerships’ sizable debt of
approximately £5M; § how the referrals process would work and what ... view the full minutes text for item 13. |