Agenda and minutes

No declarations were made.

Resolved –  That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th November 2015 be approved as a correct record.

The Board received a presentation from representatives of the Slough Youth Parliament about their campaign to reduce the stigma around young people’s mental health needs.

The Youth Parliament had been established in January 2015 and comprised of 34 young people aged between 12-19 elected through schools and colleges.  The Parliament had been involved in the development and consultation on a number of local strategies that effected children.  They had co-ordinated the local response to the UK Youth Parliament’s ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot that selected key priorities for young people and mental health had been identified as one of the priority campaigns for 2016 with a Slough Youth Parliament representative participating in a debate held in the House of Commons in November.  Mental health was also included in the Slough Youth Parliament’s manifesto that had been circulated with the report.

The campaign aimed to reduce stigma around young people’s mental health needs.  It was estimated that 1 in 10 children aged 5-16 suffered from a diagnosable mental health condition and half of all adults with mental health problems were diagnosed in childhood, but had often not received appropriate treatment.  On average there were 120 referrals a week from GPs in Berkshire to the CAMHS common point of entry, with waiting times of at least a year for young people awaiting diagnosis for ASD & ADHD.  Young people were working with the public health team on anti-stigma issues and had been consulted on the new THRIVE mental health programme.

The presentation highlighted a number of recommendations arising from the Youth Parliament’s campaign:

·  The need for counselling in Slough;

·  Improved training in mental health for professionals working with young people;

·  Introduction of Mental Health Champions in schools;

·  Improved understanding and awareness of LGBT issues.

The Board congratulated the Youth Parliament on their work in a range of areas in the past year, including on mental health issues.  It was recognised that the Board, and partners more generally, needed to better understand the perceptions of young people with regards to mental health.  Members asked a range of questions about the support needs of parents and families.  It was recognised that there was a need to educate and raise awareness amongst parents and it was suggested making greater use of parent’s evenings in schools.  Youth Parliament representatives confirmed that they were preparing a list of recommendations for the Slough Association of Secondary Heads and that funding for counselling services was a key issue.  The Board also discussed the difficulties in tackling LGBT issues, particular given the prevalence of homophobic bullying.  These issues were acknowledged but it was also indicated that young people were generally more willing to open up and champion such issues, for example there was an active LGBT group at the college.

The Board were asked to support the campaign for schools to train more staff in ‘Mental Health First Aid’.  It was reported that additional NHS and CCG funding had recently been secured for such activity and there was a comprehensive programme of activity as part of the wider CAMHS strategy.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Board congratulated all of those involved in the Slough Youth Parliament for their achievements in the past year and particularly for their important campaign on mental health issues.  The Board formally endorsed this work and noted the recommendations emerging from the campaign.

Resolved –

(a)  That the work being undertaken by the Slough Youth Parliament in campaigning on young people’s mental health issues be endorsed.

(b)  That the recommendations arising from the Slough Youth Parliament’s campaign be noted.

Chief Inspector Wong introduced a report regarding the introduction of a pilot mental health street triage service across Slough, Windsor, Ascot, Maidenhead and Bracknell from 1^st April 2016.  The proposal utilised the evidence base from the current street triage pilot operating in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

The proposed service consisted of a police officer and mental health practitioner able to provide a rapid response capability between 5.00pm and 1.00am, 5 days per week, to provide a triage assessment and signpost the most appropriate pathway for people with a mental health incident who came to the attention of the Police.  The aim of the service was to avoid unnecessary detentions under s136 of the Mental Health Act, some of which resulted in people being detained in police cells which was recognised as not being appropriate for a person suffering from a mental health condition.  The model adopted in the West Berkshire pilot area demonstrated improved care for individuals facing mental health crisis and time and savings costs across services.  It was noted that East Berkshire was the only area in the Thames Velley without a street triage team.  Demand for s136 provisions at Prospect Park had risen by 33% across Berkshire between 2013/14 and 2014/15 with 153 cases from East Berkshire.  The proposed operation and business case, as set out in paragraphs 5.6 to 5.10 of the report was summarised, and the Board was asked for their support for the pilot to help secure the funding required from partners.

The Board asked a number of questions about the length and cost of the pilot and the relative benefits to partners in terms of cost savings.  The pilot would last for a year and cost approximately £136k depending on the final model adopted.  The benefits of the approach included a reduction in s136 detentions, reduced use of police custody, relieved pressure on AMHP service and s12 doctor demand and a reduction in police time spent on mental health incidents.  Whilst it was difficult to accurately quantify the exact benefits in terms of cost savings across services it was recognised that early intervention resulted in better long term outcomes for patients and reduced demand for other services.  One of benefits to Slough residents of the pilot would be to reduce transit to Prospect Park and treat people closer to their home where possible.

The Board recognised the likely benefits to individuals in mental health crisis and the potential cost savings to public sector partners in delivering services more efficiently.  It was therefore agreed that the Board support the introduction of the street triage pilot in East Berkshire.

Resolved –  That the Board support the introduction of a mental health street triage pilot scheme for East Berkshire to commence on 1 April 2016.

The Board received a presentation from Professor Terry Young on the work of the Cumberland Initiative whose vision was: “to transform the quality and cost of NHS care delivery through simulation, modelling and systems thinking”.  The Initiative had set up a ‘living lab’ in Slough for clinicians and managers to simulate scenarios in a busy A&E department to help model and plan services.

The Board welcomed the work that the Cumberland Initiative was doing in Slough and suggested a number of potential opportunities to help model, design and plan health and wellbeing services locally.  These included:

·  Public health applications to model the different approaches and pathways that could be taken to better plan and deliver programmes e.g. the Global Burden of Disease modelling to understand back pain.

·  Explore the potential to use shared health data and models to understand and improve services e.g. to investigate the determinants of longevity and help to shape future services by understanding the interventions that had the maximum impact.

·  Utilising the expertise to assist with demand management analysis to design primary care and acute services in the most efficient way.

Partners agreed to consider the opportunities within their own organisations to work with the Initiative and it was noted that the CCG already had meetings planned.  It was proposed and agreed that Lise Llewellyn take the lead on behalf of the Board in working with the Cumberland Initiative to explore these and any other opportunities.

Resolved –

(a)  That Professor Young be thanked for his presentation and that the work of the Cumberland Initiative in Slough be welcomed.

(b)  That further consideration be given to identifying the practical opportunities for the Cumberland Initiative and Slough Wellbeing Board to work together to improve the planning, design and efficiency of health and wellbeing services.

(c)  That Lise Llewellyn lead the exploration of practical opportunities to work with the Cumberland Initiative and that the Board be informed of progress in due course.

The Board received an information report on Slough Borough Council’s revised Five Year Plan 2016-20.  The plan set a clear strategic direction for the Council and helped partners to understand its priorities for the future and links to the new Slough Joint Wellbeing Strategy which would also be refreshed during 2016.

Resolved –  That the refreshed draft Council Five Year Plan as attached at Appendix A to the report be noted.

An information report was received on the development of the Wellbeing Board’s Annual Report which was attached at Appendix A to the report.  The draft focused on 2015/16 but also included activity since the inception of the Board as its first full Annual Report.  The document would be circulated amongst partners and the Priority Delivery Groups and any comments should be provided to the Council policy team.  A number of suggestions were made including the inclusion of case studies e.g. BCF, and the need for a succinct, plain English summary to clearly communicate the work of the Board.

Resolved –

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That Board Members provide any drafting suggestions or further points for inclusion to Council policy team as soon as possible after the meeting.

An information report was received setting out progress over the past six months of the Board’s Overarching Information Sharing Protocol (OISP) and its protocol with the children’s and adults safeguarding boards.  It was considered that the arrangements were working well since being formally adopted by the Board in July 2015, however, some partners had not yet formally signed the OISP.  The Board agreed that information sharing was crucial to successful partnership working and it was agreed that those partners who had not signed the document should do so as soon as possible.

Resolved –

(a)  That the six month update be noted.

(b)  That the four partners that had yet to formally sign the protocol agreed by the Board in July 2015 do so as an urgent priority.

The Board considered the Action Progress Report and Future Work Programme and were invited to suggest any improvements to the current format of the report.  A number of comments were made including the use of RAG ratings and a clearer focus on priority outcomes or actions that were outstanding.

Resolved –  That the Action Progress Report and Future Work Programme be noted and the suggestions for improvement be considered.

Resolved –  That the attendance record 2015/16 be noted.

23^rd March 2016

Dave Phillips indicated that this would be his final Board meeting as he would shortly be retiring from the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service.  The Board thanked Dave Phillips for his contribution to the Slough Wellbeing Board and to local partnership working more widely.  The new fire service representative would be confirmed in due course.

Resolved –

(a)  That Dave Phillips be thanked for his contribution to the Slough Wellbeing Board.

(b)  That the next meeting be confirmed as 23^rd March 2016.