Report of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

This paper provides a summary and overview of the activity across the GMMH Manchester services and the Covid response.

The Committee considered the report of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) that provided a summary and overview of the activity across the GMMH Manchester services and the Covid response.

The main points and themes within the report included updates in relation to: -

·         Urgent Care/Crisis response;

·         Early Intervention;

·         Community Mental Health Teams;

·         Delayed Transfer of Care; and

·         Out of Area Placements.

The Committee then heard from Peter Broom, citizen of Manchester who provided an account of his lived experience of mental health and the support he had received from the Trust. Having described his journey and the many positive outcomes he had experienced he paid tribute to the staff at the Trust and added that he had witnessed similar experiences with other recipients of this service.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Thanking Mr Broom for attending the meeting and sharing his experience with the Committee;

·         Stating that more needed to be done to promote the positive outcomes and success of the service;

·         Was the funding provided by central government to deliver mental health services sufficient to meet the demand, noting the full impact of COVID was yet to be realised, especially amongst young people;

·         Had the Transformation Fund delivered the required objectives and outcomes.

·         How were the Crisis Cafes advertised and were they culturally appropriate to meet the needs of all residents in the city;

·         Further analysis and understanding of the outcomes of the Crisis Cafe was requested;

·         What analysis had been undertaken on the impact of changes to the delivery of the Community Mental Health Teams services during the pandemic;

·         How did the figures provided on the numbers of Delayed Transfer of Care compare to previous years;

·         Consideration needed to be given to increasing the number of patient bed spaces in acute settings to reduce the numbers of Out of Area placements; 

·         All Councillors should be proactive in promoting and supporting resident groups to access the Wellbeing Fund; and

·         Mental Health Services needed to work collaboratively with other agencies and partners to ensure people received the most appropriate care and support, particularly at times of crisis.

The Medical Director GMMH, described that staff were working with all in patients and service users to engage with and actively encourage them to have the vaccine. She stated this included working collaboratively with the local Primary Care Network to deliver these in appropriate community settings. She informed the Members that the Trust had employed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead who worked closely with the University to address health inequalities.

The Associate Director of Operations GMMH said that it was recognised that investment by central government in mental health services over many years had not been adequate, however the Trust remained committed through the Transformation Fund to working with the Local Care Organisation to invest in and deliver Community Services, adding that this approach would also improve the Delayed Transfer of Care cases. He further commented that work would also be delivered in conjunction with the Primary Care Service to improve the offer delivered to residents experiencing mental health problems. He acknowledged the scenario described by a Member and said that they were working closely with key agencies and partners, including the police to ensure the response to an episode of crisis was proportional and appropriate.

In response to the questions raised regarding the Crisis Café, the Associate Director of Operations GMMH stated that these were the only ones in Greater Manchester and were new to the city, noting that the one delivered at Turning Point had only launched three weeks ago. He advised that this was new model of service delivery and was designed and delivered in conjunction with the VCSE and supported by clinical teams and links to the 24/7 helpline. He commented that these cafes had been advertised through a social media campaign and with posters.  He commented that the use of, and outcomes of these cafes would to be monitored and assessed. 

In response to the provision of services across the different hospital sites the Associate Director of Operations GMMH informed the Committee of the challenges experienced at the Manchester Royal Infirmary site due to the physical restrictions of the Emergency Department, however discussions continued with the site to resolve the issue.

In regard to the service provided by Community Teams during the pandemicthe Associate Director of Operations GMMH advised that 75%-80% of all new referrals were seen face to face (subject to all current guidance), adding that they had continued to offer virtual face to face appointments in addition to telephone calls. He commented that the feedback from service users regarding these arrangements implemented in response to the pandemic had been very positive. He added that during the pandemic the number of mental health patients presenting at Emergency Department had not risen which was an outlier nationally.

In conclusion the Associate Director of Operations GMMH paid tribute to the staff working at the Trust, in particular during the additional challenges presented during the pandemic.

The Executive Member for Health stated that mental health services both locally and nationally had suffered from significant underfunding that had resulted in real term funding cuts to these important services and called upon the government to adequately fund these vital services. She further paid tribute to all of the staff working at the Trust, especially during such challenging times and welcomed the Trust’s commitment to working with Neighbourhood Delivery Teams. She concluded by recognising the important contribution the VCSE and the Wellbeing Fund had in supporting residents who experienced mental health issues.

The Chair on behalf of the Committee thanked all who had attended, in particular Mr Broom whose testimony was greatly appreciated, noting the importance of hearing and understanding the citizen’s voice at scrutiny meetings. She stated that the Committee would invite a further report on this issue for consideration at a future meeting with the remit and scope to be agreed and this would be relayed to the Trust.

Decisions

The Committee;

1. Notes the report and requests that an update report is scheduled at an appropriate time; and

2. Request that information relating to the Crisis Cafes is circulated to the Members of the Committee.