Report of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and

Manchester Health and Care Commissioning

This paper provides the Health Scrutiny Committee with a progress report

on Manchester Mental Health Services, following the acquisition on the 1st January 2017 by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH). The paper covers an update on progress made since January 2018, or 22 months since the acquisition, of the transformation programme, organisational change and development.

The Committee considered the report of the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (MHCC) that provided the Members with a progress report on Manchester Mental Health Services, following the acquisition on the 1 January 2017 by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH). The report provided an update on progress made since January 2018, or 22 months since the acquisition, of the transformation programme, organisational change and development.

The Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust referred to the main points of the report which were: -

·                A description of the different Transformation Working Groups that had been established to deliver the transformation programme;

·                The activities to increase Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) and an analysis of the impact and outcomes;

·                The activities to improve Acute Care Pathways (ACP) designed to improve access and moving health provision into the community, supporting care closer to home and providing the best treatment in the right place at the right time, accompanied with a summary of progress to date;

·                Urgent Care and the development of a Section 136 Suite at the North Manchester General Hospital site;

·                Activities to reduce the number of Out of Area Placements;

·                An update on a range of community engagement activities;

·                How performance was managed and reported;

·                A description of the challenges in relation to the workforce and the recruitment of skilled mental health professionals; and

·                A description of next steps.

The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing commented upon the high quality of the report that had been submitted to the Committee, noting the reported progress and improvements. She commented that the report was an honest report that also discussed the challenges. She said that she welcomed the commitment to delivering a seven day a week service and the reduction in the use of out of area placements, commenting that these were very important to both patients and their families. This view was also expressed by the Committee.

The Assistant Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing echoed the comments of the Executive Member and stated that she had received positive feedback from her constituents regarding the care and service provided by the Trust. She stated that there needed to be a parity of esteem between mental health and physical health and further commented on the national shortage of mental health workers and sought further clarification on the waiting times for IAPT therapy.

In response to a question from a Member regarding staff and the work force strategy the Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust said that it was very important to recruit and retain the correct staff. He acknowledged the challenges staff had experienced over the previous ten years and described that the work force strategy focused on promoting Manchester as a great place to work. He commented that the Trust appeared in the list of the top 100 NHS organisations to work at. He said staff were engaged with and their views sought so they were involved in the improvement process and involved in designing solutions. He further commented that a lot of work had been done to address the previous negative perceptions of Manchester as a place to work and a national recruitment campaign would be launched. 

The Director of Operations, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust responded to a question asked by a Member about Care Coordinators by explaining that these were not new roles and were currently in place and that where any vacancies existed these would be recruited to. She further commented that the issue of Out of Area Placements was being looked at a Greater Manchester level. She also stated that the number of bed spaces in the city had increased and across GM by 10%.

The Director of Operations, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust responded to a question regarding the accreditation status as assessed by the Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists. She stated that the application for accreditation was not done for each site at the same time and stated that the other two sites were working towards this.

A Member commented that he welcomed the establishment of the Section 136 Suite at the North Manchester General Hospital site, stating that this was an improvement in how people with mental health issues were treated and asked how common was it for a city like Manchester not to have had such a facility previously. The Director of Operations, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust stated that it was uncommon not to have one and stated that it was a very positive development for the care of patients.

The Acting Deputy Director of Commissioning for Mental Health and Children Manchester Health and Care Commissioning commented that the access to IAPTS therapy continued to increase and there were a number of sites across the city where these were now delivered. She said there were both national and internal targets for receiving therapy. She commented that work was also underway at a GM level to review the levels of access and to also look at the issue of delayed transfer of care that had been raised by Members.

Members discussed the issue of safe guarding in relation to community engagement and sought an assurance that the safeguarding of patients would always be considered. The Director of Operations, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust said that the ‘Be Well’ service, a social prescribing service in north Manchester worked closely with local community groups and the voluntary sector and gave the assurance that safeguarding was always considered.

Decision

The Committee note the report.