Agenda item

To provide members with an overview of the Gwynedd Mental Health Service’s work and the developments for 2022-23.

a)    To accept the report that provided an overview of the work of the Mental Health Service and developments for 2022-23.

b)    To request another report within 3-4 months on the research findings of the 'Mental Health Project' that will have been undertaken.

The report was submitted, which updated members on the work of the Mental Health Service and the developments for 2022-23. It was noted that the service was multi-disciplinary and cross-departmental. It was added that the Health Board led the service and that it was a strong and developmental partnership.

It was added that the service worked with individuals over the age of eighteen. Most of the individuals have capacity and have received the service optionally. The Mental Health Project, which was one of the developmental plans in the service's work programme, was reported upon. It was noted that the Adults, Health and Well-being Department had commissioned a consultant to scrutinise the resources and service within the primary provision. It was hoped that plans and proposals would emerge from this work and it was hoped that those recommendations could be brought to the Care Scrutiny Committee in future.

During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by members:-

·         Concern was expressed regarding how individuals accessed the Mental Health Service; one case was reported where no referral had been made on behalf of the individual. Cases were also mentioned where individuals had only been given tablets by GPs and that no further assistance had been offered.

·         It was added that the lack of face-to-face appointments with doctors caused concerns, especially for those who did not use programmes such as Zoom. Members expressed that they were pleased that things seemed to be improving and face-to-face appointments were being restored.

·         It was stated that the number of referrals during 2021 was high; it was asked how these figures compared with previous years.

·         It was asked how the Department was addressing the recruitment difficulties and staff shortages due to absences and vacant posts which contributed to waiting lists.

·         An observation was made regarding the problems in the Mental Health field and within the Health Board and concern was expressed that the Council was very dependent on the Health Board's services. It was questioned whether the Council had expressed the problems being experienced and whether the Council was adequately challenging the Health Board. The Council wished to acknowledge these problems and thought it should have been identified in the report.

·         It was questioned whether adequate support was being given to individuals who were experiencing difficulties with their mental health.

·         Concerns were raised regarding the mental well-being of children and whether this would lead to long-term mental health problems; it was asked whether, for example, an additional resource had been made available in schools to deal with this.

·         Thanks were expressed for the report, noting that a further update would be welcomed.

In response to the above observations and questions from members, it was noted that:-

·         Referrals to the service were usually made by the GPs. It was reported that, on occasion, individuals found it difficult to get an appointment with their GP. In such cases, other employees who supported individuals may be asked to make the referral. It was reported that members were welcome to contact the Senior Safeguarding, Quality Assurance and Mental Health Manager directly if they wished to have a further discussion regarding specific cases.

·         There were no referral figures to compare with other years but the number of referrals was generally stable. It was noted that the number of referrals had decreased at the start of the pandemic, but was now stable. The number of referrals was predicted to increase due to the impact of the pandemic.

·         Recruitment was a problem, especially in the south of the county. Recruitment was also identified as a problem for the Health Board, which has an impact on the Council's service as the two teams were integrated. It was explained that regular discussions were taking place and that campaigns across the north were trying to tackle this problem. It was added that a task group had been set up within the Department to look at recruitment and try to attract more people to the posts.

·         The service understood members' frustrations with the Mental Health field and the Health Board in particular. It was reported that the Council focused on parts of the Mental Health Service and that this contribution needed to be understood in the first place. Once the Council was clear about its strengths, then it would be easier to challenge some aspects of the Health Board's contribution.

·         In response to an observation regarding the Council doing adequate preventative work and taking timely steps; it was noted that this was part of the additional work that had commenced, and that the work would be developed over the coming months. It was hoped that the provision could be strengthened and that plans could be put in place to respond to demand.

·         It was fair to acknowledge that more needed to be done, but the biggest challenge was finding out what was going to make the biggest difference and identifying the scale of the task. It was noted that ideas existed but those ideas needed to be brought together in order to put a suitable and appropriate plan in place to fill the gaps highlighted by members.

·         It was noted that the report submitted was a report on adult mental health services. This service did not cater for the children's field. It was emphasised that there was collaboration between the adults and children's services on mental health matters but that the main responsibilities lay with the Children and Supporting Families Department and the Education Department. It was added that the collaboration between Departments looked at the potential demand on adult mental health services in the long term. 

The Committee expressed its desire for the Mental Health Service to provide a further report on the findings of the research being undertaken. It was hoped that this work would be completed within the next 2-3 months.

The Chair and former Chair expressed their thanks to the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being and the Cabinet Member for their collaboration during the past term. Thanks were expressed to all officers within the Department.

RESOLVED:

a)    To accept the report that provided an overview of the work of the Mental Health Service and developments for 2022-23.

b)    To request another report within 3-4 months on the research findings of the 'Mental Health Project' that will have been undertaken.