Agenda and minutes

The Overview, Scrutiny and Localism Manager drew a number of Membership changes to the attention of the Committee.  Mr Adrian Crowther had replaced Mr Jeremy Kite.  The East Kent Borough Co-Optees were confirmed as Mr Charles Kirby and Mr Michael Lyons.  The West Kent Borough Co-Optees were confirmed as Mr John Cunningham and Mrs Marilyn Peters.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2010 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

This item will be examined in two sections as follows:-

a)         East Kent Health Economy                          10:10 – 11.15

BREAK

b)         West Kent Health Economy                         11:25  – 12.30

Part A: East Kent Health Economy

LaurettaKavanagh (Director of Commissioning for Mental Health and Substance Misuse, Kent and Medway PCTs), Joanne Ross (Lead Commissioner for Mental Health, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent), Dave Woodward (Social Care Commissioner for Mental Health, Kent Adult Social Services), Linda Caldwell (Lead Commissioner for Older People’s Services, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent), Sue Gratton (Head of Integrated Commissioning, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent), Erville Millar (Chief Executive, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust), James Sinclair (Executive Director of Social Care and Partnerships, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust), and Nigel Lowther (Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust) were present for this item.

(1)       As Lead Commissioner for Mental Health on behalf of the three Primary Care Trusts in Kent and Medway, as well as joint commissioning lead with Kent Adult Social Services, Lauretta Kavanagh undertook to provide an overview of the strategic context of mental health services in Kent.  The two Local Authorities and three PCTs had recently produced a draft strategy for improving the mental health and wellbeing of people in Kent and Medway called Live it Well.  This was built around the twin aims of promoting good health and improving access to services.

(2)       Talking specifically about NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent, the PCT had agreed a dementia strategy with Kent County Council in 2005.  The subsequent National Dementia Strategy had specified that early diagnosis was key, as was the support of carers and providing appropriate levels of community support.  In terms of adult and older people’s inpatient services, the NHS had provided a detailed breakdown of the wide range of services provided and this was included in the information provided to Members in the Agenda pack.

(3)       In response to a question about how decisions about mental health provision were made, Lauretta Kavanagh explained that the PCT and social services assessed the needs of the community and produced a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.  Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) was the largest provider of mental health services, but were not the sole one.  There were numerous independent providers also, and so the actual bed stock available was larger than that indicated in the papers.

(4)       There has been a reduction nationally in the number of acute mental health admissions and Crisis Resolution Home Treatment teams had been established to act as gatekeepers to acute care and provide acute care in people’s homes if it was appropriate.  It was conceded by representatives of the NHS that there had been a degree of failure in communicating the relatively narrow criteria in accessing crisis services i.e. those who would otherwise need to be admitted into an acute setting.

(5)       Crisis services should not be the first port of call for patients and so community services were being enhanced.  Borough and District Councils in East Kent were working with the NHS in developing supported accommodation units.

(6)       There were a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

(1)       RESOLVED that the additional information supplied by the NHS be noted.

(1)       The Chairman provided a verbal update on this issue.  It had been brought to his attention that paediatric audiology assessment services were being improved in West Kent in the sense that satellite services were being provided in three community hospitals but that services in Maidstone were going to be removed until suitable premises could be located.  A meeting with those running the service had taken place and correspondence exchanged with NHS West Kent.  This is included in the Appendix to these Minutes.  

(2)       The Chairman undertook to further pursue this issue and report back to the Committee at a later date.

(1)       Members felt that given the complexity of the issues around mental health the Committee had only really begun to scratch the surface and while they gained a lot of useful information, they needed an opportunity to pursue the subject to a deeper level.  In particular there was a need to see what can be done once a patient leaves acute care. 

(2)       There was a sense that a fuller and more frank exchange of information would enable the Committee to support and assist the NHS in achieving the aim of improving service provision for the people of Kent.

(3)       The Overview, Scrutiny and Localism Manager outlined a range of ways in which a deeper mutual understanding between the NHS and KCC could be developed, including shadowing NHS Trust Non-Executive Directors and taking on the role of rapporteurs.