Issue - meetings

Mr Holman (Associate Director of Mental Health, Children’s and Maternity Commissioning (NHS West Kent CCG)), Ms Bamblett (Lead Co-ordinator, Kent Enablement and Prevention Service) and Ms Pearson (Transforming Care Accelerator Pilot Lead, Kent Enablement and Prevention Service) were in attendance for this item.

(1)        Mr Collins briefly introduced the report which set out information relating to the Children and Young Person’s Mental Health Service (CYPMHS) and the recommendation that some Kent County Council (KCC) investment be re-focused to address the challenges outlined within the report.

Officers then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Mr Collins referred to the challenges faced by KCC and the NHS within the KCC early intervention elements of the contract said that the contract’s issues and challenges had been consistently reported to the Service Commissioning Board, Commissioning Advisory Board and Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee.He briefly outlined the options available within the report and the need to review the section 76 arrangement through which KCC worked with West Kent CCG as the Lead Commissioner for the contract with North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), and the need to change the funding arrangement for the Early Help element of the contract. He added that KCC’s public health specialists had recently undertaken a review of the offer for mild to moderate needs in order to understand the effect of the current services and what more could be done to address needs. He briefly referred to the increased demand for specialist interventions, and NELFT’s increase in waiting times and Neurodevelopmental referrals. He emphasised the importance of addressing concerns before they needed to be escalated and working collaboratively with partners.

b)    Mr Holman reiterated Mr Collins’ comments and the importance of working collaboratively to reach desired outcomes. He said that despite the current challenges faced within NELFT’s Neurodevelopmental pathway, NELFT were performing adequately as a service in the context of workforce demands and demands for children requiring support and met their Referral to Treatment (RTT) standards across five CCG's. He explained the reasons behind these challenges and emphasised the significant need to ensure that children's needs were met in a universal manner. He referred to the positive work being undertaken in relation to improving the Neurodevelopmental pathway and reducing waiting times.

c)    Mrs Chandler (Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services) reiterated comments made by Mr Collins and Mr Holman and emphasised the importance in ensuring that children received early intervention which would benefit them and their families instead of having to wait for long periods of time for a more clinical diagnosis.

d)    Mr Collins provided more information in relation to section 2.6 of the report and said that the target of 300 was for children and young people who were involved in the Early Help intensive elements.

e)    Ms Bamblett referred to the training which was undertaken by all staff within NELFT and stated that the Kent Enablement and Prevention Service (KEPS  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138