The Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing will submit Document “E” which includes a presentation that provides a summary of the challenges and responses that mental health services across the Bradford District and Craven have faced following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic is still being realised and is being discussed at both a national and local level however, the national lockdown(s) and the associated economic and social impacts of these have had a noticeable influence on the mental health and wellbeing of parts of our population. In this presentation, we will focus on three key areas and local responses to these:

·         Comparative spend on adult’s mental health services

·         Demand for adult mental health services

·         The positive impact of the Healthy Minds Initiative in providing a single point of information and accessibility to mental health services and early intervention support for those that live in the Bradford District and Craven.

Alongside this, the presentation discusses national legislative changes.

                                                                        (Iain MacBeath – 01274 432900)

The Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing submitted Document “E” which included a presentation that provided a summary of the challenges and responses that mental health services across the Bradford District and Craven had faced following the Covid-19 pandemic. An updated presentation was circulated at the meeting.

The impact of the pandemic was still being realised and was being discussed at both a national and local level however, the national lockdown(s) and the associated economic and social impacts of these had a noticeable influence on the mental health and wellbeing of parts of our population. The presentation focused on three key areas and local responses to these:

·         Comparative spend on adult’s mental health services

·         Demand for adult mental health services

·         The positive impact of the Healthy Minds Initiative in providing a single point of information and accessibility to mental health services and early intervention support for those that live in the Bradford District and Craven.

Alongside this, the presentation discussed national legislative changes. An updated version of the Document ‘E’ was provided for the Board and will be reflected on the Health and Wellbeing Board website.

Board members commented as follows:

• The presentation highlighted the range of services through the healthy minds programme and the complexity of funding for mental health services.

• Board members discussed increase in demand and the strain on preventative services such as third sector organisations. One of the biggest issues is the lack of specially trained staff and this is a national issue as well as local one.

·         There was potential to link the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme with other schemes such as Skills House.

·         It was recognised that the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) was at the forefront in terms of prevention and that there was a need to work with them to build capacity.  It was noted that one of the biggest challenges was around workforce issues.

·         It was recognised that there is a need to work with VCS on provision for adults who need low level interventions but not a whole wrap around approach.

• The Board discussed that good metal health was important for all Board partners and therefore preventative and early help services were key to maintaining wellbeing. The presenters were asked to provide a projection of forecast demand for services and required resources to support the system to manage demand. This will also support any submission to national and regional stakeholders and help partners to plan services in accordance with demand.

·         The Healthy Minds website was an excellent source of information and Partners were asked to promote the website to staff and networks.

·         Funding is available to develop a specific app for students to support them with their mental health discussions are ongoing between the Clinical Commissioning Group and the University around the development of this.

• Partners were asked to ensure that their websites and communications reflected the offer from the Healthy Minds service.

·         The commissioning contracts for individual service providers required them to ensure that the Healthy Minds information on line was kept up to date and a quality control officer was able to provide support.  Work was being undertaken with GP’s to ensure that they referred to the most up to date information on line to provide patients with the best possible care options.

• It was highlighted that the impact on children and young people’s mental health should not be underestimated, particularly if households have been directly impacted by unemployment and loss through the pandemic. A separate discussion at a development session is planned with Board on Children’s and young people’s mental health.

Resolved

That the cost of meeting the forecast demand for mental health services is calculated and taken into account in budget setting.

ACTION: Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing