Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023 were agreed as an accurate record, subject to the correction of a formatting error which duplicated the names of some of the attendees at the meeting.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were no disclosures of interest made at the meeting.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business for consideration of the Health & Social Care Sub-Committee at this meeting.

The Health & Social Care is provided with a presentation on Croydon’s Mental Health Transformation.

The Sub-Committee is recommended to:

•        Note the strategic direction on mental health transformation.

•        Comment on the highlighted risks and challenges from the presentation; identifying topics the Committee wish future reports to focus on.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 17 to 38 of the agenda which provided an update on the transformation journey of mental health services in Croydon. The update had been included on the agenda for the Sub-Committee to review the provision of mental health services in the borough and would be used to identify possible areas for a future deep dive.

At the start of the meeting, thanks were given by the members of the Sub-Committee for their visit to the Bethlem Royal Hospital on 21 March, to view the facilities provided by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM) at the site and presented with an overview of mental health services delivered by partners in the borough. A copy of the presentation delivered was provided with the agenda for the meeting.

Before the Sub-Committee started to question the information provided, it was clarified that some of the information provided in the presentation was based on data which would be updated in due course. It was confirmed that the reference to a ‘modern acute hospital’ in the presentation referred to Croydon University Hospital.

The first question from the Sub-Committee asked whether the pathways to accessing mental health services in the borough could be easily understood by the public, and what were the strengths and weaknesses in the current approach. It was acknowledged that the routes into secondary mental health services were not necessarily clear or straightforward, with multiple pathways available. Further work was needed to map out the various pathway to ensure it was as clear as possible without making it too linear for multiple entries into the system. It was suggested by the Sub-Committee that the present system was confusing, especially for friends and family members who may be looking for additional support for an individual.

A new pathway, a Health and Wellbeing Hub in the Whitgift Centre, had recently opened to provide walk-in access to mental health support, and it was planned that similar hubs would be rolled out in other locations across the borough. Other existing pathways include through GP referral, or through emergency access in the Accident & Emergency (A&E) department at the Croydon University Hospital.

Regarding pathways, it was questioned whether a Health & Wellbeing Hub would be the right place for people in crisis to access support. It was confirmed that although the hub included staff with clinical expertise to identify when help may be needed, a different type of expertise was needed for individuals in crisis, with the other above-mentioned pathways better positioned to provide this support.

It was agreed that a simple 1-page communication should be created for use by partners such as the Police or Housing Officers, who may encounter individuals in crisis, to ensure they were aware of the best routes for support. A request was made for this document to also be shared with Councillors, once it was available.

The ease of access to support if there were interlinked drug or alcohol dependency issues was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12/22

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

This motion was not required.