Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to update the Panel on the scope of ambitions for the Community & Crisis Pathways Transformation, and on the work being planned and in progress around Mental Health in Croydon.

The Director of Commissioning for the Croydon CCG introduced the item and went through the slides included in the agenda which covered ‘Crisis Care Delivery’ and ‘Places of Safety’, local engagement, the Croydon ‘Community and Crisis Pathway Transformation Programme’, Thrive LDN and ‘Good Thinking’.

The ‘Places of Safety’ which had been identified locally were Maudsley Hospital and St George’s Hospital. The Chair queried why these locations had been chosen as they were not the most local for Croydon residents, and enquired how easy they were to access for people in crisis. The Director of Commissioning answered that the sites had been selected after engagement across South East London, and that the decision to have two large main sites had been evaluated to be better than the former offer of inconsistent offers over many smaller sites. Whilst the sites were not in Croydon, they were close enough that transfers would be easy.

In response to queries about why New Addington and Thornton Heath had been shortlisted as sites for locality hubs, the Panel learned that the business case identified greatest levels of need in the North of the borough and in New Addington, but that this would be mapped in future. Members asked why there were no locations planned for the South of the borough and suggested a site in Purley may be a good point of access for residents; further questions were raised over how closely the council had been worked with, in respect of data sharing on current provisions, as there were concerns about duplications of services and information. The Director of Commissioning informed the Panel that the sites were not yet finalised, and that work was being done with social care teams to improve the joining up of services. Some of the sites had been identified as there were existing council proposals there. Members informed the Director of Commissioning that there had been reports that Purley Hospital was being underutilised and could be a good potential site; the Director of Commissioning agreed to look into this.

The Director of Commissioning responded to queries about Croydon’s historical record on mental health by explaining that Croydon had started from a low baseline. An example of this had been the talking therapy service, which had started small, but which had reached its access target; this target would increase at the end of 2019, but there was extra funding in this contract to ensure the higher target would be met. Members heard that the mental health investment target was being met, and that for 2019 there was a target of 6% reinvestment. The Director of Commissioning stressed that partnerships with Housing, Social Services and the voluntary sector had been key, and there would be a focus on cementing this alliance of partners in the future.

The Chair requested that in the future the reports should contain simple explanations of what the patient experience would actually be like. The Director of Commissioning responded that there were case studies comparing the customer experience before and after the changes in the business case, and that these could be included in future reports as well.

The Panel asked whether there were plans for a Croydon specific Thrive campaign and were told there would be greater promotion of the current Thrive LDN campaign and mental health first aiding. The Director of Commissioning agreed that there needed to be a more comprehensive programme for this area of implementation.

The Chair thanked the Director of Commissioning for reporting to the Panel and praised the work being done.