Issue - meetings

(Democratic Services Manager) To consider the attached report.

Ms Stephanie Rae, the Associate Director for West Essex Mental Health Services, has agreed to attend the Overview & Scrutiny meeting scheduled for 17 March 2020 for the external scrutiny of local mental health services.

The Committee had previously identified the following key issues to be scrutinised in respect of the provision of local mental health services:

(a)        how issues of isolation within the local population, particularly amongst older residents, were addressed through the provision of local mental services;

(b)        how apparent mental health concerns amongst local students could be referred to service providers by primary and secondary schools in the Epping Forest District and how quickly such referrals could expect to be assessed;

(c)        Whether funding for local mental health services was being maintained or increased by the Clinical Commissioning Group, at a time when the mental health sector appeared to be under increasing pressure; and

(d)        How Epping Forest District Council could work effectively with the CCG and the NHS Trust to support the provision of local mental health services and how the CCG and NHS Trust intended to engage with this Council to ensure the best level of service provision to local residents.

Ms Rae has advised that her organisation EPUT (Essex Partnership University Trust) does not provide children’s mental health services, so item (b) above can not be covered at the meeting on 17 March 2020. However, she can provide the Council with a contact if Members would like to examine these issues in the future.

If there are any other key local mental health issues that Members would like to cover at this meeting then please let me know by the end of next week (Friday 13 March 2020) so that Ms Rae can attend the meeting suitably prepared.

(Further information: Gary Woodhall  ext 4470)

(Democratic Services Manager) To consider the attached report.

The Democratic Services Manager introduced a report concerning the external scrutiny of local mental health services.

The Committee was reminded that it had previously requested the opportunity to undertake scrutiny of the current provision, planning, management and performance of local mental health services in order to better understand how different agencies could work together to share best practice and support residents. Although the scrutiny of this area was reserved for the County Council, it was generally not averse to this Council undertaking scrutiny of local issues. Representatives of the West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust had confirmed that they would be able to attend the meeting scheduled for 17 March 2020.

The Committee had identified the following key issues to be scrutinised in respect of the provision of local mental health services:

(a)        how issues of isolation within the local population, particularly amongst older residents, were addressed through the provision of local mental services;

(b)        how apparent mental health concerns amongst local students could be referred to service providers by primary and secondary schools in the Epping Forest District and how quickly such referrals could expect to be assessed;

(c)        Whether funding for local mental health services was being maintained or increased by the Clinical Commissioning Group, at a time when the mental health sector appeared to be under increasing pressure; and

(d)        How Epping Forest District Council could work effectively with the CCG and the NHS Trust to support the provision of local mental health services and how the CCG and NHS Trust intended to engage with this Council to ensure the best level of service provision to local residents.

The Democratic Services Manager stated that further key lines of questioning would be sought from Members via the Council Bulletin nearer the time, and if Members had any further suggestions then they should inform the Democratic Services Team.

            Resolved:

            (1)        That the Committee’s suggested key issues for the scrutiny of the local             mental health services be conveyed to the West Essex Clinical Commissioning             Group and Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.