Agenda item

Karen Reynolds, Head of Governance and Assurance, Caroline Harris-Birtles, Director of Nursing and David Barry, Governor of Camden and Islington Foundation Trust were present for discussion of this item.

During consideration of the report the following main points were made –

·         David Barry outlined the role of Governors and that they were involved in the discussions on the redevelopment of the St.Pancras site

·         It was stated that the CQC inspection was anticipated in December/January and that action plans were in place to deal with areas of concern from previous inspections. There had been areas of improvement on managing waiting lists, and how to keep patients safe. However, there had been an increase in the number of referrals for the funding that they received

·         There had been increased training on safeguarding and how care is planned for patient care

·         It was stated that there were 3 key areas of how to plan care for patients including safety, dignity and gaps in care. One of the priorities is also to enable staff, through raising awareness and relevant training to identify, prevent and reduce domestic violence and abuse and in addition there is a need to involve service users and carers in the implementation of the clinical strategy

·         It was noted that there are still gaps in relation to dealing with the waiting list and although there had been compliance with the 18 week referral to treatment targets for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies and Early Intervention services it was noted that there are more people on the waiting list than could be dealt with, however consideration is being given to how to manage waiting lists more effectively. In addition, the Government have raised the target for improving access to psychological therapies and this would cause further strain on resources available

·         Reference was made to the staff survey and whether there had been any improvement in this area. It was stated that this is not an area that could be responded on in more detail at that meeting as the information was not available however this could be provided following the meeting

·          There had been a focus on improving the recruitment of staff and in offering support to staff and training to identify and prevent and reduce domestic violence and abuse. In addition, staff were supported in dealing with any harassment or violence issues and work is going on with patient groups, to get feedback on issues

·         There are career progression opportunities for staff and online training and courses are made available to staff

·         It was noted that some patients had to wait a long time before being able to access treatment

·         In terms of staff turnover it was noted that staff turnover is subject to fluctuation however, this has not risen and there had been improvements in staff retention, although there were some differences in staff turnover in particular areas and the Trust is now less dependent on agency staff

·         With the increased awareness around mental health issues and the stigma of mental health being less the service is now dealing with a repressed demand. The Trust did keep performance indicators and statistics and monitor demographics and referrals and the Trust were looking at different ways of working and dealing with primary care. Preventative work is also taking place with Children’s Services

·         In response to a question with regard to the transition from children’s to adults mental health services it was stated that not all children who had received services transferred to adult services and there is no longer a ‘cut off’ at 18 years of age

·         In response to a question it was stated that it was concerning that there potentially could be a large cohort of young people in a few years time needing to access mental health services and that work needed to take place with commissioners to look at future demand and funding. Commissioners were aware of the challenges facing the service

·         It was stated that the Trust felt that it managed its resources effectively and also triaged cases effectively

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the Trust forward to Members information relating to the latest staff survey report, as referred to above

The Chair thanked David Barry, Karen Reynolds and Caroline Harris-Birtles for attending