Agenda item

At the Joint Health Committee on 13 November 2012 officers from the Lancashire Mental Health Commissioning Network Team gave a short presentation about the consultation on dementia care services that was to begin on 3 December 2012 and run to 25 February 2013.

Janice Horrocks, Lancashire Mental Health Commissioning Network Team accompanied by Dr Amanda Thornton, Clinical Lead for the Dementia Case for Change now attended this meeting to provide members with a verbal update on the progress of the consultation on dementia care services, and to discuss the formal 'sign off' process.

She began by drawing the Committee's attention to a document that had been circulated round to them by email from 'Lancaster and Morecambe Mental Health Clinicians for Older People' which was a response to the Dementia Care Services Consultation. Janice Horrocks pointed out it was unclear who the author of the document was, that it contained inaccuracies, and that it was known that some of the team to whom it was attributed were supportive of the proposals for Dementia Care Services. The document itself had not yet been submitted to the Consultation team who had become aware of it via this Scrutiny Committee.

She emphasised that the proposals were about shifting resources away from the provision of hospital beds to support for the provision of specialist assessment and treatment as close as possible to where people were living.

There was some discussion about the two options proposed in the Consultation both of which would cost £15 million to fund:

• Option 1 proposed 30 inpatient beds at the Harbour in Blackpool at a cost of £4m, with £11m for community services;

• Option 2 proposed 20 beds at the Harbour in Blackpool and 20 beds at Royal Blackburn Hospital at a cost of £8m, with £7m for community services. 

The Consultation which set out the options proposed in detail can be accessed via the link below (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the document):

http://www.lancashirementalhealth.co.uk/

The agenda and minutes of JHSC meeting held 13 November 2013 at which an update on Mental Health Inpatient Reconfiguration was presented including an initial presentation about the Consultation can be accessed via the link below:

http://council.lancashire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=684&MId=2035&Ver=4

It was reported that there had been just 233 hospital admissions in 2012 and it was expected that the numbers would fall yet further. It was recognised that disruption to a dementia sufferer's routine for as little as two days could lead to a real struggle to then get them back into a routine.

One member raised concern about the ability to predict the need for beds in the future as vascular dementia as well as age-related dementia had to be taken into account.  The Committee was assured that the provision of beds had been "future-proofed" and that the numbers had been very carefully considered. The National Commissioning Advisory Team (NCAT) had also looked very carefully at the proposals and were supportive. This was seen as an opportunity to put money into community care, for training and early diagnosis and then help support people to live well.

One member had attended a public meeting on 21 January at the Gujarat Centre in Preston and had been concerned that it was not an easy venue to get to on public transport and the turnout had been low. It was reported that approximately 20 people had attended that meeting and it was acknowledged that the weather had probably affected turnout. 40-50 people had attended a similar meeting in Lancaster on 18 January.

One member commented that the case for specialist beds was very persuasive, but there was concern about an expectation for loved ones to have to travel from east Lancashire to Blackpool which needed to be addressed.

Janice Horrocks explained that the voluntary sector had been commissioned last summer to conduct a survey of family / carers asking what support they needed. It was recognised that even a relatively short stay in hospital could be difficult for family and carers. The Consultation offered a range of solutions and was also an opportunity for people to say what they needed. It was recognised that the solution may require extra funding.

The Committee was being asked to consider next steps following the conclusion of the consultation period. The Chair suggested that the authority to 'sign off' the proposals be delegated to each of the relevant scrutiny committees within the Lancashire area.

Resolved: That the decision to 'sign off' the proposals be delegated to each of the main Health Scrutiny Committees within Lancashire.