Agenda item

Resolved: to note the report. The Committee also agreed that the Chair would write to the Chair of SLaM setting out the concerns raised about the complaints process.

4.1      Fran Bristow (Programme Director, Adult Mental Health Development Programme, SLaM) introduced the report; the following key points were noted:

• The report provided an update on the issues raised when the community mental health programme was considered at the Committee’s meeting in July.
• Several issues were highlighted by the Committee, including: the compatibility of the changes being proposed with NICE guidance; responses to complaints, with specific reference to an MP enquiry; and the handover process for patients.
• The changes that had been made were in line with NICE guidance.
• New services were being provided as part of the changes, including additional talking therapies; day treatment services and options for self-management.
• The nature of some mental health conditions meant that there were long cycles of illness and relapse.
• Day treatment services were being made available for a longer period in order to avoid instances of relapse and hospitalisation.
• Primary and secondary services were working together. Patients could access specialised care quickly through their GPs when it was required.

4.2      Fran Bristow (Programme Director, Adult Mental Health Development Programme, SLaM), responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

• Emergency cases could be referred within 2-4 hours, critical cases could be seen within 24-48 hours and non-urgent cases should be seen within 28 days. SLaM was outperforming its objective for non-urgent cases and most were seen within 7 to 10 days.
• By the end of September, all moves of patients to new teams within SLaM had been completed.
• 299 people were being treated for bi-polar disorder; of these, 295 people were still receiving support from SLaM.
• A number of patients had to be moved between services, in line with the new structure. There had been some anxiety about the changes.
• It would have been difficult to implement changes and develop specialist community services without moving people between teams.
• 46 complaints had been received between 1^st April and 30^th September 2014.
• Only three of these complains were about moves within SLaM.
• The complaints service kept data about the number of complaints received and their outcomes.
• Each of the complaints raised by people who were moving services had been resolved.
• No serious incidents had been recorded as a result of the changes; but lessons could be learnt about the process of the reconfiguration.
• Complaints were usually responded to within 20 working days. However, the response to Heidi Alexander MP had been delayed because it had originally been dealt with in the wrong department; when it reached the right department, due to the complexity of the case, it took some time to provide a full response.
• All care was overseen by clinical leaders – including consultants, where necessary.
• There had been an increase of mental health conditions across the country; there was no specific upward trend in Lewisham.

4.3      The Committee also discussed the report and raised its concerns about the time it took to respond to the complaint from Heidi Alexander. Members were concerned the amount of time it might take to respond to other complaints.

Resolved: to note the report. The Committee also agreed that the Chair would write to the Chair of SLaM setting out the concerns raised about the complaints process.