Agenda item

3.2.1      Caroline Hirst and Brenda Bartlett updated the Board re CAMHS ethnicity data and BAMER health inequalities with regards to children and young people.

3.2.2      Extensive work has been undertaken over the last three months by the Lewisham CAMHS service alongside SLaM data analysts to improve the accuracy and comprehensiveness of ethnicity data for Lewisham CAMHS. Data cleansing has identified that in September 2019, approximately 9% of children and young people against a CAMHS caseload of 1,733 did not provide their ethnicity details.

3.2.3      Alongside this work to improve the Lewisham CAMHS data, commissioners for children and young people have also undertaken analysis of research and ethnicity data across the wider commissioned mental health and emotional wellbeing pathway for children and young people. Early findings have been positive, with BAMER access being around 55-60% for most non-statutory/community based services.

3.2.4.     Given the ethnic composition of the Lewisham CYP population, BAMER access to mental health services has been identified as one of nine key priorities within the refreshed CAMHS Transformation Plan 2019.

3.2.5      Catherine Mbema, Kenny Gregory and Jacqueline Francis updated the Board re the BAME mental health inequalities programme of work and the BAME Health Inequalities Action Plan.

3.2.6      The Provider Alliance Leadership group agreed to allocate the non-committed funding in the 2019/20 programme budget to community engagement and involvement. The Alliance will work with representatives of the BAME network to consider the most effective method of engaging BAME community members and/or representatives in the co-design and co-production within the Provider Alliance development network.

3.2.7      An initial service user involvement meeting has taken place to support the identification of service users that are engaged in local service, that are willing to participate in the co-design and co-production of local care pathways that will be delivered by the Provider Alliance.     

3.2.8      SLaM have established a Lewisham Independent Advisory Group to directly engage BAME community representatives in dialogue that will support the improvement of access, experience and outcomes for BAME service users.

3.2.9      An updated version of the BAME Health Inequalities Action Plan was presented to the Board, addressing BAME health inequalities across children and young people and adults. The Action Plan has been extended to cover all three priority areas of BAME health inequality identified by the Board, namely mental health, cancer and obesity.

3.2.10   To facilitate the final agreement of a co-produced overarching action plan, it is proposed that a BAME health inequalities working group covering mental health, cancer and obesity consisting of Council officers responsible for the respective priority areas and members of the Lewisham BME network, continue to oversee the development of the plan.

3.2.11   This working group will also monitor progress using an agreed indicator framework for the action plan going forward. It is proposed that this working group be co-ordinated by Public Health and present update reports to each meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

3.2.12   The following comments and additions were made as part of the discussion by members of the Board and those in attendance:

·    It would be beneficial to engage with GP surgeries to better understand potential barriers to specialist CAMHS provision.

·    Most BAMER community engagement is happening through the Provider Alliance and there is good BAMER involvement through the Service User Involvement forum, which meets again in January 2020.

·    Collaborative lunch sessions have been undertaken on a monthly basis to talk about priorities in the development of the Provider Alliance.

·    It is important to work closely with Lewisham BME Network in the co-production of the BAME Health Inequalities Action Plan, which should be reported back to the Board in March 2020.

·    Time to Change hub receive training rather than funding. Struggling with recruitment of champions. Voluntary Action Lewisham to help promote initiative via social media.

3.2.13   Actions:

·         The Board noted the content of the report and agreed that it should form the response of the Board to the referral at 3.1 and be provided to the Children and Young People and Healthier Communities Select Committees.