To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Christine Adams (Oldham MBC), Councillor Dan Costello (Tameside MBC) and Councillor Angela Smith (Rochdale MBC).

Members are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary, personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests relating to items on this agenda and/or indicate if S106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

To appoint the Vice Chair of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Resolved:
That Councillor Eddie Moores (Oldham MBC) be appointed as Vice Chair of the Joint Scrutiny Committee for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust for the 2023/24 municipal year.

To consider the Minutes of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meeting held on Wednesday 29 March 2023.

Resolved:
That the Minutes of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meeting held on 29 March 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To consider the Minutes of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meeting held on Tuesday 18 July 2023.

The Chair highlighted the importance of distributing the minutes of Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meetings to each local authority - Rochdale, Oldham, Bury, Stockport and Tameside - once they had been approved.

The minutes would be ‘to note’ at meetings of each authority, such as those of Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Any anomalies identified could be dealt with as ‘Matters arising from Minutes’ at future meetings of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust.

Resolved:

1.      That the minutes of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meeting held on 18 July 2023 be approved as a correct record;

2.      That Committee Services (Rochdale BC) circulate the minutes of future meetings of Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust to each local authority on behalf of the Chair once approved.

Presentation to follow.

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and invited the Chief Executive of Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Anthony Hassall, to begin the presentation.

The Chief Executive firstly commented that Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust was ahead of last year’s statistics in respect of the number of staff that had received a flu jab and/or Covid-19 vaccination. There had been a lower intake for Covid-19 vaccines, however 45% of staff had received a flu jab to date. A target of 70-80% was hoped to be achieved. It was also noted that there were increased staff absence levels every year during the winter period, with absence levels generally rising from 4% to 7%.

Winter Plan

It was reported by the Chief Executive that this year’s Winter Plan would focus on reducing Out of Area Placement (OAPs) and maintaining safe services, as well as joint work on Greater Manchester schemes such as Mental Health Urgent Treatment and 111. If the funding was to become available, alternative schemes to hospital admissions such as crisis beds and cafés would be progressed.

In relation to OAPs, it was highlighted that there were ongoing issues following the closure of the Edenfield Centre. The Edenfield Centre was one of the biggest mental health hospitals in the UK, however 60 beds were now unavailable in Greater Manchester following the BBC Panorama investigation in 2022. OAPs could currently be as far away as Essex, though this remained an indirect cost to the Trust.

In response to a query raised by the Chair, Members were informed that crisis cafés were supportive community spaces available in each borough for anyone that was experiencing a mental health crisis. The service aimed to prevent long waits in emergency departments and was ran by volunteers in partnership with qualified Mental Health Practitioners. To help secure funding for crisis cafés, it was suggested by the Chair that a letter be sent to the Chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB) on behalf of the committee. It would be beneficial to also circulate the letter to representatives of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Greater Manchester local authority leaders and the relevant portfolio holders.

Children and Young People Mental Health Services

The Panel was informed that Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust provided Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Rochdale, Stockport, Bury, Oldham and Tameside. The services were well established with multi-disciplinary teams that delivered a range of clinical pathways.

The Chief Executive reported that recent data analysis had identified a significant increase in demand for community CAMHS services since January 2020. It was noted that there were CAMHS in-patient facilities situated within Fairfield Hospital in Bury, however the increase in demand had led to a 523% increase in the number of young people waiting. Of these, 82% were awaiting support or assessment for neurodevelopment needs.

As the current demand of the service was greater than the available capacity in all Greater Manchester areas, Pennine Care had committed to work with commissioners  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Chief Executive, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, raised concerns in regards to the way that some committee meetings were being structured in local authorities and the pressures on Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust officers to attend such meetings. Members agreed that it would be advantageous for each authority to be informed of what topics were raised at the meetings of Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust to avoid duplicating discussions and to ensure efficient time management of officers and members.

The Chair thanked the Chief Executive for the invaluable time that had been committed to the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust.

Further concerns were raised by Members in relation to a lack of representation from some authorities at Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meetings. It was noted by the Chair that the meetings were an essential forum for the five Greater Manchester boroughs to collaborate and connect.

Resolved:

1.    That the Minutes of future Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meetings be circulated to the five Greater Manchester local authorities upon publication;

2.    That the Clerk be requested to contact the relevant local authority to arrange two additional appointments to the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust in line with the terms of reference;

3.    That the Chair be requested to circulate a letter to Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Bury and Tameside Council to highlight concern in relation to a lack of representation at Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust meetings.

To note that the remaining 2023/24 meetings will be held at Number One Riverside, Rochdale as follows:

·         Tuesday 16 January 2024, 2.00pm

·         Wednesday 13 March 2024, 2.00pm

Resolved:
That the next meeting of the Joint Scrutiny Panel for Pennine Care (Mental Health) Trust on 16 January 2024 be focussed on the topic of Child and Adolescent Young People Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Rochdale, Stockport, Bury, Oldham and Tameside.