JOINT COMMISSIONING PARTNERSHIP BOARD

WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2009 AT 10 A.M.

REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE

Author:Mark Lobban, Chair, Mental Health Services for Older People,Strategic Commissioning Group (SCG)

Tel:01992 556350

  1. Purpose of Report

To present proposals for the review of Joint Commissioning arrangements Mental Health Services for Older People;for consideration and agreement by the Joint Commissioning Partnership Board.

  1. Summary

Partners wish to review the assessment and care management service for Mental Health Services for Older People (MSOP) and the associated commissioning arrangements.

On selection of a consultant to undertake the review,the scope and nature of the review will be defined within a project initiation document. The project document will define principles, assumptions, issues and risks along with the overall purpose of the review.

The review will take into account the strategic context in Hertfordshire including Investing In Your Mental Health and the delivery of The National Dementia Strategy. If, as a result of the review, any significant changes to the strategy or service are envisaged, then the review will consider and advise what further public consultation might be required.

  1. Background Information

Partners have been working towards a joint mental health provider structure which includes older people. In July 2005, the transfer of Adult Care Services (ACS) staff to Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust (HPFT) was completed and Specialist Mental Health Teams for Older People (SMHTOP) were created with associated budgets and commissioning responsibility transferred to the Joint Commissioning Partnership.

At present, this means that the only ACS funding for Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) incorporated into the Joint Commissioning Partnership is the staffing budget for the social work staff employed within the SMHTOP. The budgets for social care purchasing for MHSOP currently remain with ACS. This is unlike other areas across the Joint Commissioning Partnership such as Learning Disabilities and Adults of a Working Age where there is full integration of all the social and health care funding, with pooled budgets which can then be used flexibly to commission services that meet the needs of patients and users.

Therefore older people with mental health issues requiring social care currently have their needs assessed by HPFT SMHTOP but the services to meet these needs are commissioned by ACS who retain the budget.

3.1Reasons for a Review

Partners wish to review the assessment and care management arrangements for MHSOP (functional and organic) and the associated commissioning arrangements and build on the Business Process review carried out in Adult Care Services in the Autumn Spring of 2008/9 and the review carried out by Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust during 2008/9 of their internal arrangements.

Partners are committed to implementing the national dementia strategy in partnership and are considering what structure and arrangements are necessary to agree a local joint dementia strategy and to deliver resulting implementation plans.

In January 2009, the Mental Health Topic Group recommended that during 2009 ACS and its partners ensure that the whole needs of older people are addressed, including physical and mental health needs, alongside social care requirements.

3.2Key Elements of the review

The key elements of the review to include:

  • An assessment of the user/patient and carer experience of the current joint arrangements.
  • A review of the assessment and care management function provided by the SMHTOP, and how they interface with other parts of the health and social care system in Hertfordshire.
  • How these assessment and care management functions lead to micro commissioning cycle decisions and relate to business processes within HPFTOP and ACS.
  • A review of the macro (strategic) joint commissioning cycle arrangements for mental health services for older people and their interface with other commissioning arrangements of older peoples services.
  • The robustness of the micro and macro commissioning cycle arrangements to implement the National Dementia Care Strategy.

3.3Methodology

This piece of work is being overseen by the MHSOP Strategic Commissioning Group with external assistance commissioned by the Hertfordshire Joint Commissioning Team. The review will be conducted through:-

  • Review of documentation that will be made available (including outputs from the recent ACS Business Process Review Older people)
  • Interviews with key ACS, HPFT, Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Acute Trust managers, clinicians and practitioners, care providers, representative groups of users/patients and carers.
  • Comparison with other health and social care partnerships using data available to the consultant via his/her own networks and publicly available websites, etc.
  • Production of a final report, which will address the key elements identified above.

4.Recommendations

The Joint Commissioning Partnership Board are asked to approve the undertaking of the proposed review and comment on the content and methodology proposed

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090715 Item 8 - Mental Health Services for Older People Review