Issue - meetings

42.1.      The Committee considered a report on the redesign of Inpatient Mental Health Services in East Sussex, with a focus on the services provided at the Department of Psychiatry being moved on to a new site within the next three years.

42.2.      The Committee asked what the advantages were of having services on a single site compared to the current spread of services over three sites.

42.3.      Paula Kirkland, Programme Director, said that the CCG and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), together with other stakeholders, had identified that as a longer term vision there could be several advantages of co-locating all services on a single site operating as a centre of excellence. These were principally around better staff recruitment and retention, patient experience, safety and capacity and clinical excellence.  This would be because:

• the site would appeal to staff as a place where they could get the best possible clinical experience from a variety of specialities and benefit from higher quality teaching;
• staff could be moved between wards to cover gaps in staffing rather than move around the county between the existing three sites;
• wards could be adapted over time to match changing demographics, such as turning working age into older peoples wards; and
• the service would meet the minimum recommended guidance for co-locating at least three-wards. Uckfield dementia ward is currently a single, isolated ward.

42.4.      The Committee asked for clarity as to whether there are plans to move all inpatient mental health services onto a single site

42.5.      Jessica Britton, Executive Director, East Sussex CCG, clarified that a potential longer term vision for a campus approach has emerged from engagement with stakeholders. This does not form part of the more  immediate and concrete plans being developed for the future of the Department of Psychiatry (DoP) currently at the Eastbourne District General Hospital (EDGH) site. The current priority is to eradicate the dormitory wards at the DoP – both to meet the national requirement and to deliver significant improvements to local people – however, any replacement service for the DoP will be designed in such a way as to be able to accommodate any future plans that might include the services that are currently located at Beechwood unit at Uckfield and Woodlands Centre at Conquest Hospital.

42.6.      The Committee asked for confirmation that any plans to replace the DoP or create a single mental health inpatient site would take into account the impact on travel times and on residents in more deprived areas such as Hastings.

42.7.      Simone Button, Chief Operating Officer, SPFT confirmed any benefits of a future single campus site would need to be weighed against travel arrangements for staff, patients, and their carers and families. Jessica Britton said further work will be done on understanding where people travel in the county to receive inpatient mental health care. Furthermore, any future plans for a single campus would look at the impact on patients and their families, including those from deprived areas.

42.8.      The Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42