Issue - meetings

24.1.    The Committee considered a report requesting the Committee’s view whether the NHS decision on the future of inpatient mental health services is in the best interest of the health service in East Sussex.

24.2.    The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)         Agree the decision is in the best interests of health services locally;

2)         Request a future update via email on the progress of the development of the new facility; and

3)         Request a site visit of the new facility.

13.1.     The Committee considered the Review Board’s draft report on NHS proposals to move mental health inpatient services, which are currently provided at the Department of Psychiatry in Eastbourne District General Hospital, to new facilities to be built on a different site at either Bexhill or Hailsham.

13.2.     The Committee asked whether the CCG and Trust are confident they can deliver the proposals on budget.

13.3.     Jessica Britton said the CCG and Trust are confident that their current plans will deliver the programme on budget. They will continue to refresh and review the plans if there are any changes, and if there are any substantial changes then HOSC will be updated.

13.4.     The Committee asked whether a smaller inpatient mental health satellite service could be retained at Eastbourne District General Hospital (EDGH).

13.5.     Jessica Britton said that the replacement of the Department of Psychiatry was an opportunity to replace existing, dated services with high quality facilities for patients. The existing site does not have the necessary footprint for outdoor therapeutic services, so the new service could not be reprovided at EDGH to meet the requirements of a modern facility. It will be possible, however, to upgrade the dormitory beds at the St. Raphael’s ward on the Conquest Hospital site without moving the service offsite. The CCG and Trust will continue to enhance community mental health provision locally, meaning that patients will still be able to access a high quality community mental health services from the Eastbourne area and throughout the county.

13.6.     The Committee asked what will happen to the urgent care lounge (UCL) at the EDGH when the Department of Psychiatry closes.

13.7.     Simone Button explained that the UCL and psychiatric liaison services are integral part of the acute hospital. Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) wants to retain the ability to assess patients who attend ED with mental health problems as quickly as possible and be able to move them to a therapeutic UCL whilst they await an inpatient bed elsewhere. These services have dedicated staff and the Trust will ensure they have the right levels of expertise including clinical, nursing and support staff when the Department of Psychiatry closes in 2024, although there may be some cross over of staff to cover both sites.  

13.8.     The Committee asked whether the consultation analysis will include the views of people with protected characteristics, and how stakeholders will be involved in future design of the services.

13.9.     Jessica Britton confirmed that ORS’ analysis of the public consultation will include details of the views of people with protected characteristics and the Decision Making Business Case (DMBC) will make it clear how these views impacted the final plans for the new service. The CCG and Trust conducted an extensive Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment (EHIA) that identified groups with protected characteristics, and they were all targeted during consultation process. Paula Kirkland, Programme Director at SPFT, added that the trust is currently procuring a contractor  who will help develop detailed building  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13

5.1.        The Committee considered a report outlining the proposal to move the services provided at the Department of Psychiatry in Eastbourne to a new site within the next three years.

5.2.        The Committee asked whether the inpatient demand modelling to 2040 should be updated following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s mental health.

5.3.        Ashley Scarff, Deputy Executive Managing Director – East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), explained that the East Sussex CCG regularly runs capacity modelling to determine future demand for NHS services. The CCG will then commission services that can meet that demand. Paula Kirkland, Programme Director at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), said that the purpose of this first phase of inpatient mental health service redesign was to re-provide an existing core service with a new service that has like-for-like capacity over a short timeframe. There are potentially second and third phases to the project, she explained, that would involve further consolidation of services on to whichever site the Department of Psychiatry is relocated to. When undertaking these future phases, the CCG would take into account any projected future demand for the services and potentially adjust the plans accordingly. 

5.4.        The Committee asked whether the public consultation will focus solely on the relocation of the Department of Psychiatry, or whether it will seek views on the second and third phases of the inpatient mental health redesign.

5.5.        Paula Kirkland said that the CCG and Trust undertook an options appraisal  of sites and service models before concluding that the preferred model would be  a single site Centre of Excellence that could have the potential to eventually include all inpatient services; and the only viable locations for this were at Bexhill or Hailsham. These sites also have the benefit of ensuring sufficient space for the current proposed relocation in a modern environment with good outdoor space.  Funding has been allocated under the National Programme to Eradicate Dormitories in Mental Health hospitals. This funding is aimed at addressing dormitories and therefore an opportunity to  address the needs of the Department of Psychiatry, as phase 1, on a like for like basis in terms of bed numbers.   Nevertheless, both sites have been chosen because they could provide a footprint that allows for future proofing with regard to expansion. The consultation focuses on phase 1 but will gather people’s views on the wider vision of a single centre of excellence. Paula Kirkland added that although a centre of excellence is the current overall vision for inpatient mental health services, any subsequent phases of  reconfiguration would  go through the same process as the first phase. This will involve demand modelling and engagement with stakeholders, providers and commissioners to check that it is still the correct vision for inpatient mental health services in East Sussex.

5.6.        The Committee asked whether the new site’s location may affect travel times for patients, particularly those in areas of high deprivation.

5.7.        Ashley Scarff said that deprivation is fundamental to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5