Issue - meetings

23.1.    The Committee considered a report providing an overview of community mental health services available to patients in East Sussex.

23.2.    The Committee asked how the Associate Director of Housing role will deliver additional resources and improvements to supported housing.

23.3.    John Child, Chief Delivery Officer at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), explained that the Trust would expect the role to help SPFT create more formal partnerships and arrangements with supported housing organisations, community and voluntary sector organisations; help provide supported housing organisations with more bespoke clinical input to the people they support in a more timely way; reduce reliance on inpatient mental health services and help people to leave hospitals and rehab sooner; and help reduce street homelessness.

23.4.    The Committee asked whether all residents have access to primary mental health care and whether the funding is sufficient to deliver additional services.

23.5.    John Child said the Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS) will provide community based, primary care mental health care in East Sussex, however, it is an enhanced version of the existing Health in Mind primary mental health service that all GPs can already refer patients to for issues like anxiety and depression. PCNs have been given additional resources to hire mental health practitioners and this will be used to enhance the EWS. The £7m of funding is for this year only and there will be additional funding in future years as the programme is scaled up.

23.6.    The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)         Note the report;

2)         Request a future update on the Emotional Wellbeing Service and Primary Care Networks and on the future of mental health investment for later in 2022.