Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned; and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

To provide an update on the information requested at the Committee’s previous special meeting to consider The Harbour.

Ms Lisa Moorhouse, Network Director - Mental Health, Lancashire Care Foundation Trust reported that, following the last special meeting of the Committee to discuss The Harbour, a number of changes had been made to the provision of services at The Harbour and to the wider mental health economy. She highlighted the additional assessment beds and clinical decision units noting that their introduction had contributed to a large reduction in the number of patients being treated outside of the area.

Ms Moorhouse also highlighted that the level of staffing had improved, the number of reported incidents had decreased and that fewer complaints had been received. She added that the Trust had invited the Care Quality Commission to undertake a re-inspection, which was expected to take place in the Autumn, when the Trust would be aiming to achieve a rating of ‘good’.

The Committee discussed the results of the independent investigation into the incident on the Byron Ward at The Harbour and queried the extent to which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance had been followed. In response, Ms Moorhouse reported that she could not provide the exact details of the case due to patient confidentiality and that she was unable to provide a clinical response to the questions. It was agreed that a full response to the question would be sought from a clinician following the meeting.

In response to a question, Ms Moorhouse advised that risk assessments were undertaken of all patients, however, a risk assessment was an indication of risk at a particular point in time and could change at any time. Following a further question, she added that risk assessments were updated regularly with the exact timescale dependent on the needs of the patient.

Members noted that the work to be undertaken to update the model used to determine the number of inpatient beds required would be led by Healthier Lancashire and queried the assertion made at the previous special meeting that the work would be undertaken by an independent person. Ms Moorhouse advised that an independent company would be undertaking the piece of work as previously advised utilising capacity planning software.

The Committee queried whether any reductions had been made to mental health community services or staffing and was advised by Ms Moorhouse that a decision had been taken to maintain the same levels of service and staffing until the work on the new bed model was completed and the implications understood.

In response to questions, Ms Moorhouse reported that the male six bed Clinical Decision Unit was based in Blackburn and the female six bed unit in Burnley and that both had had a positive impact on the mental health system as a whole in Lancashire, resulting in a reduction in the number of patients placed out of area. She added that the Trust aimed to increase the number of Clinical Decision Units across Lancashire including the conversion of 12 beds within The Harbour.

The Committee asked further questions regarding the Clinical  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.