Improving Integrated Care Pathways for Priorities in Care
Adult Mental Health
Angus HSCP are working with key partners to increase the workforce and are on target to provide the required 17.2 new mental health and wellbeing workers by March 2022.
Angus have collaborated with Dundee and Perth to plan a Tayside wide solution for A&E, police custody and prisons. This has resulted in Mental Health Occupational Therapy support being available for the first time in HMP Perth and HMP Castle Huntly, which has enhanced the prison Mental Health Team. The recruitment of a Psychologist is in progress, to deliver interventions in the prison setting. Angus have additionally recruited a Criminal Justice Support Worker to support adults transitioning from prison when the risk of re-offending is high.
Planning is in progress for mental health staff to support police custody and the courts, and funding has been made available to extend the liaison psychiatry service to support A&E.
Two mental health trainee Advance Nurse Practitioners based in Primary Care are being funded to provide holistic care and treatment for adults with a severe and enduring mental health disorder.
Angus HSCP have developed a new mental health and wellbeing peer worker service based in every GP Practice in Angus. A peer worker is a trained worker with lived experience of mental health and wellbeing who can use their knowledge and experience to support others to manage their mental health and wellbeing. This service is providing adults with quick, easy access to mental health and wellbeing support in their local area. At least 90% of those surveyed by Penumbra in a pilot of this service between July and September 2019 found the service completely accessible, helpful, they felt understood, found it beneficial to speak to someone with their own lived experience of mental health and wellbeing, and feel equipped to use the information and tools provided.
Timely discharge
Improvement in delayed discharge have been driven by improvements in the pathway for complex delays. This includes an increase in the number of people with power of attorney in place. Of the 397 permanent care home placements made during 2019/20, 192 people already had a power of attorney in place. Improvement in the timescale for achieving guardianship during 2019/20. Towards the end of the year the national response to Covid 19 mean that courts were closed, and the progress gained over the year with guardianship was impacted. We therefore expect an increase in delays in 2020/21 relate to complex delays.
While the rate of delays amongst those over 75 is decreasing the rate of delays in timely discharge for those under 75 increased during 2019/20. As numbers are small this could be an additional 2 or 3 people who have ben delayed for extended periods of time.
Significant progress has been made in addressing issues associated with complex delays. This includes improvements in the timescales for guardianship applications.