More speculation about future of health services in Acomb

The announcement that the Lowfields school site being considered as a possible location for a new mental health hospital has prompted questions about other health facilities in Acomb

Acomb Garth NHS choices web site review

Acomb Garth (Gables) on Oak Rise already provides mental health services for Acomb. There is no recent report by the CQC commission on Acomb Garth. Acomb Garth was reported to be changing its role with a view to providing dementia care services from March. But little information has subsequently been made public.

The Trust web site still lists it as providing a HQ for community mental health services

No change has been made to registration documentation, with the “NHS choices web site” not even quoting correctly the responsible NHS Trust (now Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust). There is even confusion about the name (Acomb Gables/Garth).

Trust web site Acomb Gables review

The Trust describe the work at the Garth/Gables as follows:

Acomb Gables Recovery Unit is a 16 bed adult inpatient unit, for men and women from York, Selby and the surrounding areas.

This inpatient service works closely with clients, community mental health team, family and friends.

The site offers:

one to one work around psycho-social interventions
an evolving therapy group programme and activity programme
support with activities of daily living and meaningful activity and employment
a wide range of opportunities is made available to access employment; housing; and occupation including voluntary work.

Adjacent to the Garth/Gables is the Acomb Medical Centre.

The Beech Grove GP practice, which is located there, has recently announced a merger with a practice based on Front Street. “It is proposed that the Beech Grove premises, currently in Acomb Health Centre would close and the newly merged practice would be situated at 14 Front Street, Acomb. This is the current premises of Front Street Surgery”. The change is expected to take place in October.

So it appears there will be vacant space on the Oak Rise/Beech Grove site.

Whether this would be a suitable location for a new hospital is another matter.

Transport links in central Acomb are better than Lowfields but neither approaches the range and flexibility of options available in the city centre.

New report confirms muddle & incompetence led to Bootham Park closure

A damming independent report into the closure of Bootham Park hospital, and the subsequent confusion for patients, has been published.

The report author John Ransford concludes,

“If all organisations had worked together in partnership to deliver a plan based on the needs of patients and local people, more suitable solutions would still have been difficult, but surely not impossible to achieve”.

The report heavily criticises the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group together with the former service provider the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust.

The underlying criticism is of lack of leadership and “joined up” working across the many disparate organisations which are now responsible for health care in the City.

The issue will be considered by a Council committee when it meets on 25^th April.

Another report, by NHS England lists 18 areas where local health managers and contractors failed patients.

“Healthwatch” the patients watchdog also says that “closure of Bootham Park Hospital has been immensely stressful for many people involved and that the impact will continue to be felt for the months to come”.

NB. Following a Care Quality Commission inspection Bootham Park Hospital was closed for “safety” reasons on 1^st October 2015. Some outpatient facilities are being re-established there but it is likely to be 2019 before a new facility is opened to replace the 240-year-old former lunatic asylum

New project helps York children with emotional and mental health needs

To support teachers concerned about children and young people with emerging mental health needs, a new well-being pilot project has been set up in York to explore how to respond to this challenge.

The well-being pilot project is a joint initiative between City of York Council, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and two clusters of schools, which aims to strengthen the emotional and mental health support arrangements for children and young people.

Alongside the idea that children and young people’s mental health is everybody’s business, additional mental health capacity and expertise is being provided to schools by new School Wellbeing Workers.

These workers will focus on providing training, offering support and advice to pastoral staff, and delivering individual and group work to children and young people.
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£284,000 savings in York education team as 3 face redundancy

The Council has revealed details of a new staff structure in its “learning” team. The restructure is aimed at saving £284,000 a year in staffing costs and has been influenced by the conclusion of some Europe funded projects.

Some voluntary redundancies have already taken place. Three existing staff face compulsory redundancy

The background report says,

“Many of these savings are coming from reduction in management posts, but there will also be some savings in direct service delivery, including reductions in some teaching staff, reductions in employability programmes and provision to support mental health issues.

These reductions are going to have a serious affect on the service’s ability to support individuals seeking work and those who require help with recovering from mental health issues”.

The decision was taken at a “behind closed doors” meeting held on 21st December.

Reports were not made public until after the decision had been published

Mental Health facilities upgrade in York

Funding to improve mental health services in York has been approved by NHS Property Services.

Cherry Tree House

NHS Property Services and NHS England have been working with local NHS services to address property and facilities issues in York to ensure that all mental health services can be accommodated appropriately within safe, secure and modern environments.

The first of the two schemes proposed will see the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS Tier 4) move out its current base at Lime Trees on Shipton Road into Mill Lodge – a refurbished building that will provide modern and safe mental health facilities for young people.

The second scheme will upgrade Cherry Tree House in the Heworth area of York to provide a purpose built unit for elderly patients currently cared for on Ward 6 at Bootham Park Hospital.

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LibDems and mental health

Mental health provision off York Council agenda

Another important policy area change has been shelved by the Council.

Its forward programme of decisions included an item on the joint procurement of some mental health services in partnership with the NHS.

The Council said that the report would present a proposal to jointly commission “some of our mental health provision with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and include these services currently provided by CYC within the mental health tender that the CCG will be releasing in November 2014. This will include having a pooled budget arrangement and transferring affected staff to the organisation of the successful tender bidder”.

After being postponed on two occasions, the proposal has now been dropped without explanation.

NB. The Liberal Democrats announced last month new polices aimed at increasing the priority given to addressing mental health needs. They included guarantees on waiting times.

York’s mental health support for children praised

York’s work to provide social, emotional and mental health support to children and young people across the city has been praised by the Ministry of Justice and Ofsted.

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Mental health stats for York

Good comparator table here comparing mental health stats in York with the rest of the country.

York comes out relatively well on most measures other than in the provision of settled accommodation.