Agenda item

The Committee considered a joint report of the Director of Mental Health and Learning Disability, Durham Tees Valley Partnership and the Director of Operations, Durham and Darlington, Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which provided details of the outcome of the further targeted engagement to support the proposal to relocate Primrose Lodge Inpatient Rehabilitation and Recovery unit from Chester le Street to Shildon.

J Illingworth, Director of Operations, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust referred to the meeting in January when the paper had first been discussed and confirmed that there had been some community engagement in February and March.  The positive responses received were from service users and their families and overall there had been a positive response with the average rating at 3.9/5 but some concerns had been raised regarding the reduction of beds.

With regards to supporting people with travel costs, there were public transport links to Shildon but it would potentially require a couple of buses and this was no different to what family members in the south had to do when travelling to Chester le Street.

Councillor Kay suggested that despite the remodelling of the service, demand always outweighed the supply and he was still concerned with a reduction of beds. He asked whether the facility at Shildon would accommodate any form of expansion in future, if needed.

The Director of Operations confirmed that the premises was the former crisis house in Shildon, which had been heavily invested in and updated, but in terms of long term rehabilitation, there was a preference for people to live in their own homes, so the community offer was being modernised which would hopefully reduce the number of beds needed.  There was a strong community team working on inpatient wards and with local housing providers and both would work in tandem.

There had been enough modelling in the previous two years to reassure the Committee that there would be no need to increase beds in future, however if needed there would be scope to do so.  The proposal was the best value for money as the building was owned by the Trust and relatively new, with ensuite accommodation and a garden, in a community setting.

Councillor Gunn agreed that there were legitimate concerns with a reduction of beds and this was a large reduction which made her anxious as this was a period of time in in which people were living with mental health problems.  In response to a question about the geographicial area the facility would cover, the Director of Operations advised that County Durham and Darlington residents would access the service, however due to restructuring, it could be that Darlington was moved into Teeside in future.

Councillor Martin referred to the recommendations in the report and advised that he was confident that the Trust had tried to consulted enough, although it was shame that people had not responded.  He welcome the fact that they had presented the findings of the consultation to the Committee and in relation to rehabilitation beds, asked whether there was a waiting list.

The Director of Operations advised that these were not acute beds, but rehabilitation which was a longer term need for people who needed enhanced support.  At Primrose Lodge, there could be around 3-4 beds at any given time, been used in different way and not used by people for whom they were supposed to be for.

Councillor Haney referred to the phasing down of beds and asked for more information regarding the suggestion that it would be phased over a couple of months.  The Director of Operations advised that the phasing out of the beds had already started, but there was some remedial work to complete at Shildon which would hopefully ensure that by the Summer, the unit was fully operational.  The transition was being conducted in the safest way possible and the Director of Integrated and Community Services added that Primrose Lodge was owned by the Local Authority so there was no deadline when patients had to be transferred.

In response to a question from Mrs Gott, the Director of Operations confirmed that although Primrose Lodge was a 15 bed unit, it was not always full and the phased transition would ensure that they would not be affected.  She advised that there would be no need to find beds elsewhere but if there was an influx of patients that needed to be treated, they could be housed in West Park, however again reiterated that this was purely hypothetical as the provision of 8 beds would meet their needs.

Resolved

That the results of the stakeholder engagement detailed within the report be noted.