To receive a presentation.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the order of agenda items was changed, so that the priority focus of the meeting was considered before the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Partnerships.

Hilary Hall, Executive Director of Adults, Health and Housing, said that the priority was based around championing mental wellbeing and reducing social isolation.

Joanne Cocksey, Clinical Phycologist, gave a presentation on the Phoenix Unit. This was a day hospital and home treatment service for young people between 12-18 years of age with moderate to severe and complex mental health disorders whose needs could not be met within community settings. The day programme consisted of a structured programme of therapeutic activities on site. The unit was open every day of the year, between 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 5pm at weekends and bank holidays. There was capacity for 16 young people at any one time, it was anticipated that eight would be on the day programme and eight on home treatment but this was flexible. The intensity of the support depended on the individual needs, with the aim of stabilising the individual to allow them to transition back into community care as soon as possible. The aim for the average length of stay was 12 weeks.

The Phoenix Unit could offer a number of services, including multidisciplinary assessment, medication initiation, dietetic advice and education support. Joanne Cocksey gave an example of the daily routine for an individual at the unit. A number of different groups were also run, for example a motivational and resilience group, a parent support group and a nutrition group. Joanne Cocksey gave some examples of case studies for individuals who had been through the service, the support they had received and how their journey had progressed through the service, along with some positive feedback.

Councillor Stimson said that she was really impressed, when young people left home parents had a lot less control. She asked if there was any scope for any other capacity at the service, for example other activities which could be offered to individuals.

Joanne Cocksey said that the service balanced the approach of meeting the needs of individuals while allowing families to stay together.

Anna Richards asked if there was anything that could be done earlier in the community to support these young people.

Joanne Cocksey said that early intervention was needed, the earlier the service was able to intervene the better chance of preventing health issues from occurring. The mental health support teams were being developed in schools to work with young people at an earlier stage, it was important to listen to young people and understand how they were feeling.

Kevin McDaniel asked about the workforce and if there were any concerns over the capacity of the service from the workforce side of things.

Joanne Cocksey said that the service was well resourced currently, looking at broader CAMHS support there were difficulties with recruitment as there was a big demand for services.

Deborah Nicholls, Physical Health Clinical Lead Nurse, gave a presentation on physical health checks. Having a serious mental illness represented a significant health inequality. For example, people were twice as likely to die from heart disease and rates of breast and lung cancer were higher than the general population. Employment rates were also lower and there was a higher chance of alcohol consumption, risk of obesity and hypertension. In Berkshire, the healthcare system was offering annual physical health checks to patients within a year of a serious mental health illness diagnosis. The health check considered:

·       Body Mass Index

·       Weight

·       Smoking

·       Alcohol consumption

·       Blood glucose

·       Blood lipids

·       Blood pressure

The QRISK3 score was used, this was an algorithm that predicted cardiovascular risk based on age, sex and social deprivation. It estimated the risk of a person developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years and could be applied to patients between the ages of 25 to 84. Patients who received a score of 20% or more were considered a higher risk.

Deborah Nicholls outlined some examples of patients who had received a health check, along with the appropriate interventions which had been implemented as a result. A graph was shown with the completed percentage of physical health checks for each East Berkshire authority, there was an aim to achieve 95% by March 2023.

Hilary Hall explained that the item was designed to allow the Board to focus on the specific priority which was part of the health and wellbeing strategy. Social isolation was often confused with loneliness, but they were different concepts. Social isolation was defined around the number of contacts people had, where as loneliness was about the mismatch between the quantity and quality of social relationships someone had and those that they wanted. Causes could be linked to social networks, health, individual characteristics and community characteristics.

Impacts of social isolation and loneliness included:

·       Link with early deaths.

·       Greater risk of inactivity leading to more risk-taking behaviours.

·       Sleep problems and increased stress response.

·       Increased risk of depression and low self-esteem.

·       Likelihood of increased visits to GP.

·       Potential for cognitive decline.

·       For working age adults, it could be associated with poor performance.

Jon Adams, CEO of Maidenhead United Football Club, gave a presentation on Magpies in the Community and its role. Maidenhead United was a large community sports club and ran a National League accredited academy programme in partnership with the Berkshire College of Agriculture. The Maidenhead United juniors section currently had 47 teams and nearly 600 members, with plans to expand this further. Magpies in the Community supported the health and wellbeing of the community and provided opportunities for local people of all ages and abilities to be active and socially engaged. There were a number of community partners and commercial organisations that worked in partnership with Magpies in the Community. After the first lockdown, Magpies community care was launched which was a support hub for vulnerable residents in the local community and also included a hotline which residents could use if they needed support. The Magpies 150 challenge project was based around fundraising for local charities who had struggled financially, with over £35,000 being raised so far. The wellbeing circles project was being delivered in partnership with Frimley, with the objective being to use volunteers to create circles with shared experiences and needs.

Jon Adams concluded the presentation by giving some examples of residents who had benefitted from the various projects which Magpies in the Community were involved with.

Councillor Stimson said that she was working with Jon Adams as part of the climate partnership. Sport brought the community together and Maidenhead United played a big role in the community.

Danielle Lane, Abri, said that through the Embedding Community Response Project, work had been done with providers to create the ‘YES model’. This enabled the group to share ideas, resources, and support with quality assurance at the various meetings which were held. The ‘Turn It Around’ project supported the first delivery of the programme and supported aspirations, physical health and mental health. £10,000 had recently been received from Get Berkshire Active and £5,000 had been received from the RBWM Covid grant scheme. The project was now working with Maidenhead Mosque and Maidenhead Rowing Club, there was an aspiration to build this further in future.

Hilary Hall concluded by saying that it was good to see the depth of activity which was ongoing, she hoped the presentation had been useful for the Board.

The Chairman thanked all those that had presented the work that they were involved in. It was important that these activities were promoted widely across the borough so that residents were aware of them.