Agenda item

Report of the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, (IASC/24/05) on proposals for the North Devon Link Service, attached.

An impact Assessment is also attached for the attention of Members at the meeting and is available on the web at the following link -  North Devon Link Mental Health and Wellbeing Service (Update) - Impact Assessment.

RESOLVED that in noting the public consultation undertaken by the CouncilandDevonPartnershipNHSTrust and feedback therefrom;

(a) the NorthDevonLinkServiceDrop-inservicesthatrunfromtheLinkCentres inBarnstaple,BidefordandIlfracombe, be closed;

(b) that the closureincludes ceasingtheshort-termenablingsupportto thoseservice users inreceiptofCare Act2014 eligibleservices, and to note that the Council and DevonPartnershipTrustwillassistthosepeopleto accessalternative equivalent support; and

(c) that the Council work withDevonPartnershipNHSTrustandtheDevonMental HealthAllianceto support all serviceusers in their transition to alternativecommunitysupportovera periodof3 months minimum.

(Councillors Crabb, Leaver and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, (IASC/24/05) on proposals for the North Devon Link Service, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The North Devon Link Service was established in 1992 to provide a range of social, leisure, support, guidance and educational opportunities for adults with mental health issues that did not require specialist NHS care. The service was delivered in Barnstaple, Bideford and Ilfracombe, based in buildings owned by the Council. It was noted that the Council did not commission any equivalent services elsewhere in Devon. It was funded by the Council and managed by Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) at a cost of £485,000 per year. The Council owned the buildings, but it was the service which was subject to consultation.

The Report highlighted that in 2022, national Community Mental Health Framework funding was used to establish the Devon Mental Health Alliance which had been working with local partners to develop services. As a result, local people in North Devon could access mental health support services in ways they could not previously, through GP practices and the wider primary care team. These services were developing in both reach and number. The Council acknowledged the strength of feeling on this matter, but the service was commissioned to meet social care needs, not to provide support for mental health needs that were too complex to be managed in primary care.

The consultation took place in February 2023, and the full details of this was outlined in Section 5 of the Report. Following feedback from service users and their representatives, a further consultation ran from 6th November to 6th December 2023 to provide more information and expand on the consultation already undertaken. The results, themes and analysis were contained therein.

The Devon Mental Health Alliance (DHMA) was a partnership between six voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations dedicated to providing support for people experiencing challenges in their mental health.  The Alliance worked in partnership with Devon Partnership NHS Trust to develop good connectivity. It provided support to 1500 people each year, and staff were visiting the Link Centres to listen to service users about their needs in order to inform the offer in North Devon. Appendix 1 gave further details on the support offered by the Alliance.

Each GP surgery, as part of a Primary Care Network, had a Mental Health Multi Agency Team (MAT) which could offer support in the first instance and refer people to Devon Mental Health Alliance or other community-based services. These services were not available at the time the Link Service started.

The successful transfer of the Holsworthy Link service to Holsworthy Youth and Community Hub, a community-led centre which offered a wide range of community support, helped inform the proposals.

The table in section 4 set out the analysis of options for the future of the North Devon Link Service.

The service cost £485,000 per year to run, however, there was no funding provision in the 2024-25 budget to continue the service.

An impact Assessment had been circulated with the agenda for the attention of Members at the meeting and was available on the web at - North Devon Link Mental Health and Wellbeing Service (Update) - Impact Assessment. This highlighted that peoples’ right to support under the Care Act 2014 was not impacted and where it was identified that people had eligible care and support needs that required a Care Act 2014 assessment, this would be carried out as well as those that requested a care needs assessment.

In summary, since 2022, there had been a national focus and national investment to improve and develop the way community mental health services were delivered. With specific national funding provided to the NHS to develop community health and wellbeing support, it was reasonable to question whether Council funding should be used to fund very similar services. The financial challenge of the Council meant difficult decisions had to be considered and a focus on services that contributed to meeting statutory duties. The Cabinet noted that although the Council had funded the Link service for over 30 years, the vast majority of people who attended did not have eligible needs under the Care Act 2014.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact, risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED that in noting the public consultation undertaken by the CouncilandDevonPartnershipNHSTrust and feedback therefrom;

(a) the NorthDevonLinkServiceDrop-inservicesthatrunfromtheLinkCentres inBarnstaple,BidefordandIlfracombe, be closed;

(b) that the closureincludes ceasingtheshort-termenablingsupportto thoseservice users inreceiptofCare Act2014 eligibleservices, and to note that the Council and DevonPartnershipTrustwillassistthosepeopleto accessalternative equivalent support; and

(c) that the Council work withDevonPartnershipNHSTrustandtheDevonMental HealthAllianceto support all serviceusers in their transition to alternativecommunitysupportovera periodof3 months minimum.