Agenda item

Review of Services provided by Change, Grow, Live (CGL)

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the item, that comprised of the report of the Director of Health and Wellbeing that had been written at the Chair’s request, statistics of the cause of death for people in contact with the Wirral Ways to Recovery (WWTR), and recommendations arising from the WWTR self-assessment. The report focused on the 72 reported deaths of people in contact with the WWTR service over the period, 1 February 2015 to 31 August 2016. The 72 deaths were the result of a wide range of causes, with a significant percentage being associated with long term health conditions.  

 

The Director of Health and Wellbeing reported that every death in Wirral relating to drugs or alcohol misuse was a tragedy, particularly for the families and friends of the person who had died, and that addiction created an increased chance of death and poor health in any individual.

 

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted that the report had been written in response to concerns raised through an Elected Member regarding the number of deaths of people in contact with the service managed by Change, Grow, Live (known as CGL). A particular concern raised was that since the new service had taken over from the previous NHS service there were significantly more deaths in service. As a result of the concern raised, a review of all deaths in the service had taken place to understand whether there was any reason to believe that the service was unsafe, and whether Wirral was unusual in the numbers of deaths relating to drugs and alcohol misuse. The report set out the findings of the review.

 

The Director of Health and Wellbeing reported that Wirral’s system had been good at getting people into treatment and had therefore a higher than average number of people recorded within the system compared to other Councils, which in turn led to higher than average number of reportable deaths in the service.

 

From the evidence reviewed and presented in the report the Director of Health and Wellbeing further explained that there was no evidence to support CGL were operating an unsafe service. However nationally and locally there was a growing recognition of the need for a greater focus on the general health and wellbeing of service users, and the Council and CGL would therefore be taking action to:

 

·  ensure that the complex needs of people who use drugs and alcohol are met through a co-ordinated, whole-system approach that address health inequalities and provides better access to physical healthcare and psychiatric care, along with other support which could include housing and employment; and

 

·  ensure a balanced approach in the treatment service to ensure those that need treatment receive it and those who wish to embrace the recovery model get the help and support they need.

 

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted that these actions were to be progressed via both scheduled contract meetings with Wirral Ways to Recovery and the development of local pathways to meet the needs of a complex group of patients, specifically to ensure that service users engage with wider health and social care services e.g. smoking cessation services, to address long term health issues associated poor lifestyle choices.

 

There was discussion on a series of questions received by the Chair. A response to the questions will be provided by the Director of Health and Wellbeing before being distributed to all members of the Committee.

 

Resolved –That

 

1)  the report be noted; and

 

2)  the recommendations and accompanying commentaries contained within Appendix 2 to the report be supported; and

 

3)  a further report will be presented to the People and Overview Scrutiny Committee in 6 months time.

 

Supporting documents: