“Zero User Engagement.” Questions to the Chair of the Board of North Manchester CCG, Today Wednesday 11th June 2014, 2.00PM !

Manchester Users’ Network.

Questions to the Chair of the Board of the North Manchester CCG, Wednesday 11th June 2014, 2.00PM.

Newton Heath silk MillNote: – Some questions would normally be for the service provider (Manchester Mental Health & Social Care Trust) to answer, but we are being continually ignored and the Service Users have described this as “Zero User Engagement.”

List Of Questions:-

1] Could the CCG implement User monitoring Groups assessing the quality of services with benchmark standards, which would produce value for money, Quality Services meeting patient’s needs, and would give the CCG a better idea of what services to commission?

[2] A patient’s experience at Redwood Ward, Park House Hospital this year, when he was admitted, demonstrated that there was absolutely no User Involvement and patients were left to do whatever therapy they could devise for themselves. Surely the North Manchester CCG should in no way commission such in-patient services like this, so why do the CCG not bring in User Monitoring Groups, as this would introduce User Involvement and certainly enhance the quality of services for in-patients, which is completely lacking at the moment?

3] MMH&SCT via a Trust Strategy Research document, which was passed stating that Service Users who have not used their service for three years would be excluded as a Service User! What is North Manchester CCG interpretation of a Service User? (The Proposed Manchester Service User Charter contains an interpretation that may be some help with your decision).

4] We would like the CCG to promote genuine User Involvement by means of feedback, the Ladder of Participation (see attached), which measure the levels of User Involvement. This was introduced by Bolton Council -best practice guide. We are asking the CCG to adopt its model and also our local authority, other statutory services and the independent sector. Please would you comment on our request?

5] We do not remember over recent years that commissioners, the Trust Board, Manchester City Council have invited MUN or any other Mental Health Users Group to do a presentation on User Involvement. We request that the North Manchester CCG Board invite a member of MUN to do a presentation on User Involvement?

6] We ask the CCG to include in the contracts with Service Providers that when Service Providers cut or change their service they must engage, or if needed formal consultation before a decision is made, unlike MMH&SCT User engagement is done after the decision is made? (The latest experience is that there is a meeting on the 18th June 2014 to discuss a third of the Horticulture Service being cut to long term Service Users, the Trust has already made a decision and already has implemented the cut.)

7] What services is the North Manchester CCG buying and when would we see them?

8] Can we please have some Services in the old Mainway building in Park House Hospital, as this is fully refurbished and is not being used to its full potential?

9] When Industrial Therapy (Mainway) was closed the affected Service Users were consulted about the future use of the building and promised that no one would lose a Service. Six months later the Trust adopted ‘The Recovery Model’, without informing anyone involved in the original consultation about this change, a change that has left many former Industrial Therapy Service Users without any suitable Alternate Service. When asked about this, the Trust has consistently failed to offer any explanation for their decision not to re-consult.

Should not the CCG ensure that Service Users who have lost their therapy (Mainway), commission an Alternative Service for these very vulnerable people?

10] Patient Integration is very important and beneficial, especially as there are very few group therapies left in Hospitals and the Community. When in-patients and community patients use the same services it stops exclusion and individual needs are met, patients make friends, obtaining more rights, knowing what services are available and cope better in the community and more importantly their stay in Hospital becomes shorter. (This is a part of Peer Support).The latest experience is disintegration by the MMH&SCT, long term patients have a third of their Horticulture Service cut, which puts these patients at great risk! The reason for this is that it seems the Trust does not want in-patients mixing or communicating with community patients. It is totally nonsensical to stop different types of patients using the same service, when their needs are identical. What is the North Manchester CCG opinion on patient integration?

11] We Propose the CCG to Commission a long Term Recovery & Connect Service, based on a medical model. The Local Authority Commission “Recovery & Connect” is based on short term illness and a social model, as this replaced Harpurhey Day Centre. The Service Users are only allowed to use the Service for six months! This Service is applied to patients with Long Term Mental illness 20, 30, 40 years or more and unofficially we have been approached by staff informing us that they must discharge ill patients and that they are very worried. This is putting extreme pressure on our CMHTs and in-Patient services, causing a false economy.

Michael Salmon, who is the Commissioning Manager for Manchester City Council said that they could only balance the service with the resources that are available. We ask you to seriously consider our proposal?

NB: The CMHTS are under such a lot of pressure, causing a high percentage of staff going sick with the amount of stress they are under, leaving patients at severe risk. The CMHTS cannot keep appointments with their patients, even when they return to duty they go on “Faze Return”, which means that they could only see some of their patients for the time being.

12] A patient currently detained in Park House Hospital, was so frustrated at the lack of space that he was confined in, which is contrary to the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice-Chapter 15 Section 5, that he became aggressive and assaulted another patient, which resulted in him being sectioned, causing much additional expense for both the NHS and the CCG. Consequently why is it necessary to go to the CCG rather than the Trust when the Trust repeatedly ignores this fact?

13] We have continually told the Trust to bring back both WARD DAY PATIENTS and the therapies expressed in the patients “Wish List” on the hospital site, but the Trust refuses to listen to us. Would it not greatly reduce out-side referrals to different hospitals at much lesser cost, which would be more economical for everyone concerned, especially as the environment for patients would be more spacious to meet the requirements of the Code of Practice?

Link To This Story: https://www.manchesterusersnetwork.org.uk/2014/03/12/patients-put-questions-north-manchester-clinical-commissioning-group/

 *Venue: Ancoats Primary Care Centre Old Mill Street Ancoats Manchester M4 6EE.*

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