Agenda item

Ian Shenton asked the Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Services the following question:

 

Question

What specific challenges does the provision of mental health services in our Borough face so that they can respond to the outcomes of Covid-19 and all of its consequences, and what new and additional actions is WBC taking to bolster mental health provision to tackle these Covid-related challenges?

 

Minutes:

 

Question

What specific challenges does the provision of mental health services in our Borough face so that they can respond to the outcomes of Covid-19 and all of its consequences, and what new and additional actions is WBC taking to bolster mental health provision to tackle these Covid-related challenges?

 

Answer

We are fully aware that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on people’s wellbeing. 15% of Wokingham residents have a formal diagnosis of depression.  Over 40% of GP consultations relate in some way to mental health issues and there has been a doubling of people experiencing issues related to their wellbeing, from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10.  Sadly the situation is likely to deteriorate further over the winter months.

 

The Borough’s Community Response has sought to reach out to those isolated and vulnerable. Adult Social Care made over 6,000 initial welfare checks with 16,000 follow up welfare calls via the Wokingham Borough Council Link Visiting Scheme and there have been 4,000 calls to the “One Front Door” system, supported by WBC and the Citizens Advice Bureau. The “One Front Door” system takes calls of any nature, many of which relate to mental health.  These initiatives are being repeated and will stay in place over the next few months as Covid cases rise.

 

To bolster this further we have two further initiatives.  Firstly, we are doing a project with Earley Plus PCN and Citizens Advice to encourage residents to call the “One Front Door” if their wellbeing is suffering. Citizens Advice will try to resolve some of the underlying issues causing depression and anxiety, such as financial stress and relationship breakdowns.  Part of their service is that they can signpost to other specialist services, whether it is formal mental health or other voluntary organisations. If successful the project can be rolled out across the whole Borough.

 

In addition, Wokingham Borough Council are sourcing a specialist voluntary sector provider to provide support to those suffering from mild to moderate mental health issues. The specification includes Wellbeing Support Workers, who will talk through issues over a number of sessions, as well as signposting to groups and activities to support them. The organisation will take referrals from GPs, statutory or voluntary organisations.  They will also be tasked to support the voluntary sector with full mental health training and it is hoped that this service will be fully mobilised early next year.

 

This year Wokingham Borough Council has also set up a Recovery College which provides courses and workshops for people with mental health needs and their carers in the Borough. The courses are focused on understanding mental health issues, managing mental health in a positive way and generally keeping well. They also provide life skill training and access to help support to gain employment. These courses are open to the general public who can register themselves with the College. The courses are currently delivered online because of the obvious situation with Covid.

 

The Council has also run a project to coordinate and collate resources for use by the general public to manage their mental health and wellbeing during Covid. These resources are available for children and adults and include information, guidance, access to the voluntary sector and other apps. They are all available on Wokingham Borough Council’s website. The website also provides details on how to access Talking Therapies and formal community mental health services for any people with higher levels of need.

 

Supplementary Question

I did not specifically hear schools mentioned there.  May I ask if as the Council supports a lot of mental health initiatives in schools how are schools being supported to cope with their almost certain increased demand I think given the state of education at the moment?

 

Supplementary Answer

I will answer that question in two sections if I may.  All the services which I detailed to you, “One Front Door” all of those things, are specifically available for adults and children.  I accept they are not solely dedicated to schools basically but they are for everyone.  They are not specifically split.  We have also set up as part of our Covid response a specialist schools task force to provide support to headteachers across the Borough basically dealing with the stressful and difficult situation they find themselves in.  Now that is obviously designed to support Covid cases but also situations such as this.

 

But if I may, because I am talking slightly outside my field, what I will do is liaise with my colleague Councillor Clark, who is the Executive Member responsible for Children and obviously education falls in her portfolio not mine, I will ask basically for a written response for any other issues which I am not aware of to be sent to you.