Director's Report
North Ayrshire Council · 9 May 2024
Back to Integration Joint Board — 9 May 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Integration Joint Board 9th May 2024 Subject : Director’s Report Purpose : This report is for awareness to advise members of North Ayrshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) of developments within North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) Recommendation : IJB members are asked to note progress made to date. Direction Required to Council, Health Board or Both Direction to :- 1. No Direction Required X 2. North Ayrshire Council 3. NHS Ayrshire & Arran 4. North Ayrshire Council and NHS Ayrshire & Arran Glossary of Terms NHS AA NHS Ayrshire and Arran IJB Integration Joint Board HSCP Health and Social Care Partnership HIS Healthcare Improvement Scotland COSLA Convention of Scottish Local Authorities UDP Ukrainian Displaced People 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 This report informs members of the Integration Joint Board (IJB) of the work undertaken within North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP), nationally, locally and Ayrshire wide. 2. BACKGROUND 2.1 This report provides IJB with up to date information on recent activity across the HSCP since the last IJB. The report will also provide COVID related information by exception.
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3. CURRENT POSITION National Developments 3.1 COSLA Excellence Awards Applications for the COSLA Excellence Awards are now open for 2024. These awards recognise the outstanding work that takes place in local government across Scotland. Last year, COSLA received a record number of applications and are hoping to surpass that number once again this year. The are five different categories for the nominations, including Achieving Better Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable in Partnership and Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health and Wellbeing (sponsored by Public Health Scotland). The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 3rd June. All the information including FAQs, key dates and last year’s winners can be found on COSLA’s website. The North Ayrshire HSCP will give due to consideration to nominations for our teams and services. 3.2 Mental Health Nursing Review Scottish Government has launched a national review of mental health nursing in Scotland: Mental health nursing: review - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Through a national Leadership Advisory Group HSCPs have been asked to plan local engagement events within the following timeframe: Date Activity Week 1 to 2 W/C 22/04 Identify engagement leads, working collaboratively with the Practitioner Reference Group. Week 3 W/C 06/05 Coaching Session with facilitators to discuss approach, share engagement pack, and format for feedback Weeks 4 to 7 W/C 13/05 Conversations take place. Week 8 W/C 10/06 Collation of local feedback and submission to the Mental Health Nursing Review Team. The partnership will promote this through already planned roadshow events in the coming weeks and the Mental Health Nursing Celebration event planned for May 17th 2024. All other opportunities to engage with nursing staff in the review or promote the national link to the MS Form will be prioritised.
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3.3 Ageing and Frailty Standards - April 2024 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) are developing standards for the care of older people living with frailty. The proposed standards will replace the current Care of Older People in Hospital standards and will support national improvements in frailty services. They further aim to promote positive, healthy and active ageing and cover older people who may experience frailty as they age and apply in all settings. Feedback on the draft standards are welcomed by completing an online survey. The consultation on the draft standards closes at 11.59pm on 18 June 2024. The final standards will be published in November 2024. North Ayrshire Developments 3.4 Holly Health App People and registered with a GP practice in North Ayrshire can now enjoy a year’s free access to Holly Health, a mobile app that can support people to make small, achievable changes that could help boost their health and wellbeing. This offer is also open to HSCP providers in North Ayrshire. Using a personalised approach tailored to an individual’s health goals, interests and activities, the app can help reduce stress and anxiety, rebuild relationships with food, increase exercise and movement and improve sleep. Holly Health will assist in making small but consistent changes to daily behaviours, helping to build healthier habits, promoting mindfulness and encouraging people to be more kind to themself. In-app coaching is available through a supportive chat bot system, with friendly, motivational reminders by text or email to keep people on the right track. The app also contains a wealth of useful articles and videos. Funded by NAHSCP, people will initially enjoy six months’ free access to the app, before being invited to a further six-month subscription for free once that expires. Sign up by visiting the Holly Health page on our website and clicking on the name of their GP surgery. 3.5 Mental Health Engagement Newsletter The April to August issue of the NAHSCP Mental Health Engagement Newsletter has been published on Microsoft Sway, with up to date info on the engagement work happening throughout the Partnership.
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The newsletter looks at some of the engagement activity that has occurred over the past few months, with updates on upcoming events and how you or your team can get involved. 3.6 Relaunch of the North Ayrshire Perinatal Wellbeing Team Following increased demands upon the service, the former North Ayrshire Perinatal Mental Health Nursing team within Universal Early Years, has rebranded to the Perinatal Wellbeing Team. The service continues to provide mental health support to expectant and new mums with low level mental health and wellbeing concerns and at any one time, can be supporting between 50 and 60 women. In 2017 the HSCP service was initially established as a single nurse service, focusing on the Kilwinning and Irvine areas. As the Perinatal Mental Health Nurse for the service at the time, supported 62 women in the first year – a clear indication of the demand for perinatal mental health support in the community. Over the following years, demand continued to increase to the point that in 2022, a second Perinatal MH Nurse joined the team followed by one more in 2023. The team is also supported by a Healthcare Support Worker, who provides ongoing support in newly established group sessions, facilitating play and nutrition workshops, and offering additional assistance in homes and communities to support mums and babies to engage fully in community activities. The expansion of the team means that all of North Ayrshire now has support from the team. The team also works closely with the Ayrshire and Arran Perinatal Mental Health service which supports mums with more severe mental health concerns. Over six years, the service has assessed and supported 573 women, primarily through referrals from health visitors, midwives, family nurses and GPs. The Irvine and Kilwinning locality continue to account for the highest number of referrals and demand, constituting approximately 50 per cent of all referrals received. Despite increasing demand, the team remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the core values of meeting maternal wellbeing needs, combatting mental health stigma and providing empathetic support, while also facilitating connections between mums and with their local communities. 3.7 Refugee Support Team – supporting the health needs of asylum seekers, refugees and Ukrainian Displaced People (UDP) in North Ayrshire North Ayrshire’s HSCP Refugee Support Team was established in May 2023 to provide all newly arrived refugees, asylum seekers and Ukrainian Displaced People (UDP) to North Ayrshire with an initial physical and mental health assessment, migrant screening for TB and Blood Borne Viruses, immunisation support and support to access local primary care services, including GPs and Dentists.
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The team has been working closely with Mears to support asylum seekers and has also recently taken on support to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children (UASC) as part of the UK Government’s asylum dispersal programme. To date, 88 adults and 60 children have been supported through screening and health assessments. 97 TB screening forms have been completed and returned to Public Health for assessment and triage and 19 individuals have been supported to access immunisation appointments. Outwith the main urban centres for asylum seekers, this service is unique to North Ayrshire and has received positive feedback from across partner agencies. The service is funded until March 2025 with discussions ongoing re future sustainability. 3.8 Partnership with National Charity Dads Rock The Universal Early Years service has partnered with national charity Dads Rock through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to bring a dedicated Dads Worker into the existing integrated early years’ service. This is the first role of its kind in Scotland. Due to the differing nature of family structures in modern society Dads that do not reside in the home of the children may at times miss out on engagement with statutory services but still have much to offer and provide great benefit to the children. This role connects with Dads of all circumstances to grow their skills and confidence in providing care and support to their children and families regardless of family composition. By working more with Dads, we are able to create a more scaffolded approach enabling Dads to meet the needs of their families within a support structure that holds them at the centre. Working outside of the traditional model of 9-5, face to face, in-home support this project is more inclusive of modern family structures and the differing family parental dynamics. The Dads Worker came into post in October 2023, and despite only being in post a short time, great results have been achieved already. Over 30 Dads have connected with the Dads Worker, on a 1:1 basis, via the group and informal quick intervention support. A weekly group has been established and the first Dads and kids trip took place in March. Plans are in place to create unique resources such as Dad and Baby sensory sessions, swimming lesson and infant feeding workshops in the coming months. In addition, the worker has been mapping areas across health visiting and community midwifery services which could be reframed to be more inclusive of dads. This has included how we communicate with families and how we involve dads in antenatal classes for example.
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3.9 Boost for those with dementia and their families as North Ayrshire respite facility reopens after extensive upgrade The Anam Cara respite centre in Kilbirnie has re-opened following an extensive refurbishment project. The specialist dementia respite centre can accommodate up to 9 guests aged 60 years or over, offering critical respite services within single room, en suite accommodation for periods of up to 21 nights. The service was temporarily relocated to the Taigh Mor site in Beith to allow the service to continue while works were carried out at Anam Cara. The service received a ‘very good’ rating from the Care Inspectorate after an unannounced visit in February, with the report commending it’s quality of care and the team’s fantastic work in relocating and continuing this vital community support service under challenging circumstances. The refurbishment project included a complete transformation of the main garden area, including new garden furniture, with a ramp installed from the conservatory to allow better access for guests to enjoy the outdoors. An additional, smaller garden area adjacent to the dining area has also had some landscaping improvements made. A full revamp of the internal areas of the building has also been carried out, with works including wet wall installation in several of the bathrooms, replacement light fittings with energy-efficient LED bulbs and a full upgrade to the reception area. An archway has been created within the dining area to improve the space, allow better access to the outdoors and create an improved flow for staff moving around the area, and a new boiler and generator have been installed.
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New flooring has been installed throughout the ground level, with new décor, furniture and soft furnishings creating a welcoming and homely feel for guests and staff. In addition, new TVs have been located in each room and WiFi connection has been improved throughout the building. Externally, the building has undergone repairs to the roof, fascias, gutters and roughcast, with new windows in the dining room area. Artworks for the walls of Anam Cara were very kindly donated by members of both Beith and Irvine camera clubs, featuring recognisable images taken throughout North Ayrshire to help stimulate memories for guests staying at the facility. 3.10 Mental Health and Wellbeing ‘Connect’ Event North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership hosted a Mental Health and Wellbeing ‘Connect’ event on Monday 29 April at Ardeer Community Centre in Stevenston. The event was attended by support services, included stalls and a variety of workshops focussing on a range of mental health topics. Some of the services who attended the event included VoiceAbility advocacy, North Ayrshire Carers Gateway, the NHS A&A Health Improvement team, the Primary Care Mental Health team, Community Link Workers, North Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership, the NHS A&A Suicide Prevention team and North Ayrshire Wellbeing and Recovery College. A series of mental health and wellbeing workshops were held on the day, with attendees having the opportunity to take part in all of these, as well as some creative or active movement taster sessions. The event registrations sold out and was busy with a good mix of staff, service users and individuals from the community. Feedback was positive with many stating they would like more regular events, with a future request for an event to focus on young people’s mental health.
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3.11 Supported Carers Recruitment North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) is currently recruiting supported carers who can offer a spare room in their home to a young person who has previously been looked after by the local authority, as well as providing the day- to-day support that a young person needs to grow in confidence and develop the skills they will need to live independently in the future. Our young people come from a wide range of backgrounds and may be leaving residential schools, children's houses or foster care. They will often have had challenging home and family lives, and just need that extra bit of support to help them achieve in employment, education, developing hobbies and maintaining links with friends and family. Supported care can also be an option for assisting young people through the National Transfer Scheme for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, which is supported by North Ayrshire Council. NAHSCP welcomes enquiries from anyone who is patient, understanding, and has genuine interest in supporting vulnerable young people and providing them with a safe and caring environment. Supported carers must be 25 years of age or above (there is no upper age limit) and have a spare bedroom (you don’t have to own your own home), be single, married, in a civil partnership or co-habiting. Once approved all carers will receive induction training, followed by ongoing training and support from a qualified social worker. You will also receive an allowance for each young person in your care. Anyone interested in finding out more about being a supported carer, should visit https://www.nahscp.org/children-young-people-families/adoption-fostering-short- break-and-kinship-care/supported-care to find out more about the assessment process and how to apply, or call NAHSCP’s Families for Children team on 01294 310300 (option 4 then option 1). COVID Update No COVID update.
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4. IMPLICATIONS 4.1 Financial None 4.2 Human Resources None 4.3 Legal None 4.4 Equality/Socio-Economic None 4.5 Risk None 4.6 Community Wealth Building None 4.7 Key Priorities None 5. CONSULTATION No specific consultation was required for this report. User and public involvement is key for the partnership and all significant proposals will be subject to an appropriate level of Consultation. Caroline Cameron, Director [Carolinecameron@north-ayrshire.gov.uk/01294 317723] Appendices Nil