Agenda item

·    Any member of the public, who lives, works or studies in North Yorkshire and York can ask a question to the Panel.  The question or statement must be put in writing to the Panel no later than midday on Monday, 7^th October 2024 to DemocraticServices.Central@northyorks.gov.uk for the attention of  Diane Parsons, Principal Scrutiny Officer (contact details given at the foot of the agenda sheet). 

·    The time period for asking and responding to all questions will be limited to 30 minutes. No one question or statement shall exceed 3 minutes.

·    Please see the rules regarding Public Question Time at the end of this agenda page.  The full protocol can be found at www.nypartnerships.org.uk/pfcp.

A statement to the Panel was read on behalf of Councillor Andrew Lee, Chair of the Scrutiny of Health Committee at North Yorkshire Council (NYC), as follows:

I write following my letter to the Panel in July seeking your engagement on a matter raised with the Scrutiny of Health Committee with regard to the crisis care response for individuals with complex mental health needs.  The Panel will recall that Councillor Paul Haslam (NYC) had raised concerns with the Scrutiny of Health Committee on behalf of a particular resident in crisis who was met with an armed police response.  Councillor Haslam is of the view that the case presented is not an isolated one and was keen to identify how the different agencies link up around such cases and whether the support in place is working effectively.  Due to the involvement of various partners and agencies in this matter, I had therefore undertaken to co-ordinate an informal meeting to better explore and consider the issues surrounding crisis care response.  In particular this is around understanding the police’s ‘Right Care, Right Person’ (RCRP) model and the strategic and operational processes in place between Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) and North Yorkshire Police. 

You will recall that at the Panel meeting of 25^th July, this issue was raised on my behalf and the Panel agreed to be involved in this meeting.  I highlighted the need to involve North Yorkshire Police and this was raised at the meeting with DCC Bisset, who did highlight that a strategic oversight board is in place for RCRP.  As such follow-up contact established that it would be helpful to include individuals involved on this.  There was also a commitment made separately at the Panel meeting by the Deputy Mayor to engaging in the meeting.  As such, follow-up arrangements were made for a private, informal meeting to be held on 7^th October 2024, to include representatives from the above along with councillors leading on health and adult social care for both councils, the Humber and North Yorkshire ICB and TEWV.

Following my initial correspondence with North Yorkshire Police there was some constructive engagement around the co-ordination of this meeting including suggestions for other individuals with oversight of RCRP and a couple of lead officers had accepted the appointment.  North Yorkshire Police had also separately invited Councillor Haslam to provide details of any specific incidents of concern that he may wish to put forward for their review.  Unfortunately, just two days prior to the meeting arranged, North Yorkshire Police advised that they would not be attending the meeting as they felt it would be inappropriate to attend a scrutiny-style meeting because a scrutiny process already exists in the guise of the strategic governance board for RCRP.  The Deputy Mayor did offer to attend and speak to the policing element of this issue on 7^th October.  However, I took the view that it would not only be unfair to place the Deputy Mayor in this position but that it would potentially leave key operational and strategic gaps missing in this complex issue.  It was therefore determined that the meeting should be postponed while further consideration is given to the next steps. 

Mental health issues are of serious concern to the residents of North Yorkshire and York.  While Councillor Haslam related a specific of one example of armed police response to an individual in crisis, the Scrutiny of Health Committee is concerned that this may not be an isolated example and that further exploration on this matter is important.  We are therefore disappointed that North Yorkshire Police do not feel it appropriate to engage in an informal context to enable us to better understand the processes and challenges around this, and whether partners can assist.  I am further concerned at the transparency and accountability of the strategic RCRP board from a scrutiny perspective.  I understand that this board principally comprises the police service and TEWV and has oversight of the efficacy of the implementation of RCRP, although it would appear that there is currently no external reporting around this.  Furthermore, the Panel will be aware of the poor CQC inspection outcomes for the quality of mental health care provided by TEWV which were published in 2023.  It is of ongoing concern to the committee to ensure that improvements are made for our residents and that due scrutiny can be done on such matters.  The Scrutiny of Health Committee will continue to scrutinise how healthcare is delivered but we cannot scrutinise the police service. 

I am aware that RCRP is due to feature again within your work programme in due course and that the Panel may wish to seek reassurances from the Mayor as to the efficacy of RCRP.  I would like to underline the Health committee’s concern and disappointment regarding the fact that we have been unable to pursue an informal meeting with the police on this and would be grateful for any further feedback that can be shared through your own considerations with the Mayor/Deputy Mayor.

Panel response

The Chair invited the Deputy Mayor to speak to the concerns raised with the Panel.  The Deputy Mayor wished to highlight that she had been happy to attend the multi-partner meeting arranged and assist with briefing on RCRP.  The Deputy Mayor sought to reassure the Panel regarding oversight of RCRP and that she sits on the strategic governance board. It was also highlighted that RCRP currently only operates in relation to contact from partners, no the public.

It was agreed that the Deputy Mayor will speak to Councillor Lee to pick up further on his concerns, which the Panel welcomed.  The Chair wished to note that the Panel will retain RCRP on its future work programme.