The First Perinatal Mental Health Networks Meeting:

3rd November - 7th November 2014

As mentioned earlier in my blog, a project which I will be involved in over the next few weeks consists of commissioning Perinatal Mental Health Services within the Cheshire East area. On Tuesday, I attended a meeting along with several psychiatrists, midwives and consultant liaisons within the Cheshire area, with the psychiatry lead from the NHS (CWP) Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, who are responsible for providing mental health services to our population. The meeting was arranged to discuss current pathways of referral for women with mental health conditions whilst pregnant and up to a year after birth. We discussed advantages and disadvantages of the pathways that had been created by CWP, actions to take in the upcoming months and the types of services that need to be commissioned. I came away from the meeting with a much better understanding of mental health conditions during and after pregnancy and also with a number of contacts of professionals who are happy to help with this project.

This week, I have been reviewing the CQUIN (Commissioning for Quality and Innovation) evidence that has been provided by CWP for quarter two for the Proactive Care and the Health Equality Framework goals. At the CCG, each year we set a number of targets which each service provider must achieve, in order to receive a payment. Each healthcare service must provide evidence to reflect how the milestone has been achieved in each quarter. At the monthly ‘Clinical Quality and Performance Meeting' at the CCG, we then discuss the CQUIN achievements for each provider and monitor the performance with a 'RAG' (Red, Amber, Green) rating to demonstrate achievement.

On Friday, I attended an event at Cranage Hall in Holmes Chapel which was based on intergating health and social care through 'Short-Term Assessment Intervention Recovery and Rehabilitation Service'; also known as 'STAIRSS'. A number of colleagues attended the workshop including representatives from South Cheshire and Vale Royal CCG, the council, NWAS (North West Ambulance Service) and members of the public, where we discussed ways of integrating health and social care across Cheshire to reduce the gaps in the care pathways. The workshop involved understanding areas which delay transfers of care for a patient and understanding the need for patients to receive rapid assessment, rehabilitation and re-ablement in the comfort of their own home.