Mental health targets missed with just 3% of Peterborough adults who access specialist services in employment

Targets around accommodation and employment for adults with mental health problems in Peterborough are being missed.

Among 18 to 69-year-olds who are in contact with mental health services provided by hospitals and other secondary care services, 12.5 per cent are living independently, either with or without support, against a target of 75 per cent.

Just four per cent of the same group are in paid employment, against a target of 12.5 per cent.

Leesa Murray, Head of Adults Commissioning at Peterborough City Council (PCC) said that, “on the face of it, they look really bad,” in relation to the statistics contained within a report on mental health services which the council delegates to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) .

But the partnership is an “exemplar”, she said, with accommodation and employment priorities for improvement for the region’s integrated care board (ICB), which brings together care providers and local authorities.

Cllr Shabina Qayyum (Labour, East), herself a GP, said that another issue with secondary mental health services – those which require a referral from primary care services, including GPs – is that they’re “incredibly difficult to access” and “a lot of passing the buck takes place”.

“I think it’s about time that conversations start to take place between adults’ social care and primary care contract providers to give them these statistics,” she said, “to secondary care consultants especially. I can’t remember the last time an emotionally vulnerable patient was followed up adequately by a psychiatric consultant.

“I feel that has a reciprocal effect on adults’ social care and public health.”

Cllr Qayyum’s comments came at a PCC meeting at which the report was discussed.

Councillors also heard that £1.4m was spent on CPFT’s mental health services last year and that the spend this year is likely to be higher.

They were also told that plans for the coming year include developing a “pilot student mental health model” alongside universities and developing a “targeted mental health programme for rough sleepers”.

A budget for adults’ mental health provision for the coming financial year is expected to be signed off by 31st March.