Sara Mitchell (Associate Director Strategic and Operational Mental Health Lead, Livewell Southwest) will present ‘How citizens with LD and SMI illness have fared in COVID, and the projected increases in demand for Mental Health Services linked to the economy and post COVID.’

Sara Mitchell (Livewell SW) delivered a report on ‘How citizens with Learning Disabilities (LD) and Serious and Enduring Mental Illness (SEMI) have fared during Covid, and the projected increase in demand for mental health services post Covid’ to the Board, and highlighted the following points-

a)     Livewell had not suspended any of its mental health or learning disability services during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Instead, every patient on a caseload had been risk-assessed to ensure they received the most appropriate care, and additional services had been provided such as the 24 hour 1^st response crisis line, and an expansion of the primary care offer;

b)    In the first wave of the pandemic, there had been 4 deaths across the whole of Devon, 2 of which were known to Plymouth services, and were housed in residential homes. People with learning difficulties had been 6 times more likely to die from Covid during the pandemic than the rest of the population, largely due to pre-existing health conditions;

c)     Livewell had initiated the Restore2 programme to train care staff to better identify patient deterioration in physical health or with Covid. Meanwhile, annual health check work had continued, and there had been an ongoing push to encourage vaccine take-up for those with LD & SEMI. Livewell had also instigated the creation of Learning Difficulty Champions, targeted to reduce inequalities and promote the understanding of the needs of people with learning difficulties;

d)    In July 2021, Livewell established the Autism Service, which had been proactively engaging with people with learning difficulties. There was also ongoing work to set up a Learning Difficulty Partnership;

e)     Demand for mental health services had been increasing since the start of the pandemic however, the Primary Care Mental Health Team remained in a positive position. The 1^st Response Team had been established to ensure people were seen before crisis point, thus reducing the need for referral to secondary care services, and averaged around 90 calls in any 24hr period. This had resulted in a high number of referrals, with 23,000 accepted, compared to 12,500 pre-pandemic. However, while referrals were high, the service had greatly contributed to a decline in demand for traditional services such as the community mental health service;

f)      The ongoing expansion of Livewell’s preventative ‘primary care services’ were praised as one of the greatest successes;

The Board praised the ongoing expansion and development of Livewells primary care services and health teams. Following questions from the Board, it was reported that-

g)     The Out of Hours Mental Health Team provided a 24/7 service;

h)    There had been a noticeable rise in referrals of young people since the start of the pandemic, including referrals to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMS).

The Committee agreed to note the report.