"outcome focused specialist health care and rehabilitation"
Wales Advisory Board - Annual Report 2010
Constitution
Inaugurated in November 2008, The Wales Advisory Board is an arm’s length body, which meets four times a year with senior management of MHC. It was constituted to give advice and guidance to the MHC Board on matters relating to the community of North Wales; about the political, economic and social environment in which MHC conducts its business; and on the managerial and operational culture by which it operates. Central to the Advisory Board’s considerations has been the determination to seek evidence and assurances of quality in MHC’s activities and facilities. Its membership, therefore, is drawn from people with extensive backgrounds in the public sector across North Wales, most usually as former County Councillors with experience of Local Government Social Services Departments and the National Health Service, but also a member with extensive professional knowledge in the areas of Health and Care. All Members have been CRB checked.
Membership
Keith Toy (Chairman), Professor C. Wenger (Vice Chair), Richard Waters, Barbara Roberts, Nick Colbourne, with R J Edwards (Policy Advisor).
Visits
On the morning of each Meeting, Members carry out visits to MHC units and hospitals to familiarise themselves with operations. Opportunities have been afforded to converse with members of staff and appropriate residents, and Members’ experiences are commented on at the Meeting which follows. To date all such facilities have been visited at least once.
One Member has associated himself closely with a major new-build activity, the development of a 12 bed low-secure unit at New Hall Independent Hospital at Ruabon, Wrexham. The purpose of this is to enhance the service in North Wales to allow NHS Purchasers to access services locally and to recall patients from placements in England to lower levels of security where appropriate.
In this context, the Board has advised the adoption of a Welsh Language Policy across all units, which has been drawn up, approved and is being implemented incrementally, its aim being to make MHC “dual language” in approach. Work has been carried out to ascertain the numbers of employees who can write and speak Welsh to aid Staff deployment and recruitment policies.
The Advisory Board considered and approved Guidance about the role and procedures of a Lay-Visitor system and two Members have assumed that role, their written assessments being available at each meeting for consideration and to monitor future actions resulting from such Reports, reflecting the members’ observations and conversations with Staff and Residents, feedback from both of which appeared positive about the Lay Visitor role as providing an objective way of responding to management.
Policies and Reports
Over the year, the Advisory Board have received and considered a wide range of matters relating to the policies and operations of MHC. These have included updates on a number of new developments, internal reports on matters causing concern, HIW Reports, Patient Satisfaction Analyses, Independent Advocacy Reports, and Clinical and Corporate Governance Reports and their “follow-ups”. Such Reports have provided not only external assurances of quality, but also frank evidence of the recognition of difficulties and the Action Plans adopted to resolve matters. Advocacy and Patient Experience are standing items on all agendas. While the role of the Advocacy Service is not yet fully understood across all services, there were hopeful signs that it will become a valuable and valued service. The MHC Policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders was considered.
The Board has considered a number of strategic Policy Papers, mostly emanating from the Welsh Assembly Government.
“One Wales”;
“A Well Being and Mental Health Service Fit For Wales” (Michael A H Williams, 2008) and the WLGA Response;
“Paying For Care in Wales” (2008);
“Review of Secure Mental Health Services” (April 2009);
“The “Community Mental Health Service Paper” (Sept. 2009).
In addition, the Chairman attended a Day Symposium on “Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System”.
The Board also commissioned a piece of work seeking to establish in purely financial terms the contribution the MHC organisation makes to the economy of Wales, especially in North Wales. In the last twelve months, this was found to be rather more than £13M, which relates to the employment of almost 600 staff and through an agreed strategy of seeking to purchase as much as possible via local suppliers and businesses.
Management and Administration
MHC has been, and continues to be, undertaking a major review and re-organisation of its management and administrative “culture”, structures and procedures, crystallised into a 5 Year Development Plan to provide Staff especially with an overview of the strategic direction being planned by the Company. The Advisory Board receives regular updates on the progress of this developmental policy and the necessary physical changes and up-grading to assist this process. The programme of training and re-training of staff needed to underpin the process has also been considered by the Board, as has the Risk Management Strategy.
MHC is introducing “Create/24/7”, an innovative, therapeutic conservation programme to give recognition to skills and activities achieved by patients / service users during their rehabilitation.
Overview
It has been clear to the Wales Advisory Board that there has been a need for MHC to undertake a fundamental and thorough re-organisation of its policies and practices. It has been equally clear that there is a will and determination to carry this out. Much, indeed, has been achieved, and it is recognised that this process must be a continual one if it is to retain its position as a major provider of mental health and learning disability services in North Wales, especially as it continues to re-orientate itself towards a more “Welsh-facing” stance.
The strategic direction is much clearer, services are better defined, care pathways are better structured and there has already been and continues to be considerable investment in buildings and equipment. Management changes, investment in training at all levels, and a policy of recruiting and rewarding skilled staff are already having an effect. There is a need for these changes to embed themselves within the culture of the organisation, and for them to be communicated throughout it. The Advisory Board has been aware of shortfalls in specific areas, but has been impressed by the effective and prompt actions taken to remediate them.
The Advisory Board has had an interesting and rewarding year’s association with MHC, and would wish to express its gratitude to the Managing Director and his Staff for the courtesy and help offered to Members, and for the frank and honest way in which they have discussed all matters under consideration.
Keith Toy (Chairman)
Wales Advisory Board – Members
Keith Toy (B.A., M.Ed., PhD)
After a career in the Education Service, Keith became, for fourteen years, a County Councillor, first with Clwyd County Council, and then Conwy County Borough Council, serving throughout on Social Services Committees. For four years he was a Cabinet Member responsible for Social Services and Health on the Conwy Authority, during which time he was a member of the Conwy Local Health Board.
Nick Colbourne
Nick Colbourne is a retired North Wales Police officer. He has served as a county councillor in Wrexham and is heavily involved in the voluntary sector. He is a trustee for Crossroads North Wales and for AVOW, the county voluntary council in Wrexham, for whom he acts as Company Secretary.
Nick also sits as a Magistrate in Wrexham. His primary focus within the Advisory Board is that of community relations ensuring MHC continue to develop stronger ties with the local communities through a range of activities that involve both employees of the organization and the service users and patients in their care.
Richard G Waters
Retired Assistant Director of Finance for Conwy CBC; Born 26/11/1943 and educated at Abergele Grammar School and University of Wales, Swansea. Honours degree in Economics and Geography, Chartered Public Finance Accountant. Professional experience in local government finance and lecturing at Manchester, Mold, North East Wales Institute of HE, Gwynedd and Conwy.
Experience as an elected councillor for Colwyn Borough Council and Conwy County Borough Council. Former Chairman of the County Planning Committee. Social Services experience. Member of Abergele Town Council and former Mayor. Chairman of the Wales Association of Community and Town Councils 1992-4.
Barbara Roberts
A resident of Gronant near Prestatyn, Barbara Roberts has a strong and impressive background in representative governance having served in leadership positions on Clwyd County Council and Flintshire County Council (former Vice Chair Social Services, Clwyd County Council, Chair Environment & Protection, Chair Clwyd Fire Service and Chair Social Services - Flintshire County Council, Chair North Wales Fire Authority). Barbara was also a member of Delyn Borough Council. Barbara served as a member of Flintshire Local Health Group and then Flintshire Local Health Board. She was a member of Llanasa Community Council. Barbara served as a member of Wales Council for Voluntary Action for seven years and is also a founder member and past Chair of Flintshire Local Voluntary Council. As a former manager of the Flintshire branch of North Wales Victim Support for 18 years she has an impressive and current knowledge of the justice system and she currently leads for the Advisory Board on Lay visiting and community liaison.
Prof G Clare Wenger
Comes from a long established North Wales family and lives in Gwaenysgor near Dyserth. Clare is Emeritus Professor of Gerontology at Bangor University and has worked with a wide range of Wales, UK, European and US universities and health related bodies. Clare who attained her Doctorate at University of California, Berkeley is well respected for her research and published works into ageing and end of life care. She has been Diretor of a six nation study into Adult Well Being funded by the EU and of a study comparing ageing migrants from South Asia with their counterparts ageing in India and Bangladesh, funded by the DFID. Clare serves as Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board and is most interested in values, standards and qualitative issues.
