06 March 2019
The Health Minister has welcomed a Scrutiny report that has assessed and reviewed the island’s mental health services.
Deputy Richard Renouf has commended the Health and Social Security Panel for conducting a thorough investigation and capturing the voice of service users. He said: “The input of people with lived experience of mental health problems is of particular benefit and I want to use the findings of this report as a springboard to improve services.”
The report, which says government must prioritise investment in Jersey’s mental health services, commends staff for their dedication and hard work, but says they have been put under strain due to heavy demand for services and recruitment pressures.
Deputy Renouf added: “We acknowledge the increasing need for mental health services, and have placed greater emphasis on mental health in our Common Strategic Policy. We are determined to achieve parity of esteem, demonstrating that we value mental health equally with physical health, by providing equal access to effective, safe treatment and care.
“We have started addressing many of the issues raised in this report. We’ve established a Mental Health Improvement Board to drive the required changes forward, we have a plan under development to replace Orchard House and we will soon have a new place of safety in the hospital to assess patients in crisis.”
The key priorities for the Improvement Board and executive team are:
- a strategy to improve mental health facilities
- a recruitment campaign to fill vacancies
- a focus on crisis prevention and intervention
- investment in clinical and professional leadership of mental health services under our Target Operating Model
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