The Health and Care Policy Development Committee met on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, to discuss mental health services in Redbridge and review the committee's work plan. Key discussions included the challenges and successes of mental health provision, the need for better data collection, and the integration of services. The committee also agreed on its work plan for the upcoming year.

Mental Health Services in Redbridge

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to a verbal report on mental health services, presented by Simon Froud, the Executive Director for Adults Social Care and Health. The discussion followed a visit to Melmead House, a mental health service provider, and highlighted several key themes.

Housing was identified as a critical issue, with a strong link between homelessness and mental illness, and the pressure on hospital bed availability. Disengagement from services, particularly across different cultural groups, was also a recurring concern. To address this, a proposal was made to develop hyper-localised awareness campaigns targeting specific communities within Redbridge to improve engagement.

The committee heard about positive aspects of the mental health service, including the co-production model where individuals with lived experience are employed within teams. One gentleman shared his positive experience of recovery from a psychotic break, stating the service had been perfect so far. The ERP manager also reported that the service was well-funded and not under extreme pressure, which was noted as a positive, albeit surprising, finding.

Discussions also touched upon the need to rearrange service provision to be more community-based, which is expected to significantly help individuals accessing support. The potential for a committee visit to the newly established Crisis Café was also raised as a valuable opportunity to observe services in action.

Simon Froud provided an overview of the services offered by NELFT (North East London Foundation Trust), the mental health provider. This included pathways into services, assessment processes for various conditions such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis, and specialized teams for older adults, memory assessment, learning disabilities, and autism. The challenges of funding and workforce shortages for skilled professionals were acknowledged.

A key area of discussion was the collection and use of data. It was noted that data is currently fragmented across different systems, making it difficult to gain a comprehensive overview. The need for a unified data set for mental health experiences was emphasized to effectively measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) was mentioned as a national data set used for comparisons.

The review of the Section 75 agreement, which governs the integration of health and social care services, was also a significant topic. Recent CQC inspections had highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in safeguarding processes and inter-agency working. The ongoing review aims to enhance integration, co-location, funding, and staffing arrangements for these joint teams. The importance of involving people with lived experience in service design and policy development was strongly advocated.

Councillor Jyotsna Rahman Islam raised concerns about the clarity of information for informal carers regarding support services, especially following hospital discharges. The need for better communication and signposting for these carers was highlighted.

Health and Care PDC Work Plan

The committee reviewed and agreed upon the Health and Care Policy Development Committee Work Plan for 2025-2026. The plan outlines the topics and witnesses for upcoming meetings, including a focus on Adult Social Care and Health, and the agreement of final outcome reports. The next meeting is scheduled for 25 March 2026.