Police Inspector Mark Pearson
Minutes:
The Thanet Health and Wellbeing Board received a presentation from Police Inspector Mark Pearson.
Inspector Pearson advised the Board that the multi-agency Margate Task Force (MTF) in partnership with the Thanet Community Safety team were aiming to transform public services in a cost effective and efficient way using multi-agency response teams in the wards of Margate Central and Cliftonville West. The presentation included details of the real issues around the use of street drugs including heroine, crack cocaine and cannabis, also challenges of effectively assessing levels of sexual exploitation. The Wards most affected in Thanet are Margate Central and Cliftonville West. The statistics show these areas to have multiple risks to vulnerable people. The figures show high levels of individuals released from prison and Looked after Children (LAC). Approximately a third of Thanet’s crime & anti-social behaviour occurred in the two wards.
The presentation included a ‘mental health map’ that showed both where the majority of ambulance pick-ups and crime hotspots were located. The map helped people to understand where the most vulnerable spots were and where to focus resources. Inspector Pearson added that there were 42 nationalities accommodated within these two wards; the biggest cohort being Czech Roma and Slovak Roma. He added that ‘Gang Cooperatives’ were known to exist involving a number of nationalities (including local white English).
Residents comments had been sought for in a ‘Your Home, Your Health’ survey. This involved agencies gathering information on a defined ‘street’ with multi-agency visits to the street to help residents complete the “Your Home Your Health” forms. The purpose of the survey was to lay a foundation for effective problem solving and achieving sustainable outcomes and a creating synergy between social justice and community justice.
Inspector Pearson highlighted future threats and said there was significant opportunity to improve joint risk assessments specific to safeguarding children. Looking forward working smarter and improving information sharing/exchanging was critical and ‘health’ was most important in understanding the resource needs from the various partners.
It was noted that the MTF had received awards in excellence of partnership working.
Board members raised the following questions:
Regarding the drug proliferation in these wards, would that be because it has been underground for some time or is it getting worse?
Inspector Pearson advised that the problem was getting worse because it is financially lucrative. For example a 17 year old, can make a substantial amount of money each day dealing drugs. He added that local charities were helping.
If it is so lucrative there has got to be demand. Where is the demand?
The demand was primarily from vulnerable unemployed people and mental health sufferers who were more at risk of drug exploitation. These two wards have the highest number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance anywhere else in the UK.
What was the main driver for child exploitation or was it a mental health issue?
Inspector Pearson said that they were assessing how cooperatively different groups worked on child exploitation and that it was financially lucrative. It was a case of gathering information from partners, particularly regarding the health of young people.
Did health practitioners, who were the most likely to come into contact with young people; recognise the signs or other indicators of child abuse and exploitation?
There was a need for child exploitation training which was being done but there was a need to work smarter.
A representative from KCC advised that Ofsted regulated the Quality Care Commission and that KCC-Social Services would work together with the Margate Task Force with regular involvement?
Inspector Pearson said that there was a need for partners to talk to each other and for details to be shared to minimise harm. It is necessary to improve the strategic element and up to us to find the solution through front end engagement. They were not interested in regulators.
It was noted by the Chairman that GP’s were used to seeing children with bruises but there was also a need to look for other signs when seeing young girls and boys. He asked what the MTF were missing in regard to resources and information.
Inspector Pearson said that a children’s safeguarding nurse actually linked to the task force would be more effective in dealing with mental health, education and child safeguarding issues. He added that all of the partners were important but this link was missing. Information sharing was also very important.
Other Board Members advised that this meeting was the ideal place for the presentation and hoped for more education and social services input in the future.
Making the best use of the monies available when faced with the challenges like health tourism was key. What conduits were there to Central Government that could change empowerment?
In answering, Inspector Pearson said that silo working should stop and be replaced by co-located local services. Social and economic inclusion and a centre for social justice in areas where there is the most vulnerability is needed. Task forces in the right areas, for example Medway, Swale, and North Kent are very important. He asked how the Board saw the service integration provision. The possibility of secondments or a private individual with a lump of cash would help.
Another KCC representative asked what the role of the Kent and Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) was. He asked the Chairman what was needed to improve mental health, which was a real issue in Thanet and what we should do more of. He suggested that the partnership groups should have round table discussions and a Social Services representative should be on the Task Force.
The Chairman advised that Licensing of premises was improving now that Thanet Council had introduced ‘selective licensing’.
A Member explained that in their view if the housing problem was solved then everything else would follow. Little social housing was available in Cliftonville with too much poor quality housing.
Inspector Pearson added that 1/3 of Kent mental health issues were in Thanet. A number of these were ‘looked after children’, prison releases, offenders; living in low cost and poor quality housing. The increase in housing costs in London meant that people were being pushed into South East Coastal towns which was a challenge for MTF. A simple solution was for groups to work together and support people.
A further question was asked regarding whether MTF had a specific social services person to contact?
Inspector Pearson informed the Board that a Children’s Social Services officer was coming on board as a member of the team.
It was then asked how, as a local board could they make a case to the Kent Health and Wellbeing Board to bridge the huge gap in mental health service provision in the district, particularly in counselling.
Inspector Pearson explained that the Margate Task Force were commissioning their own mental health and counselling as they couldn’t get it from public health.
A representative from KCC said that the points raised were quite right and asked whether people were suffering a high level of need and those that were, were they long terms residents of Margate or were they transient? Also was their a retention of mental health workers in the area?
Inspector Pearson said those people with high end mental health needs stayed in the area.
Jessica Mookherjee added that she would report back to this Board regarding mental health providers and the expected number of services needed as a priority. Public mental health was very important and the need was acute in these 2 wards which impacted on the whole area. She added that it would be interesting to find out through an equity audit and assessment, how effective the providers had been. She recommended that a ‘mini task force’ be set up with all the providers around the table. A concentrated effort was required to ensure that the priority areas are given the appropriate resources.
It was added that new arrangements and extra funding had now been put into mental health.
Jessica Mookherjee said that she would bring a programme to this Board on Public Mental health.
A TDC representative expressed her concerns on the issue of child mental health and the need for a children’s safety plan and how important it was to get this right.
A KCC representative advised that Kent Integrated Adolescent Support Service (KIASS) could look at how and who would develop a childrens safety plan and assured the Board that he would make sure this is a priority piece of work and would be done.
Inspector Pearson made reference to the referral form and said that if a Social Services representative was with them when visiting vulnerable households then situations could be dealt with in a much more effective and timely way rather than being bogged down with bureaucracy.