Impact of Mental Health patients

WQ.24/2020

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

BY DEPUTY K.G. PAMPLIN OF ST. SAVIOUR

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 21st JANUARY 2020

Question

Will the Minister provide a breakdown of the number of mental health patients seen during 2018 in all areas of Health and Community Services (including the Hospital, La Chasse and Orchard House), indicating when the busiest periods of the year fell in this regard and at which facilities; and will he explain the reasons for those busiest periods, in particular at Orchard House?

Answer

Following a conversation with the Deputy , it was clear that he meant to request figures for 2019, not 2018, and the answer therefore provides data for 2019.

The first table shows the number of individual clients receiving care each month within the listed Mental Health Services in 2019.

It shows the numbers of patients who have been cared for in each service area, but does not mean, for example, that Orchard House, in December, had 34 clients within the ward at any one time.  

Variation in client episodes of care across acute mental health services will always occur as the teams proactively react to individual needs. Clients in crisis will always require more intervention and input, but this will always remain unpredictable. Other variation in activity numbers may occur as a result of staff taking leave, and whilst we plan annual leave and schedule it across the year, there will always be days where more staff are at work, than others.

The numbers of patients within service areas will vary, depending on clinical need, which, within mental health services, cannot be predicted.

We are unable to provide a breakdown of the specific locations in which the clients are seen as this will be across a mixture of health facilities and also within their own homes. To do this would require viewing each individual care entry.

The second table shows the number of client contacts recorded – some clients will be seen or contacted multiple times across the month. These can be face to face or on the telephone. Contacts are captured each time there is an entry into the electronic patient record regarding an individual client.