Friday 29 April 2022
A reviewer who examined Secondary Care Mental Health Services will shortly be returning to the island to evaluate the progress made against the recommendations of his 2018 report.
David Gedze, a highly experienced mental health social worker who has worked in senior managerial roles in central London mental health trusts, will also meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss feedback in respect of services when he returns in early May. This is the first visit that has been arranged and will be supplemented by additional dates to ensure that Mr Gedze can speak with everyone who would like to provide their feedback.
Mr Gedze's initial report in December 2018 concluded that:
'Guernsey has good mental health services, which in many ways are as good as or better than those in most countries in the world. The services are well resourced, providing a wide range of clinical interventions to meet the needs of the population.'
The Committee for Health & Social Care has now organised for Mr Gedze to return, with the expectation that this next stage of work will culminate in Mr Gedze summarising his findings in three areas:
- Progress made against the recommendations of his 2018 report;
- Feedback from stakeholders; and
- Any observations in respect of the updated service mapping, to include identifying areas of improvement and any previously unidentified service gaps.
A number of appointments have already been made for Mr Gedze to meet with key stakeholders. However, as it will not be possible to arrange for Mr Gedze to meet with everyone during his first visit, particularly to accommodate the number of 1:1 appointments that may be required, a further visit (or visits as required) is being arranged to take place later next month, with the date/s to be confirmed.
It will also be possible for some discussions to take place remotely, via Microsoft Teams or similar, and can be facilitated for individuals who are happy to speak to Mr Gedze in this way.
Any members of the public who would like to speak with Mr Gedze are asked to register their interest by contacting Public Health Services and can do so by email: publichealth@gov.gg or by telephone on 01481 224136.
HSC has worked closely with Guernsey MIND in organising Mr Gedze's visit, which includes meeting with the Guernsey MIND board, staff and service users.
Deputy Al Brouard, President of the Committee for Health & Social Care, said:
'Working within Mental Health Services can be both challenging and rewarding and I know leaders in that area have a continual improvement mindset so that we deliver the best support possible for service users. The December 2018 review by Mr Gedze was invaluable in helping us identify what we are doing well and where there were gaps, and his return will be as equally important to evaluate the present position and kindly give us any advice to help improve our services.'
Jo Cottell, Chief Executive at Guernsey Mind, said:
'We are very pleased to have been asked by the Committee for Health & Social Care to help coordinate David Gedze's visit, and to have an opportunity to talk to him about our experiences working with members of the community with poor mental health. Mr Gedze will also have a chance to speak to some of the people we have supported recently. We are very keen to understand his findings to see how we can continue to support HSC and our wider community with their mental health needs.'
