Agenda item

The paper seeks to update the Committee on the previous KMPT Strategy, background to the current Strategy and monitoring of progress within the current Strategy.

Having earlier disclosed an interest in this item, Councillor Hamandishe left the room for the discussion and did not participate.

Discussion:

Members considered a paper which updated the Committee on the previous KMPT Strategy, the background to the current Strategy and the monitoring of progress within the current Strategy.

The following issues were discussed:

·       Staff retention and turnover – levels of turnover were queried, particularly at Executive level, and details of the Trust’s staff retention plans were requested. Members were advised that general staff turnover for June/July was 18% in Medway and further details would be provided to Members. This represented a reduction from the previous three months and was about average for comparable Trusts. The Trust had a retention and recruitment programme. The current Chief Executive would retire on 1 November and the new Chief Executive, the current Deputy with 6 years’ experience at the Trust, would take over. The Chief Operating Officer had been at the Trust for 2 years. Members were assured there was stability in the executive team.

·       Bullying – a Member asked whether bullying was an issue at the Trust. The Director of Partnerships and Transformation advised that bullying was monitored through the independent Freedom to Speak Up service. There was also an annual staff survey. He did not believe bullying was a problem, but more action was needed on equality and inclusion.

·       Mental Health Nurse Pilot – in response to why a pilot with the police had not continued, Members were advised there were some initiatives underway but some of this transformation sat with the ICB.

·       Ruby ward and mental health bed provision – a discussion took place about the new Ruby ward being built in Maidstone and the reasons for the closure of the ward at Medway Maritime. Members were advised the new unit would have more beds than the previous ward and were invited to visit the new unit, which it was hoped would open in early 2024. The Assistant Director – Adult Social Care added that there was a partnership approach towards moving from mental health beds to community provision.

·       Tackling racism – a Member referred to the statement in the Strategy about ethnic minority staff experiencing less racist violence and aggression and commented this was a poor choice of words as one member of staff experiencing less racism would mean the objective had been met. The Director of Partnerships and Transformation responded that a monthly reporting system sat beneath this and any staff experiencing racism was unacceptable. An assurance was given that Trust wanted to be as free from racism as possible. 

·       Baseline data – regarding what data was available in order to measure progress in meeting objectives and what benchmarking took place, Members were advised that benchmarking was built in. Underneath the Strategy there was more data and trajectories to measure progress. The Trust was still gathering data for baselines and acknowledged progress in some areas would be over a three-year period. A Member made the point that KMPT had made improvements in recent years.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to note the report.