Agenda item

This report provides the members of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on the Medway Therapeutic Alliance procurement and contract mobilisation.

Discussion:

Officers from North Kent Mind gave a presentation on the Medway Therapeutic Alliance, what is encompassed, the offer for young people and priority groups within that cohort, as well and continuous improvement and governance of the Alliance.

Members then raised several questions and comments:

It was commented that this service would be a safety net for young people to ensure that they did not fall through the gap. However, there was a concern that whilst this service was in place for children up to their 19^th birthday or age 25 for care leavers or children with SEND, that people would not be suddenly dropped upon turning 19 or 26. The Officer agreed that it was vital to ensure continuity of service for young people and whist there were age boundaries within services, they were conscious of ensuring discussions took place at early stage of intervention regarding long term needs,  goals and where appropriate, transition. The priority was on changing the narrative to ensure that young people did not wait till they reached crisis point before reaching out for support.

Promotion and access to support - it was asked how the work of the Alliance was being promoted and what would happen if they were unable to support a young person. The Committee was informed that roadshows continued to take place across Medway and in schools, there were online webinars available and North Kent Mind would work with the Medway Youth Council to promote the service. There were other services that young people could access if the Therapeutic Alliance was not the right service, and there were many online resources that young people could be signposted to. The Therapeutic Alliance would promote a “no wrong door” approach and if their service wasn’t right they would support the young person to access the right support.

Continuity and accountability - it was asked what assurance could be given on leadership amidst concerns that expectations may not be delivered. Officers said that the Alliance was developed to enable access to services before the need for specialist intervention, which would reduce pressure on specialist services. Over the years, different services had been commissioned across many areas, and this had begun to create confusion for parents, carers and families. The Therapeutic Alliance operated on a commissioned lead provider model, in this case North Kent Mind (NKM) as the lead and they subcontracted out to other providers to deliver the services required. NKM would be responsible for holding their subcontractors to account and maintaining service level agreements.

It was further commented that it was crucial to develop cohesion by ensuring that data across all services under the Alliance were uniform in order to be able to hold providers to account. The officer agreed that this was crucial and that there would be several mechanisms of accountability put in place, including measures of engagement and outcomes.

Decision:

a)     The Committee noted that North Kent Mind (NKM) had been successfully awarded the contract for the Medway Therapeutic Alliance Service.

b)     The Committee noted the mobilisation strategy for the launch of the Medway Therapeutic Alliance, on 01 April 2026.