Agenda item

The Registrar in Public Health introduced the report.  The Consultant in Public Health and the Bristol North Somerset South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Head of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities also spoke to the report.

·       The report was commended; it was described as being comprehensive and data-rich.

·       The Chair recommended that a note should be sent to the Licencing Committee to highlight the importance of the availability of alcohol-free drinks on licensed premises.

·       There was a discussion about the clarity of the strategy and whether it was accessible to the public and service users, and Members were advised that it was tailored to providers and commissioners, and being accessible was important so communities could engage.  

·       Members heard that there was a question In the consultation document which asked people if they found the strategy clear, legible and readable; broadly speaking most people agreed that it was clear and legible, although too much jargon was referenced, and this would be considered.

·       There was a discussion about how mental health could be more embedded within the strategy across the key points and members were advised that references to the importance to mental health throughout had been increased; further reference to mental health within the vision would be considered.

·       Members recommended that the strategy would have benefited from a greater focus on the lived experience of service users and marginalised groups.  It was acknowledged that consultation and engagement with groups was difficult during the pandemic. 

·       There had been engagement with individual service users directly, although due to the current circumstances there had been a lot of engagement with organisations that worked closely with service users and people with lived experiences.

·       Members were advised that this was a high level strategy which set out the vision, and the next steps would require more specific pieces of work where people with lived experiences and from marginalised communities would be engaged and inform the its development.

·       The Committee was advised that it was important that the trauma informed work in the city was aligned with the drug and alcohol strategy, and there would be consideration about how to make those links more explicit; and that the CCG could offer support to link in the information from its engagement with marginalised groups which referred to experience with alcohol and drugs.

·       The Committee heard that the CCG, as part of the whole systems approach to mental health, had developed a mental health and wellbeing outcomes framework and there was an opportunity to link up with the alcohol and drugs strategy and the outcomes framework could be aligned.

·       The whole systems approach where organisations would be working together was commended.

·       Members stated that there should be, over and above a focus on individual behaviour change, more emphasis on structural inequalities and underlying issues which could be more strongly reflected within the strategy.

·       There was a discussion about safe consumption rooms and the Committee heard that the law had not changed and so they were still illegal and there was not a commitment to produce one.

·       Members heard that the strategy highlighted the Council’s intent to be on the forefront  of conversations to be had about legislative and policy change on safe consumption room; and that the Council would take the strategic view that this was something there was growing evidence for and Bristol would want to be part of the conversation.

·       The Deputy Mayor (Communities Equalities and Public Health) noted the Committee’s comments that more clarity was needed, and this would be considered, together with how to build on the existing positive joint work with the CCG.

·       Vicky Marriott, Healthwatch, informed Members of the coproduction project Healthwatch had completed with service users of alcohol and drug services in North Somerset, which had a recommendation that there should be stronger availability of community mental health support at the same time as recovery.

·       The Chair invited Vicky Marriott to send a list of Healthwatch priorities which could be considered by the Committee.