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The reviewer who examined Secondary Care Mental Health Services will shortly return to Guernsey to evaluate the progress made against the recommendations of his 2018 report.
David Gedze, a highly experienced mental health social worker from London, will also meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss feedback in respect of services in early May.
The States say 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”.
It also concluded that the services are amply funded to “meet the needs of the population”.
Pictured: Islanders will have the opportunity to air their thoughts directly to Mr Gedze.
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:
A number of appointments have already been made for Mr Gedze to meet with key stakeholders.
As it will not be possible to arrange for Mr Gedze to meet with everyone during his first visit, a further visit, or visits, is being arranged to take place later next month.
It will also be possible for some discussions to take place remotely and those will be facilitated for individuals who are happy to speak to Mr Gedze in this way.
HSC say they have worked closely with Guernsey MIND in organising Mr Gedze’s visit, which includes meeting with the Guernsey MIND board, staff, and service users.
Pictured: The current deputies who sit on HSC were not in position when Mr Gedze’s completed his report.
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."
Any members of the public who would like to speak with Mr Gedze are asked to register their interest by contacting Public Health Services.
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Pictured (top): Deputy Al Brouard, President of the Committee for Health & Social Care.
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