Recommendations to improve Guernsey mental health services

An independent review has made a series of recommendations to improve mental health and wellbeing services in Guernsey and Alderney.

David Gedze, a mental health social worker, identified problems in areas of crisis response and prevention, and support for children and prisoners.

Mr Gedze said he found a reliance on temporary workers was undermining confidence in services.

The States said it was "acutely aware" of islanders' views of its services.

Mr Gedze said: "A number of people said a lot of the permanent staff who had been there for a long time were compassionate, were helpful and were supportive.

"A few people said there were a number of temporary staff at any time in the service just filling vacancies and they were the ones who were often identified as the ones who weren't compassionate and weren't particularly helpful."

Deputy Al Brouard, president of the Committee of Health and Social Care, said he was "acutely aware" of how the services were seen on the island.

He said: "Mental health and wellbeing services represent an extremely challenging area of work, we employ around 250 dedicated staff who provide services to around 1,850 service users.

"For these staff it is a true vocation, and we must not underestimate the complexity, difficulty and stress of providing mental health services generally, but especially within a small community."

As part of his recommendations, Mr Gedze suggested introducing a new regulatory regime for practising therapists on the island, signposting islanders to "appropriate services" and re-branding its secondary mental health services.

The States of Guernsey confirmed the Committee for Health and Social Care would now be known as Guernsey Specialist Mental Health Services.

It also said a new steering group would meet before the end of 2022 to discuss the recommendations.

Acting Chief Inspector of Operations at Bailiwick of Guernsey Law Enforcement, Liam Johnson welcomed the review.

He said about 30% of all incidents the force attended were "directly linked" to mental health.

Mr Johnson said: "Mental health patients should not be treated as criminals, however just by way of police involvement they can sometimes be made to feel that way.

"As an example, the report highlights the fact that the custody suite in the police station is still occasionally used as a 'place of safety', when it is not an appropriate environment.

"Police officers are not mental health specialists and as the report rightly identifies, this is an area that needs a multi-agency response.

"We are pleased to say that this multi-agency work is always improving to ensure that people get the best help they can."

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