The contract for the council funded Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in Salford has been awarded to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) for another 12 months. Salford City Council’s Procurement Board agreed to give the contract to MFT worth £378,871.
The meeting today (April 20) heard that the contract will run until March 31, 2023. Work also needs to be completed to integrate MFT CAMHS contracts and children’s mental health budgets with Salford CCG and to facilitate alignment with new GM Integrated Care System contracts.
Deputy City Mayor Councillor John Merry was concerned for the current Salford specific services coming under the branch of MFT and required assurances that they would not be cut.
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Emily Edwards, the officer briefing the councillors said: “That has been a point of discussion and concern. Salford is already involved with MFT so what we need to do is create a relationship with Salford City Council as an associate which is already in place with the CCG. Of all the services at this time, this is the least at risk of cuts. I feel confident that CAMHS are protected.”
The council’s funding will go towards:
- Emerge - which is a 17-year-old service (£75,000)
- Youth Justice Service (£43,871)
- STARLAC - CAMHS for cared for children (£190,000)
There will also be £70,000 going towards the Route 29 Service which has now been approved for recurrent funding and the one Coun Merry was concerned about being cut.
“Currently all targeted contracts that have been commissioned over and above the core CCG funded contracts have been treated as ‘addendums’ to the GM CAMHS specification which cover all ten locality services,” a report said. “It is envisaged that these addendums will be varied into the single MFT contract once this is established.
“Children’s Services Senior Leadership team has supported the request to the Procurement Board and noted the need to ensure that Salford City Council’s commissioned services are ‘protected’ when they are aligned with CCG CAMHS contracts and transitioned to new GM ICB arrangements.”
Coun Bill Hinds, chair of the Procurement Board, raised the question of social value and stated its importance to the council at this time and asked whether it had deteriorated. Salford CAMHS signed a Social Value Pledge some years ago with a commitment to “offer more participation / volunteering opportunities to young people and parents /carers living in Salford”, and “to contribute to more Salford people saying they have good wellbeing by increasing our reach”.
“Participation and engagement case studies are reported routinely through CAMHS quarterly reports, alongside experiential case studies and feedback from children, young people, parents/carers and professionals with which they work,” a report said. “Art and creativity is used regularly as a vehicle to engage young people and to support them to express their feelings, views and ideas.
“CAMHS also routinely involves young people in service reviews and improvements such as making offices and receptions more welcoming, and in recruitment of staff and open days.”
Ms Edwards informed the councillors that there had not been a review of this in two years and assured the board that this would be picked up. This was satisfactory enough for the councillors to agree to award the contract.
