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Agenda item

Agenda item

QUESTIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND STATEMENTS OF CASE

The following representation has been received from Ms Lucy Chaplin:

 

“Are health providers aware that by offering mental health support through mainly telephone-based services that phone companies - particularly mobile phone companies - do not inform users that they may have used up contracted minutes and accumulated large phone bills in accessing the support they need? 

 

While it is very helpful to be able to call the crisis team, and other services, it is very difficult to keep track of time. Indeed why should someone who is already so unwell that they need these services have the additional burden of thinking about their phone bill?

 

Has any part of the NHS looked into this, or discussed the issue with mobile phone companies, as many patients with severe mental health problems are already on reduced income, indeed many are classed as homeless, and cannot afford huge phone bills. When people can't pay the bill their phones are barred by companies, which actually cuts patients off from ALL the support networks they have. 

 

This is like an additional tax, and additional stress, on those who are ill with poor mental health, as is discriminatory. 

 

Responses from the CCG and LPT would be welcome. 

 

I would also ask that the Leicester City Council Health and Wellbeing scrutiny commission agrees to take this up with NHS England and asks that there are agreements with phone companies about making those telephone services COMPLETELY freephone - in order that already vulnerable people are not faced with huge bills just for accessing the services they need. 

 

Is Leicestershire the only place where this happens? 

 

I've also copied in Keith Vaz as my local MP and Jon Ashworth MP as the shadow Health secretary as they could also take this up nationally. 

 

It is a scandal that while society tries to breakdown the stigma of poor mental health, the telephone companies are making a lot of money from people accessing help, especially when that help is mostly available only via telephone.”

 

The Monitoring Officer also will report on the receipt of any further questions, representations and statements of case submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures.

Minutes:

Ms Lucy Chaplin submitted the following representation:

 

“Are health providers aware that by offering mental health support through mainly telephone-based services that phone companies - particularly mobile phone companies - do not inform users that they may have used up contracted minutes and accumulated large phone bills in accessing the support they need? 

 

While it is very helpful to be able to call the crisis team, and other services, it is very difficult to keep track of time. Indeed why should someone who is already so unwell that they need these services have the additional burden of thinking about their phone bill?

 

Has any part of the NHS looked into this, or discussed the issue with mobile phone companies, as many patients with severe mental health problems are already on reduced income, indeed many are classed as homeless, and cannot afford huge phone bills. When people can't pay the bill their phones are barred by companies, which actually cuts patients off from ALL the support networks they have. 

 

This is like an additional tax, and additional stress, on those who are ill with poor mental health, as is discriminatory. 

 

Responses from the CCG and LPT would be welcome. 

 

I would also ask that the Leicester City Council Health and Wellbeing scrutiny commission agrees to take this up with NHS England and asks that there are agreements with phone companies about making those telephone services COMPLETELY freephone - in order that already vulnerable people are not faced with huge bills just for accessing the services they need. 

 

Is Leicestershire the only place where this happens? 

 

I've also copied in Keith Vaz as my local MP and Jon Ashworth MP as the shadow Health secretary as they could also take this up nationally. 

 

It is a scandal that while society tries to breakdown the stigma of poor mental health, the telephone companies are making a lot of money from people accessing help, especially when that help is mostly available only via telephone.”

 

On behalf of Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group, Richard Morris (Director of Corporate Affairs) gave the following response:

 

“We would like to thank Ms Chaplin for raising these issues. We have spoken with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust who have provided the following response:

 

‘Where phone-based support is offered to our patients and service users we want to ensure it is accessible and affordable. Our 24-hour mental health crisis support line, commissioned from our partners at Turning Point, is free to call from landlines and most mobile networks and a call-back service is also offered via email request. Similarly, our suite of ChatHealth support services provide confidential support via a secure text messaging service.

 

Where individuals are given landline numbers we also aim to ensure they have information about the other options open to them. However, if there is more we can do we will certainly consider it and we are grateful for this helpful feedback. We will be reviewing it as part of our plans to develop of a single central access point as part of our All-Age Transformation programme to transform our mental health and learning disabilities services.’

 

The local clinical commissioning groups are working with LPT to support them in their plans to transform local services.

 

We also believe that Ms Chaplin’s feedback raises national challenges relating to accessibility and cost of phone lines. This in turn raises potential issues with availability of funding, patient confidentiality and the need to work with phone companies to bring about change. This issue is therefore wider than Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and may also affect a broader range of health services. As such we will be raising the matter with NHS England for their consideration.”

 

AGREED:

That the Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group be asked to circulate the letter sent to NHS England in relation to this matter, and any response received, to the members of this Commission for information.