Agenda item

6.1 Mr Simon Burt provided an overview of the content of the report and highlighted: the Gala Resource Centre (GRC) was a day service for adults with mental health problems which was building based in Galashiels; it had been temporarily closed since 2021; previous service users had either completed their course of treatment or had been referred to other appropriate services; since its inception there had been a process of ongoing service modernisation to develop a range of alternative services to enhance the quantity of support to adults experiencing mental ill health issues; formation of the renew service; the introduction of Miller House; short term interventions; wellbeing college; and the local area intervention service.

6.2 Mr Burt assured the Board that as a result of the additional support available there were no negative impacts identified for service users on the closure of the GRC and a comprehensive equalities impact assessment had been carried out. He emphasised that the new services provided an improved equity of services. He also commented that the closure of the GRC would contribute roughly £167k towards off setting cost pressures across the mental health services budget.

6.3 The Chair welcomed the comprehensive document and clear recommendation.

6.4 Mrs Karen Hamilton enquired if the proposal would lead to any impact on waiting times, either positive or negative. Mr Burt advised that the closure of GRC would not impact on waiting times in a negative way and the biggest challenge for mental health services waiting lists was the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) which would not be impacted by the closure.

6.5 Mr Tris Taylor thanked Mr Burt for the detailed equalities impact assessment and commented that it was helpful to see the outcomes with timelines as well as the governance arrangements.

6.6 Mr John McLaren requested clarification in the equalities impact assessment and enquired if the cross meant it had been considered or was not an impact. Mr Burt thanked Wendy Henderson for her help with the equalities impact assessment and explained the process followed. He commented that in terms of people with disabilities there would be no adverse impact on those individuals if the change were to occur and actually there would be a positive impact since the building in Galashiels was not accessible to people with disabilities whilst the services now provided had more accessibility for people with disabilities.

6.7 Dr Rachel Mollart welcomed the suggestion of a reinvestment into an emotional and unstable personality disorder service, which was a service that GPS had been asking for. If the reinvestment was agreed she suggested it might be possible to link it to the renew service and PCIP and she asked that any such service proposal be submitted to the GP Sub Committee for discussion.

 6.8 Dr Lynn McCallum suggested the discussion on emotional and unstable personality disorder service be taken outwith the meeting as she was keen to discuss it with the mental health and psychology teams before a discussion was had at the GP Sub Committee.

6.9 Ms Juliana Amaral provided feedback regarding the lived experience and long term flexible support. She enquired if the services were time bound and if there were waiting lists for individuals to access those services.

 6.10 Cllr Tom Weatherston echoed comments surrounding the document being a document with which the Board were able to make and justify their decisions.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD agreed to the closure of the Gala Resource Centre.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD agreed to the reinvestment of £70k to provide improved services to those with an Emotional and Unstable Personality Disorder.