Minutes:
Donna Moss from DISC was welcomed to the meeting and provided an update of the performance of the service provided by DISC, which had gone live on 1st April 2017. Ms Moss explained that performance thus far had been somewhat disappointing, particularly in relation to the relatively small number of short-term clients in the service and the small number of clients in the service with shared care with GPs. In order to help to address this, a group work and activity volunteer had been recruited. In addition, hosting community aid groups (such as Narcotics Anonymous) was being explored.
The meeting expressed concern that the number of referrals which DISC received from GPs had dropped and discussed what could be done to promote GPs to make more referrals. Ms Moss explained that GPs typically provided contact details for DISC to patients, but formal referrals were more labour intensive for GPs and with the resource challenges facing GPs they were sometimes hesitant to proceed down this route.
The meeting suggested that, if patients agreed to it, GPs could provide DISC with the patient’s contact details to allow DISC to make first contact, which may lead to more people accessing the service. The meeting also suggested that it would be beneficial to provide information regarding DISC’s services in leaflets in local community areas, including pubs.
It was noted that the Area Council Team, Public Health Directorate and the Safe Neighbourhoods Team all had strong links with GPs and it would therefore be beneficial for the Area Manager to facilitate a meeting between the various parties to understand the issues and seek improvements in this area.
Ms Moss also reported that room rentals had reduced at the premises at The Factory. The meeting was informed that income from room rentals was a key part of DISC’s budget for the service. Therefore, Members were requested, where appropriate, to promote The Factory as a potential meeting venue for community groups.
The meeting thanked Ms Moss for her presentation, agreed that this was a useful update and requested that a further update be provided to Area Council in six months.
RESOLVED:- That:
a) The Area Manager facilitate a meeting between DISC, the Area Management Team, Public Health Directorate, Safe Neighbourhoods Team and local GP surgeries to explore ways to increase the number of people accessing DISC’s services;
b) A further update be provided to the Area Council in six months.