Mental health service contract to be renewed

2 hours ago

Shariqua AhmedCambridgeshire

News image — Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust has its headquarters at Fulbourn Hospital in Cambridge

Google The outside of Elizabeth House, at Fulbourn Hospital. It is an angular brick building, with a line of windows on the top floor. In the foreground is a big green bush and in the distance, on the right, is a police car parked up. — Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust has its headquarters at Fulbourn Hospital in Cambridge

A mental health care provider is due to carry out services for a city council for a further three years.

Peterborough City Council delegates provision of adult social care services for those with mental health needs to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT).

At Wednesday's cabinet meeting, council members have been asked to approve a new £5.5m contract with CPFT, with the existing one expiring on 31 March.

The cabinet report states the partnership had improved service quality and reduced waiting times for residents.

The new contract will cost the council £121,000 more per year, due to increased overheads requested by CPFT. But the local authority said the partnership still provided best value.

The council also believes the continued agreement avoids major disruption that would result from bringing the service in-house.

The local authority said it had seen a rise in demand for services, with people accessing adult mental health teams going up from 167 to 194 during the 2024-25 financial year.

There was also a rise in those accessing mental health services for older people, from 46 to 56 across the 12 months.

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