Agenda item

The theme for the meeting was Integration with the NHS and the Interim Director of Adult Social Care provided the Panel with an overview of the current level of integration and future plans in health and social care.  There was already a significant level of integration between the Council and Slough Clinical Commissioning Group in areas such as learning disabilities services and with Berkshire Healthcare Community Foundation Trust on mental health services.  The development of this agenda was pushed further by the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP).

The Department of Health had required NHS and local authority partners to come together to develop STPs and had set the geography as the ‘Frimley footprint’ encompassing Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead, Bracknell & Ascot, Surrey Heath and part of North East Hampshire.  The aim was to produce a joint plan across the system to bring financial balance to the area by 2020 and to seek to improve the quality and range of services to local people.  The governance arrangements were explained and included representation from Slough on the Frimley System Directors Group and the Local Authority Elected Members Group.  The Plan included five priorities, four key enablers and six initiatives.  The latest STP had been submitted to NHS England at the end of June and the feedback would be used to further refine the plan prior to final submission in October.  Plans could not yet be published but some had made their way into the public domain and had been widely covered in the national media, for example in areas where the draft plans included hospital closures.  The Panel was reassured that the STP would not create a new bureaucracy or takeover of local services, and the local plan did not include any hospital closures.

The Panel reviewed a number of key aspects of the STP including the advantages and disadvantages of producing a plan across such a large area.  It was noted that the larger footprint brought economies of scale, and possibly put the area in a better position to attract the future investment monies available through the STP process.  A Member commented that the importance of carers did not come through strongly in the documentation.  It was noted that the report was a high level summary, and the Interim Director confirmed that carers were a vital part of the plan and would take forward the issue of how this could be better reflected in STP documents.

Members asked a number of questions about the digital agenda that involved finding different ways of helping more people manage their own needs and working with partners on areas such as information sharing.  The practical and technological challenges of sharing data and information across different bodies were recognised, however, the Panel was encouraged that all partners had now signed up to a common approach, and that a specification had been developed and procured.  Roll out of the Connected Care work would be phased and the Panel was particularly interested in when the impacts could begin to be assessed.  It was agreed to receive an information report at a meeting later in the municipal year, provisionally March 2017, to check that progress was on track, with the early impact assessments being considered for the Panel work programme in 2017-18.  A specific concern was raised about the standard of discharge records and the support for carers at Wexham Park Hospital and it was agreed that this issue could be raised with Frimley Health NHS FT at the next meeting of the Panel.

The funding position was considered.  As well as providing a vehicle to secure future investment monies for the health and social care system, it was felt that by improving integration and joint working through the STP there was an opportunity to make better use of existing resources.  The Panel discussed a range of other issues including the problem of missed appointments and workforce planning. A question was asked about the system for allocating GP funding to local areas and it was agreed to ask Slough CCG to provide a short explanatory note on the process.  The Panel recognised the potential benefits of the STP approach and highlighted the importance of ensuring the process did not create further bureaucracy and was as simple and streamlined as possible.

At the conclusion of the discussion the report was noted and it was agreed to consider an update in November via an information report.

Resolved –  That the progress being made on the Frimley Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) be noted and the following actions agreed:

a)  That an information report on the final STP be received by the Panel at a future meeting.

b)  That the progress of the Connected Care project would be monitored via an information report to the Panel towards the end of the municipal year with the issue being considered for scrutiny in 2017-18.

c)  That the linkages between STP priorities and initiatives appropriately reflect the importance of carers and emphasise the importance of patient engagement.

d)  That Slough CCG be asked to provide a short briefing note explaining the NHS process of GP funding allocations i.e. need, population, GP registers etc.

(Colin Pill left the meeting at this point)