Agenda item

Mr Ben Cox, Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager (NHS East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group), provided a presentation regarding the winter planning arrangements for the Frimley Health and Care system, which included details of system planning, implementation, governance and resilience arrangements during 2019/10.

Each year the Frimley Integrated Care System (ICS) had built on the excellent work carried out as part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan to ensure all system partners were prepared to meet the varied challenges over the winter period.  The lessons learnt from the previous year were incorporated into the winter plan to ensure a robust Winter Planning Framework was in place.

Following the conclusion of the presentation, the Chair invited Members to comment and ask questions.

The Panel raised the following points:

·  A Member asked what arrangements were in place to mitigate any impacts of Brexit.  In response, the Panel was provided assurance that plans were in place for all eventualities.

·  Referring to the presentation slide –‘Supporting the Delivery of Elective and Emergency Care – Our Focus’, the Panel noted that an area of focus was to ‘reduce the number of beds occupied by long-stay patients by 25%’.  A Member asked about the number of beds at Wexham Park Hospital.  It was advised that there were approximately 580 beds.  The 25% reduction referred to in the slide related to patients who had been in hospital for 25 days or more.  Work was undertaken to identify the reasons for long-term hospital stays to ensure the right provision for patients was in place.

·  A Member asked how many health care professionals received a flu vaccine.  It was explained that the flu jab was offered to all employees, and approximately 35% of the Social Care Team took up the offer.  However, this figure did not include the number of staff that may have chosen to get the vaccine elsewhere.

·  In relation to waiting times, a Member asked what the average ambulance ‘hand over time’ was and the average length of wait in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department.  It was reported that waiting times were based on the level of demand.  The target ambulance hand over time was 30 minutes; the average wait in A&E was 280 minutes.  The use of Walk-in Centres and nurse navigators had been employed as part of the 2018/19 pilot; however these now formed part of the ‘business as usual’ winter planning.

·  It was noted that a comprehensive communication campaign had been launched to inform members of the public of the options available, other than attending A&E.  Including, promoting the use of 111 services and Walk-in Centres.  School assemblies had been held to inform seven and eight year olds about the importance of the ‘right care, right place, and right time’.  The Panel was informed that people were able to make direct bookings to attend an appointment at a Walk-in Centre; and centres were open every day from 8am – 8pm. 

·  To reach a wide audience it was suggested that the Frimley ICS Communication Plan be shared with community and religious centres.

·  A Member queried what plans were in place to mitigate the impacts of severe weather.  It was explained that robust business continuity plans were in place to ensure staff could access their place of work.  Where appropriate, flexible working arrangements, and facilities such as video conferencing could be used.  Where it was crucial for staff to be on site, 4x4 vehicles were deployed to help transport staff.

·  A Member asked if data was available to demonstrate the positive impact of children receiving the flu vaccine.  The Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager agreed to circulate last year’s data to the Panel following the meeting.

·  In relation to the role of nurse navigators, a Member asked if consideration had been given to locating GPs in the A&E department to alleviate some pressure.  It was explained that the use of nurse navigators was felt to be the most appropriate option.

·  Discussion took place regarding the Government announcement that 16,000 extra GP appointments across East Berkshire would be created through the Primary Care Network Model.  It was explained that this equated to 22 additional appointments per week, per GP surgery.  The Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager agreed to share with the Panel, the document identifying the relevant GP surgeries in Slough.

On behalf of the Panel, the Chair thanked the Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager for the presentation and report.

Resolved –

(a)  That the report and presentation be noted.

(b)  That the Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager be requested to share with the Panel the document identifying the GP surgeries in Slough offering additional patient appointments.

(c)  That the Commissioning and Service Improvement Manager be requested to circulate last year’s flu vaccine data to the Panel.