Agenda item - Delivering the NHS Five Year Forward View: Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP)

To hear from Barbara Deacon, Health & Wellbeing Board Development Manager

204.1  Barbara Deacon, the Health & Wellbeing Board Development Manager explained that Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) was a new planning framework for NHS services which was announced in December 2015. It was based on a regional footprint, rather than a single organisation. Locally this would involve East & West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and Surrey. This would run up until March 2021 and closely linked to the 5 year Forward View.

204.2  The aim was to close three gaps:

·         Health & wellbeing

·         Care & quality

·         Finance & efficiency

Significant improvements are expected. Currently there were between 8 to 300 different sources of funding, which would be merged in a process similar to that of Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). This would include all Acute Hospital Trusts, hospitals and local authorities. Michael Watson will be leading the local STP. This would mainly involve clinical staff and was a planning framework, rather than a reorganisation.

204.3  Concern was expressed by some attendees about the lack of consultation about this stage of the process and the OPC confirmed that they would seek be inviting a representative of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to their September public meeting and write to the CCG outlining their concerns e.g. GP sustainability. They would also write to local MPs about these concerns.

204.4  The STP involves 9 must do’s for 2016/17 include cancer waiting times and services for people with learning disabilities. It could be seen as a devolution of health. Barbara Deacon had not received a response to an enquiry about how the STP would work with Health & Wellbeing Boards and the CCGs.

204.5  Again members of the public expressed concerns as to whether the 9 must do’s were impossible, especially given the scale of the financial gaps. There were worries about the continuous changes facing the NHS and the impact of this uncertainty.

Actions: Penny Morley to write to CCG outlining their concerns and requesting an urgent meeting.