Agenda item - Chair's Communications
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Agenda item
Chair's Communications
The Chair of the Board will start the meeting with a short update on recent developments on health and wellbeing.
Minutes:
28.1 The Chair gave the following communication to the Board:
Welcome to the meeting
It is a busy agenda and the Chair’s communications will be noted in full in the minutes.
Changes of personnel within health and social care
I would like to welcome Brian Doughty as Acting Director of Adult Social Care to the Board. Brian will attend while we go through the recruitment process to replace Denise D’Souza who recently retired.
It is also time to say farewell to some CCG colleagues. Dr Xavier Nalletamby, the Chair of the CCG is retiring and this would have been his last meeting, but due to a clash in date with his holiday he is not with us today. I would like to formally thank him for his support and productive joint working. We wish him well in his retirement. I am sure the Board would like me to send a letter of thanks to him given he is not here today.
Dr Christa Beesley, our CCG Chief Accountable Officer is also stepping down but not retiring. Christa will continue her work as a local GP. Again Christa has been a welcome colleague and we will miss her pushing us towards more joint working and better services for our residents.
Better Care Approval
I am delighted to let you know that, following the regional assurance process, the Brighton and Hove joint Better Care Plan between the CCG and the Council has been classified as ‘Approved’. Essentially, the plan meets all NHS England requirements. This means the focus should now be on delivery.
Pharmacy
As some of you may have seen there is a campaign covering local pharmacies: “Keep the ‘Community’ in ‘Community Pharmacy’”. The Department of Health recently announced a reduction of £170 million to the funding of community pharmacies in England this year and it has not ruled out more cuts to follow. It is unclear what impact this will have locally although it is clear that nationally there will be closures.
The Local Government Association has criticised the Department of Health for overlooking the role of community pharmacy as a 'much needed social and economic asset'. The LGA predicted 'unintended consequences that impact elsewhere in the local community'.
Our Board has a responsibility for the PNA – this is the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment. Public Health leads on this area of work which reviews how many and what type of pharmacy as well as their services we have in the city, what gaps there are as well as any indication of over capacity. There is a standing PNA steering group that regularly meets that has specialist pharmaceutical advisors supporting this work.
Board members may well remember signing off the last PNA in 2015.
We have also had reviews of pharmacy services come to the Board as reports or updates through Chair’s communications.
We have been informed that the proposed cuts have been deferred. However, a more recent statement suggests they will still take place. The funding cuts will affect the payments made to pharmacies by NHSE for pharmaceutical services. The cuts to funding may result in some pharmacies no longer being viable and they could close. This could impact on pharmaceutical services in B&H (although not immediately) and will need to be considered before the new PNA is published in March 2018.
As the impact of any changes from this review become known we will ask the steering group for an impact assessment so the Board can be assured that the city has the right type of pharmacy in the right place.
The LGA report is here:
STP
While an item is on the Board papers I would like to just inform the Board of a recent activity. There are now established meetings of all the HWB chairs in the STP area. These have only just been set up and I am now attending these meetings. Needless to say governance and accountability will be on the agenda.
Annual CCG assurance rating announcement
NHS England published its 2015/16 assurance assessment rating for NHS Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), with an overall rating of ‘inadequate’.
A full statement was made by the CCG at the time.
The CCG will be updating the Board with the changes and progress at the next Board meeting.
Coperforma
As those who read or listen to the news will know there has been a succession of headlines about our Patient Transport Service and the provider Coperforma.
HOSC, as the scrutiny committee has received several reports and will continue to do so.
The Health and Wellbeing Board is here to provide the strategic leadership for the health and social care system, especially assuring the public of action being taken and that there will be a fully functioning service.
The situation changes daily and I would like to ask John Child to provide a short update now as to the latest situation.
28.2 John Child told Board members that Sussex CCGs were focusing on patient safety, business continuity and supporting Patient Transport Service (PTS) workers. Coperforma’s performance is improving, although there are still some outstanding issues. PTS performance is being scrutinised in detail by the Brighton & Hove Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC). To date there has been no patient impact arising from the closure of Docklands. High Weald Lewes Havens CCG (HWLH) is working closely with Unison and the GMB to protect the staff involved.
28.3 David Liley told members that Healthwatch has sought assurances from the CCGs that they can manage the impact of Docklands closing. Healthwatch is working closely with the Patient Safety Group to look at the impact of PTS problems on patients. There has been a specific focus on the Royal Sussex County Hospital renal unit.
28.4 Cllr Penn noted that there was justifiable anger at the situation. It is totally unacceptable that staff should not be paid, and it remains to be seen whether adequate due diligence was undertaken in the PTS procurement process. The CCGs need to provide assurance that there will be business continuity.
28.5 Cllr Page noted that this was a very serious situation causing considerable public concern. HOSC would be well advised to ascertain the additional costs incurred by PTS failures (e.g. in terms of taxi hire, missed appointments etc.). The CCGs need to look seriously at the viability of the contract. It is clear that this service should be run by the public sector.
28.6 The Chair told the Board that it was evident that there were many lessons to be learnt here. However, the priority is delivering a safe service. It is very disappointing that some staff are contemplating their fourth employer in six months and that workers have not been paid. The GMB should be commended for the work they have undertaken to support staff financially, and the public may also want to consider contributing. HWLH needs to address this issue urgently. The Chair will ask the HOSC to look at this issue, specifically focusing on the treatment of staff and whether the current costs being incurred are sustainable.
28.7 The Chair informed members that the Brighton & Hove Older People’s Festival will begin at the end of September.
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