Agenda and minutes

The Chairman explained that this meeting had been convened specifically to discuss the Kent and Medway Five Year Plan. This item had been rescheduled from the Health and Wellbeing Board’s last meeting in November, from which health colleagues needed to withdraw due to the implications of purdah around the recent general election.

Apologies for absence were received from Board Members Councillor Maple and the NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) representatives Ian Ayres and Dr Antonia Moore.

Apologies for absence were also received from invited attendees James Devine (Chief Executive, Medway NHS Foundation Trust) and Helen Greatorex (Chief Executive, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust).

To approve the record of the meeting held on 5 November 2019.

The record of the meeting held on 5 November 2019 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct.

There were none.

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct.  Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January, sets out the future of healthcare over the next 10 years. To respond to this, the local area is required by NHS England to prepare and implement a local plan to cover the next five years. The draft five year plan set out within the Exempt Appendix for discussion by the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Discussion

The Kent and Medway Five Year Plan had been produced in response to the NHS Long Term Plan published in early 2019 as a statutory requirement of national NHS regulators. It had been endorsed by the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) / Integrated Care System (ICS) Partnership Board. However, it remained in draft form until it had been approved by NHS England. The Plan would likely be approved by NHS England at the end of January upon which it would be published by the Kent and Medway STP.

The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the exempt appendix to agenda item 5 (Kent and Medway Five Year Plan), which included the Five Year Plan, because consideration of this matter in public would disclose information falling within paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 6 (Exclusion of Press and Public) and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Health and Wellbeing Board considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

There was a detailed discussion in relation to the new health system structure which included the Kent and Medway ICS and the Medway and Swale Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and how this new structure would enable greater collaborative working to ensure better value and outcomes for Medway residents. It was generally recognised that there needed to be a focus on tackling inequalities and providing interventions for Medway’s most deprived populations. There was also a need for a strong focus on prevention and integration. Concern was expressed in relation to Medway’s voice under the new structure and future funding arrangements.

The Board received a presentation on the key messages and next steps arising from the Plan. A number of comments were subsequently made in relation to specific challenges in Medway. Comments were also made in relation to the technical nature and monitoring of the Plan. It was explained that a plain English version of the Plan would be published alongside the technical document upon sign off from NHS England. The Plan would also be underpinned by annual operating Plans to ensure the delivery of the main aims.

Decision

The Health and Wellbeing Board considered and noted the draft Plan set out within the Exempt Appendix.