Agenda item

The Medway NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Two Year Operational Plan is closely aligned to the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Plan. The Operational Plan sets out the CCG’s plans for local implementation of the STP over the next two years.

Discussion

The Chief Operating Officer of Medway NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) introduced the CCG Operational Plan. This had been presented to the Medway Health and Wellbeing Board two days earlier, with the comments made by the Board having been circulated to the Committee. These comments had included the need to ensure that the impact of the proposals on children and also, information on Medway as a place for care professionals to work, were both included in the Executive Summary.

The Plan was framed around nine ‘must do’s’ which had been set out by NHS England. It included the following sections:

·         Sustainability and Transformation Plan – this section was replicated in all CCG operational plans across Kent and Medway

·         Finance and Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP)

·         Local care – this included the Medway Model, GP Forward View, Healthy Living Centres and prevention work

·         Primary care, community services, prevention, integration and coordinated care

·         Urgent and emergency care

·         Planned care

·         Cancer

·         Mental health

·         Learning Disabilities: Transforming Care

·         Improving Quality

·         Enablers – this includes areas of work such as IT and Estates which will facilitate improved services in relation to the other areas.

The Committee raised a number of points and questions as follows:

Reference to young people – In response to a question that asked why reference to young people had not been made in the Executive Summary, the Chief Operating Officer confirmed that this had been an oversight which would be addressed.

Role of engagement – The CCG had invested in engagement activity as it was considered core to the work being undertaken. Work was taking place with the Council to ensure that the importance of engagement was championed. A meeting with Council officers had taken place the previous evening. The advice of Healthwatch would also be welcome.

A video had been produced to highlight work undertaken regarding models of care. This would be shared with the Committee. Opportunities for further digital engagement were being explored.

Impact of Brexit – In response to a Member question that asked about the impact of Brexit on service provision, figures for the number of EU citizens employed in healthcare in Medway were not immediately available. Work would be undertaken to establish these figures and the impact of the UK leaving the European Union, following the meeting.

Healthy Living Centres – A Member was concerned that rent costs and low occupancy rates were presenting a barrier to the Healthy Living Centres in Medway becoming a success. The CCG Accountable Officer acknowledged that Healthy Living Centres had not proved to be as successful as anticipated to date. Work was being undertaken to address the low occupancy levels and to help support healthcare professionals at the Centres to work together effectively. Work was also being undertaken to address the affordability of the Centres. Services were starting to be linked to the Medway Model. One example of this was the community geriatrician who was working out of the Woodlands surgery in Gillingham. This provision would be rolled out to all Healthy Living Centres by June 2017. It was anticipated that the Centres would eventually host a full range of healthcare providers but the work required community development and engagement in order to make it a success.

Need to improve cancer treatment – In response to a Member question about the need to improve cancer treatment in Medway, the Chief Operating Officer said that a need had been identified to improve treatment locally, particularly with a view to improving one year survival rates. Encouraging people to stop smoking was an important element of this as lung cancer, which was often caused by smoking, was one of the hardest cancers to detect early. The Council’s Public Health team had worked significantly on this, while  Medway Maritime Hospital had banned smoking across the hospital site.

Preventative work – A Member mentioned a scheme in Manchester that had proactively targeted people most likely to need treatment for lung cancer through the identification of risk factors and asked if anything similar had been done in Medway. The STP Accountable Officer said that, although not related to cancer, an audit tool was being used to identify patients of each GP surgery likely to have difficulties because they were frail. A Clinical Variation Team was working to ensure that the tools provided were being used effectively.

Use of technology – In response to a question that asked how the public would be educated about the role of technology in improving the patient experience, the CCG Accountable Officer mentioned the importance of GP practices having patient mobile numbers, as discussed during the presentation of agenda item number 5. Increasing use was being made of mobile apps. There was a need to promote the existence of such apps, with support from the Council being welcome. A promotional video was due to be produced during the next few weeks.

Mental health consultation – A Member of the Committee asked whether local mental health organisations had been involved in the development of mental health provision. It was confirmed that a number of organisations had been involved. It was noted that a Street Triage service for mental health issues was now operational in Medway. This provision saw a mental health nurse accompany Police officers on patrol in an unmarked police car in order to help address mental health needs.

Decision

The Committee reviewed and commented on the contents of the Medway NHS CCG Operational Plan.