Agenda item

This report provides an update to the report presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board on 2 February 2017.

Kent and Medway Transforming Care Partnership (TCP) plans were submitted in May 2016 and have recently been refreshed to include learning from year one of the programme, new initiatives and updated finance plans.

Discussion

The update was introduced by the Assistant Director Commissioning, Business and Intelligence. The Interim Senior Commissioning Officer was also in attendance.

Transforming Care Partnerships aimed to develop community services to enable the closure of inpatient facilities for people with learning disabilities or autism, who displayed challenging behaviour and were accessing community services and provision. The work also aimed to prevent admission into mental health beds.

A relatively high number of patients from Kent and Medway remained in specialist inpatient facilities. The figure for Medway had previously been 22 and had now reduced to 18. The aim was to achieve a significantly lower figure with the Council and NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group working together to identify best provision. Historically, community provision in Medway had been fragmented with gaps in service provision for forensic outreach and comprehensive care response. Work was taking place with Kent County Council colleagues to enable Medway patients’ access to forensic outreach services. The Council and the CCG were working to get a commissioning strategy in place.

A Partnership Board had been created that covered Kent and Medway, although Medway specific provision would still be developed. Service development was likely to present a budgetary pressure to the Council and CCG with work taking place locally and nationally to mitigate this.

A Board Member said that it would be helpful to have comparator data for somewhere such as Brighton. Another Member requested that comparator data be provided for Medway’s statistical neighbours. Comparator data would enable the Board to take a more informed view of local progress. The Interim Senior Commissioning Officer advised that progress should be considered against the targets set by NHS England, which the Kent and Medway Partnership was expected to deliver by March 2019. The target figure for inpatients in Medway was 10. There were currently 18 in Medway and it was anticipated that the target would be met. It was agreed that comparator data would be included in the next update.

A Member questioned whether the current system was effectively supporting the needs of child and young person patients and their families. The Assistant Director Commissioning, Business and Intelligence advised that progress had been made in relation to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provision. Investment by the CCG had resulted in child assessment and treatment waiting lists being reduced with the waiting list for looked after children having been reduced to zero. It was noted that tendering had brought together what was previously a fragmented system, but it was acknowledged that there was a need for overall support for families to be considered further.

In response to Member comments that levels of learning disability and autism in Medway had historically been high compared to other areas, the Director of Children and Adults Services explained that the CCG had been undertaking a review in relation to diagnostic rates which could be shared with the Board. Partnership Commissioning would also be developing an Autism Commissioning Strategy.

Decision

The Health and Wellbeing Board:

i)       Considered how the Board could promote and engage with this important agenda going forward, offered support, feedback and leadership to ensure the successful implementation of the Medway Transforming Care Plan and supported the Council and CCG to comply with statutory duties.

ii)     Agreed for a progress report to be presented to the Board in 3 months’ time.