Issue - meetings

Alan Steward 13:45

Report attached.

 CCG officers explained that the plan would be delivered over a two year timescale and covered the financial challenges facing the CCG as well as quality and performance issues. The financial challenge across the three local boroughs totalled £55 million (5-6% of the total budget) of which Havering’s share was around £22 million due to being the highest user of Queen’s Hospital. This meant savings of £35 million had to be delivered for 2017/18 and a system delivery plan was being developed in conjunction with NHS Improvement and the rest of the health economy.

Whilst some inefficiencies could be driven out e.g. there were currently ten different providers of urgent and emergency care, it would remain necessary to also decide which services could continue to be funded. People also needed to be encouraged to use more self-care via for example seeking advice from their pharmacist. Having clinicians available at NHS 111 was also being piloted as a way of allowing people to self-care more.

The main decision making body for this work would be the Integrated Care Partnership Board and a Performance and Delivery Board had been established below this comprising representative of GPs, Local Authorities and providers such as NELFT. Operating plan priorities included primary care improvements, access to emergency care and work on Referral to Treatment times and cancer services. There would also be additional funding for mental health and learning disability services. End of life care would also be covered within the system delivery plan.

It was agreed that responsibilities towards Looked After Children would be included within the plan. There would also be a focus on non-elective admissions. It was suggested that a recent paper from BHRUT on the numbers of children self-harming could be brought to a future meeting of the Board.

Members felt that it was necessary to define what was meant by ‘prevention’ and to also look at how resources were moved across the system. It was noted that GPs spent large amounts of resources prescribing e.g. paracetamol which could be purchased cheaply from supermarkets. It was also not a good use of time for GP’s to chase up patients’ appointments with consultants etc.

It was confirmed that delays to treatment at BHRUT would cost Havering CCG £22 million this year and £8 million next year. Whilst 24,000 patients had been diverted from BHRUT, other providers would still need to be paid for this work.

The Board NOTED the report.