To receive a presentation on the subject of the Worcestershire Sustainability and Transformation Plan from the Director of Strategy and Business from the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.
(Presentation to follow)
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation (copy of presentation slides attached for information at Appendix 1) on the subject of the Worcestershire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) from Susan Harris, Director of Strategy and Business for the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and Sarah Smith, Director of Strategy, Planning and Improvement for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Ms Harris and Ms Smith thanked Members for the opportunity to explain what the STP was and what it was hoping to achieve; it’s development process and timeline and provided information on early priorities and how early engagement would be sought on the Plan. The general concept of the plan was outlined, the primary aim being to bring the different Service strands within the system together and to develop a more collective and cohesive five year forward plan.
Members were provided with information and clarification on queries in relation to the Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP in terms of:
· The geography and population of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
· The various service providers for the area in terms of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS Trusts, Primary Care providers, Worcestershire County and Herefordshire Councils.
· The three aims of the STP relating to health and wellbeing, care and quality and finance and efficiency.
· The importance of the STP in terms of accessing the Sustainable and Transformation Fund which a significant proportion of the additional money coming into the NHS is derived from.
· The five transformation priorities in terms of:
Ø maximising efficiency and effectiveness
Ø reshaping the approach to prevention
Ø developing an integrated out of hospital care model
Ø establishing sustainable secondary care services
Ø developing the right workforce.
· The scope of STP work streams for both Herefordshire and Worcestershire in terms of County based projects, the shared approach and learning and reviews of single teams across the whole of the STP footprint were also highlighted, together with the strategic considerations of the STP in terms of:
Ø the structure and organisation of the commissioning functions
Ø the number of hospital beds needed in the system
Ø the role of community hospitals
Ø investment in primary care, community services and mental health
Ø organisation of the contracting approach to support financial and clinical sustainability of providers.
In regard to communication and engagement, Members were advised that consultation work would be carried out over the summer months to seek the views of organisations and stakeholders on shaping service provision with the aim of submitting the plan at the end of September. Various specific issues were also highlighted by Committee Members during the discussion that Ms Harris and Ms Smith responded to, including:
· The ongoing issues for the residents of Redditch and its neighbouring districts in regard to the movement of crucial services from the Alexandra Hospital.
· Collective team approaches to provide support and continuity for people with chronic or complex conditions / mental health issues.
· Recruitment and retention of Doctors and Nurses.
· Links to schools to promote careers in the NHS.
· Transport difficulties for staff and patients.
· Difficulties getting GP appointments and visiting A & E instead.
· More use of Practice Nurses and Pharmacists in advisory roles.
· Work Streams – cross area working with other Trusts/Authorities outside of Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
Ms Harris acknowledged that the situation within the Health Service was difficult and complex on many levels and accepted that emotions were very evident with the situation in Redditch being particularly sensitive. However, in order to provide sustainable service provision, available resources had to be looked at collectively to ensure they were being used as effectively as possible. Difficult decisions (which, were similarly having to be made by other Trusts across the Country), were having to be made, with the centralisation of some services being inevitable.
In terms of planned consultation, Members stressed the need to ensure that information and presentations were provided in clear concise terminology for ease of understanding. Ms Harris advised that early feedback on the proposals was critical to progressing the Plan and the Committee’s input and support was very much appreciated. Ms Harris clarified that further presentations would be available and that she would be happy to provide a follow-up presentation on the Plan when the work had been completed. Ms Harris further offered to provide a simplified document covering the information that had been provided.
RESOLVED that
1) the presentation be noted; and
2) a further follow up consultation be provided on the plan once work had been completed.