Agenda item

Innes Richens will present the CCG's two year Operating Plan, which is brought for the information of the HWB.

RECOMMENDED that the CCG's Operating Plan 2017-19 be noted.

Innes Richens presented the CCG's Operating Plan 2017-19; these plans had been required annually and would form part of the national NHS process and now cover a 2 year period of operation. This was produced for the 3 CCGs in the Portsmouth & South East Hants area, in recognition of how much is planned together. The Plan sets out the key expectations in the delivery of the HIOW Sustainability & Transformation Plan (STP) and showed delivery on national indicators and the collective work that had taken place on the Portsmouth Blueprint.  The document set out the financial challenge ahead.

Questions

HWB members asked questions including:

·         The structure of joint committees and governance arrangements; there would be joint planning of the allocation of resources and there is a shared integrated commissioning unit.

·         Would a more accessible version of the plan be made public? This had been designed for a specific purpose so did not lend itself well to public readership but the CCGs did try to share the information within its own publications and websites.

·         Was there a concern regarding the number of GPs reaching retirement? Innes did not believe that Portsmouth has a greater number of GPs reaching retirement than the national average, but the concern is that the demand for their services is increasing and thereby their workload.

·         Was a 'channel-shift' approach being adopted at GP surgeries to help reduce their workload? On-line appointments and some prescriptions were offered.

·         How the current situation with Harry Sotnick House was affecting discharges from hospital and was their sufficient capacity elsewhere? It was reported that Harry Sotnick House had voluntarily suspended the block contract following last year's Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection and in the meantime other care home providers had been used as there is capacity in the city, and the squeeze point was actually in domiciliary care which was being looked at.

·         Whilst care home places are available are they affordable? Innes confirmed that the spend had decreased over the last year but there is an increase for domiciliary care.

·         What public consultation is taking place? Innes reported on the engagement of views and 'The Big Conversation' and the use of social media, including seeking opinions on issues such as the use of regional centres.

·         The historical poor performance of transfers from QA Hospital's A&E Department within 4 hours and if this was improving? Peter Mellor responded that there is the need to prevent the numbers of people needing to go to A&E which should be addressed in the Operating Plan, and for the hospital the flow of beds (and reliance on discharge rates) remained of concern with the relevant agencies continuing to work together. It was also noted that there had not been a noticeable change in demand for A&E services despite the consolidation of walk-in services.  Healthwatch Portsmouth had visited QA Hospital in November to look at the discharge process and would be following this up with meetings with former patients to discuss their experiences, and this information would be shared.

·         Innes Riches would provide requested information to Cllr Stubbs regarding the availability of the Estates Strategy Business Case for St James'.

RESOLVED that the CCG's Operating Plan 2017-19 be noted.