Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Mr M Johnson, Mr A Stafford and Mr R P Tomlinson.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 20 May 2018). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

Previously circulated

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 March 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Attending for this Item were:

Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (WHCT)

Sue Harris, Director of Strategy and Partnerships

Melanie Roberts, Deputy Chief Operating Officer/Associate Director Integrated Community Services

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT)

Jane Ball, Deputy Director of Planning and Development

Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)

Ruth Lemiech, Director of Strategy

Heather Macdonald, Deputy Director of Strategy

Worcestershire County Council (WCC)

Richard Keble, Assistant Director of Adult Services

By way of presentation, the background, current situation and future plans of Neighbourhood Teams was discussed.

It was noted that integrating care in Worcestershire was not a new concept and health partners had been working together for a long time to provide a place based integrated service in response to feedback from residents.

The work around Neighbourhood Teams was now a central theme of the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) under the STP Priority 3, 'developing out of hospital care'.  It would provide integration at a locality level, maximise the use of community hospitals and sustain general practice with a strong focus on frailty, end of life and dementia.

The teams would provide integration of all community services and be embedded in neighbourhoods, with populations of 30,000 – 50,000.  In Worcestershire, 14 teams were planned – 3 in Wyre Forest, 4 in Redditch & Bromsgrove and 7 in South Worcestershire.  All teams would have Leads from Social Care, GPs  and the Health and Care Trust Lead along with Nurses, Therapists, Healthcare Assistants, Promoting Independence and Administration Staff.

As the new teams would be working together from a variety of backgrounds, it would replace what was currently in place, focussing on the patient, not the process or the need to refer between services.  The team approach would also provide one single point of contact and allow for joint working, including developing consistency across documentation.

Each team would have monthly Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) discussions, resulting in patients being reviewed frequently and being referred and signposted if extra support was required.  The impact of MDT discussion and intervention would aim to reduce A&E attendance and admission and generally reduce the number of GP surgery contacts.

Expected outcomes from the Neighbourhood Teams would include support for people to live independently and self-manage their conditions, being proactive about care to avoid crisis where possible, more choice to stay at home and better care co-ordination.  Additionally, staff would receive a more satisfying work environment and more time to spend with patients as there would be less duplication.  For the health system, benefits would include reduced reliance on secondary care and emergency admissions, a reduction in inpatient stays and facilitation of discharge, finance advantages and a single point of contact for the Neighbourhood Teams.

It had been agreed not to launch the Teams, rather be incremental in their introduction, however, by June 2018 all 14 Teams should be operational and priorities for the coming year would include bringing back office functions together and increasing involvement of partners including housing and voluntary and community organisations.  In conclusion,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 880.

The Chairman reported that as a result of recent local elections, Ms N Wood-Ford (Redditch) and Mrs A Hingley (Wyre Forest) were no longer District Council HOSC Members and both were thanked for their contribution.

Mr Baker distributed a flyer promoting the health and well-being plan in Malvern Hills.

Concern was raised about the pressure on Worcestershire Royal Hospital and a report that recruitment of staff was being delayed due to their English Language skills not being at an expected level and no support being available, despite other Trusts offering support to potential new recruits in similar situations.  The members would send details to the Chairman so that he could explore this with the Acute Trust.