Agenda item

The One Croydon Alliance Agreement supports the Council’s key strategic priorities with regard to promoting and sustaining independence, well-being and good health outcomes for Croydon residents.

The Panel were informed that the report on the extension of the One Croydon Alliance was taken to the Cabinet meeting on 22 January 2018 and was agreed.

The LIFE service had started in September 2017 and was supporting residents to be discharged from hospital and had been successful with 80% of reablement packages ceasing within six weeks compared to 18% previously. While the data for the winter period had not been validated yet it appeared that the figures had dropped to 50-60% due to the pressures experienced by the hospital.

. The Chair noted that the team had been visited by the National Home from Hospital and had received positive feedback in regards to the leadership and there was a recommendation for other systems to visit the LIFE service.

The Panel were informed that 6  ICNs had been rolled out and it was planned to have huddles  at all 57 GP practices by March 2018. While there had been a reduction of 14% in admissions from certain GP practices it was recognised that there was more work to be done with regards to the voluntary sector and building capacity in the community.

Officers informed the Panel that in the north of the borough there was one contractor for reablement, however it was recognised the south of the borough had separate challenges due to geography and so two providers would be procured to provide the service and to address the challenges posed by the area.

It was noted that it would be challenging to roll out across the rest of the borough within two months, however officers stated that they were now faster at implementing Huddles due to the lessons learnt from previous experiences. Each GP practice would have a Huddle and the frequency and length of a Huddle would depend upon the size and need of the practice.

Panel Members stressed that the challenges of the south of the borough were different to those experienced in the north of the borough and noted that they had not been able to feed into the procurement document to ensure that the challenges were addressed. Officers suggested that a meeting with Councillors Hopley and Bird could be arranged to discuss the commissioning in the south of the borough.

The Panel noted that a number of residents did not attend Croydon University Hospital and queried how these residents would benefit from the work being undertaken. The Director of Adult Social Care and All-Age Disability stated that she was working with her counterparts at the council’s where residents were attending hospital to ensure there was a reciprocal approach and that all residents benefited. Work would be undertaken to assist other boroughs to develop a similar service.

Panel Members further noted that there were a number of residents who would be too proud to be assessed for a level of need and queried how this would be addressed. Officers stated that assessments also took place at home and that those undertaking assessments were skilled at developing trust with patients. The Panel were informed that those patients who did not meet the need level to receive full support were also supported, such as settling in back at home after a hospital stay, as this could prevent a readmission.

Officers stated that Phase 2 of the Alliance would include planned care, such as cancer care, and how to support care homes to ensure the best outcomes for patients and the system. Work would be undertaken to review whether the scope of the Alliance could be increased in Phase 3 to look at mental health, learning disability and children’s care, however any decisions to increase the Alliance would require significant negotiations, engagement with relevant stakeholders, and a further Cabinet decision and scrutiny. Officers stressed that it was important to get the over 65s work successfully achieving the ambition of the Alliance before work could be undertaken in additional areas.