Agenda item

To receive a report from the Croydon CCG on their commissioning intentions (report to follow).

The Director of Commissioning gave a presentation which provided an update on their operating plans for 2018/19 and the draft commissioning intentions for 2019/20.

During the presentation the following points were covered:

•The strategic vision and how challenges would be managed

•Addressing the imbalance in systems relating to the Strategic Transformation Plan (STP).

•Significant improvement had been made with the out of hospital programme including the development of improved community services, life programme and other social care initiatives.

•Improvements to the accessibility of community based services were being explored with business cases for various potential improvements being prepared.

•Further challenges were identified in planned care services due to complexities

•Mental Health Services continued to be an area of challenge and remained a priority.

•Further work on action planning around discharged patients would be implemented.

•Commissioning intentions had incorporate working together to ensure service provision was in line with people’s needs.

In response to a question about what was hoped to be achieved through commissioning intentions, officers stated that they were trying to achieve a more integrated service and encourage effective partnerships through building networks with the voluntary sector, SLAM, and NHS, as well as ensuring services were being commissioned appropriately. It was important that partners worked together due to the complex needs of patients and to ensure their needs were being met, which could be achieved by working in partnership.

It was questioned whether there were commissioning challenges in terms of employment of European Union (EU) staff, officers responded that workforce in general was a challenge for the borough which was not limited to the recruitment of EU staff.

A Member questioned the waiting times for GP appointments in the borough and if any noticeable trends had developed. Officers responded that generally people could get an appointment with a GP on any day, but there were more difficulties getting an appointment with a specific GP and there was variation in different areas. Demand would always outweigh supply and the key was to change culture by empowering people to self-care where appropriate as a proportion of appointments made do not require GP interface.

It was commented that inequality was mentioned through the final pages of the report and not the beginning and that there was a need for this to be more explicit in the report. Officers agreed that it was important for this to be highlighted at the forefront and more in depth work was needed in the areas mentioned.

A Member queried the optimism of the financial proposals and questioned the feasibility of the predictions made for the coming year. Officers advised that they were now out of special measures and were in a good place to fulfil the predictions made in the financial proposals.

In response to a question about how confident officers were that the new Accident and Emergency unit at Croydon University Hospital would open in 2018 and what was being done to change the culture of patients wanting to attend neighbouring hospitals for acute health treatment, officers stated that they were on track as planned for the opening later in the year. Intensive work was being carried out to improve health provision, including getting the message across that it was in residents’ interest to choose local services and that the offer at CUH was good. The legacy of the hospital’s old title was something that would take time to overcome but this was being achieved gradually.

Members’ highlighted that further work was needed to support carers, commission services for the drug and alcohol services and improve the offer for those with learning disabilities. Officers responded that joint commissioning and other opportunities were being investigated in order to realise the best outcomes for communities. The interrelationship with mental health and drug and alcohol was also being explored by working closely with public health to identify and implement preventative as well as interventional policies and methods.

The Chair questioned what was being done to address the growing issues with children’s mental health in the borough. Officers responded that this remained an area of priority for the CCG as well as the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). More work was to be done with schools, strengthening of the current mental health steering group and supporting the Voluntary sector were all part of the transformation plan.

The Chair thanked officers for their responses to questions

In reaching its recommendations, the Sub-Committee reached the following CONCLUSIONS:

1. It was encouraging to learn that they were no longer in special measures and hope that they continue to work hard to drive through improvements.

2. The various partnerships and relationships built was positive and was improving outcomes for residents.

3. Inequality was mentioned throughout the report but this should have occurred at the forefront in order to promote transparency in all areas of service.

The Sub- Committee Resolved to recommend that:

1. Explicit reference of inequalities to be provided in the revised report as accountability is more difficult if not referenced explicitly.

2. The CCG to work closely with partners on promoting access to services and intervention for young people with Mental Health issues.