Nicola Jones to attend
(Lead Executive Member for the above item – Cllr Bastone)
Minutes:
O&S.28/16
The Chairman introduced the Head of Commissioning and the Interim Director of Integrated Commissioning from NEW Devon CCG, who were in attendance to provide a presentation and respond to Member questions. In addition, the Head of Integration for South Devon and Torbay CCG was also in attendance in the event of any specific questions relating to that part of the South Hams.
The presentation included reference to the seven priorities of the NEW Devon CCG and how these were being delivered by the organisation. The Panel noted that the priorities were as follows:
- Urgent Care;
- Children and Young People;
- Elective Care;
- Individual High Cost Packages of Care;
- Health and Wellbeing Hubs;
- Mental Health; and
- Primary Care.
In discussion, the following points were raised:-
(i) Some Members were of the view that the recent consultation exercise undertaken by the South Devon and Torbay CCG was very leading which brought into question the merits of the process. In reply, the representative advised that the questionnaire had been designed with a range of stakeholders being involved, however she did advised that the view of the Member had already been made on recent occasions. As a comfort, the Panel was advised that stakeholder meetings were ongoing and would help to form a set of proposals to be presented to the Governing Body during early 2017;
(ii) With regard to the proposals specifically relating to Dartmouth, a local ward Member informed that the Riverview Care Home proposal was broadly supported. However, the Member urged the CCG to take account of the overwhelming majority of local residents and include provision for 8 dedicated hospital beds rather than the current proposal of 4, which was felt to be insufficient;
(iii) A Member stated his view that the model to close Community Hospital Beds was a good concept. However, in reality, the concept did not work. In expanding upon the point, Members recognised that there were benefits to care at home, but emphasised that this was not always appropriate. In addition, a Member also highlighted the challenges arising from the rurality of the district and, as an example, made reference to the reluctance of a number of carers to be travelling on rural roads during the winter months;
(iv) The representatives confirmed that the matter of some patients not being able to access services which were actually closer to their homes, but outside of the CCG geographical area of responsibility, was currently being reviewed across all CCGs;
(v) In recognising the importance of Members being kept up to date with the workings of the CCGs, it was requested that the representatives be invited to provide a further update to the Panel at its meeting on 4 May 2017;
(vi) A Member questioned how the CCGs could guarantee that older residents who lived on their own still received the appropriate level of care in their own homes. In response, the representatives advised that multi-disciplinary intermediate care teams had been established who met on a daily basis to ensure that care was in place and appropriate for an individual’s needs