Meeting documents

Purpose:

This item is for Committee Members to receive a progress report on the community hubs in Marlow and Thame and to hear how the plans are progressing with the other components of the Trust’s vision for developing care closer to home.

Attendees:

Carolyn Morrice, Chief Nurse, Bucks Healthcare Trust

Neil Macdonald, Chief Executive, Bucks Healthcare Trust

Lou Patten, Chief Officer, Clinical Commissioning Group

Papers:

Briefing paper attached

Intended outcome:

For Members to seek reassurance that the Marlow and Thame community hubs are working well and the plans for rolling out further care in the community are on track.

The Chairman welcomed Ms C Morrice, Chief Nurse, Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust, Mr N Macdonald, Chief Executive, Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust and Ms L Patten, Chief Executive, Clinical Commissioning Group.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·         In response to a question about GP engagement and how well the services available at the hubs were communicated and embedded in GP surgeries, Mr Macdonald explained that behaviours and awareness of the hubs would increase as the number of GPs referring increased and thereby over time, the services would be embedded in the surgeries.  Over the coming months, there were plans to introduce patient self-referral to the hubs.  Mr Macdonald went on to explain about the development of a communications App which would allow GPs to select from a list of options and communicate directly with consultants in the Hospital and Community settlement.  This would be mandated and the only way patients could come into the Trust.  Technical testing was currently taking place and it was hoped that the project would go live during Q4 (January to March 2019).

·         Ms Morrice went on to say that as well as developing the technical side, the relationship between GPs and the health professionals working in the hubs was key so a new "connector" role had be established to build on the relationship side. 

·         The important work of the Patient Participation Groups was acknowledged and the key role of the Practice Managers, in terms of communicating with GPs and spreading information about the hubs.  Ms Patten reported that there were a number of networks for Practice Managers but stressed that the job roles for Practice Manager varies from place to place.  The Clinical Commissioning Group supports Practice Managers, particularly in terms of training.  Ms Morrice added that locality meetings took place and provided a good opportunity to share best practice and learning but agreed that these networks could be developed further.

·         In response to a question about whether GPs across the county were referring to the hubs and not just Marlow and Thame residents, Mr Macdonald explained that access is county-wide.  A GP would call the "Silver phone", manned Monday to Friday between 9-5pm by a geriatrician who would make a decision with the GP as to where the patient should be seen, for example, MuDAS (Multi-disciplinary Day Assessment Service), A&E at Stoke Mandeville or at one of the community hubs.  Mr Macdonald explained that the challenges were around providing services which were "locality based".

·         Transport continued to be a challenge but lessons had been learnt in terms of appointment times and delays in waiting for transport had improved.  The voluntary services were continuing to help and support the hubs.  Consideration was being given to developing tele-meds and how to minimise hospital transport in light of the major transport infrastructure projects across the county.

·         There were no parking fees at the hubs but there were plans to review this to deter general parking at the hubs.

·         A Member asked about the timescales for further roll-out of the hubs and the continued evaluation of the changes.  Mr Macdonald confirmed that the data would still be collected and would be used to evaluate the success of the hubs. 

·         The Population Health model was based on evidence which showed what was needed for each locality and services were built around this.  It was acknowledged that there was a need to manage peoples’ expectations around what they should expect in their local area.

·         In response to a question around success criteria for the hubs, Mr Macdonald confirmed that the original proposal contained a number of targets and there were three key tests used to measure success – do the hubs produce good patient outcomes, good value for the patient and are they affordable for the tax payer.

·         A Member queried the numbers behind the staff feedback mentioned in the report – it states that of those who attended a staff engagement session, 100% said that it was good or excellent.  Ms Morrice agreed to provide the actual figures after the meeting.

ACTION: Ms Morrice

The Chairman thanked the presenters and asked for an update on the continued progress and implementation of plans at a future Committee meeting.