Agenda item

The Panel will receive an update from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on current issues.

Dr Ian Orpen gave the Select Committee an update on behalf of the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), a summary is set out below.

He informed them that Bath and North East Somerset ranks top for preventing people from dying prematurely. He said that the latest data released on 23^rd September that measures the number of years of life lost (per 100,000 registered patients) from conditions that are usually treatable shows we are the best performing CCG in England. 

Councillor Eleanor Jackson said that she was concerned about an inequality within some areas of the Council.

Dr Ian Orpen replied that it would be a challenge to maintain these current figures and that they would seek to tackle inequality.

Councillor Lin Patterson asked how B&NES currently performs on winter deaths.

Dr Bruce Laurence replied that he felt that we perform well on this matter these days.

The Director of Adult Care and Health Commissioning added that a great deal of energy efficiency work had been carried out on older properties and the homes of elderly people.

Councillor Tim Ball asked if within a future report that some of those inequality factors could be addressed and thought given to as to how those concerned can seek to elongate their lives.

Dr Ian Orpen said that 85% of health outcomes are down to the individual, their lifestyle and employment, but acknowledged the role that they have to play.

He explained to the Select Committee that there is ongoing poor performance in terms of delivering against the national target for A&E waiting times. He said that the position for August 2015 was 86% compared to the national target of 95% of patients in A&E to be seen within four hours. He added that not many areas reach the 95% target.

Councillor Tim Ball asked if the four hour period was broken down into categories at all as he had always felt that any children or those with serious injuries had been seen swiftly.

Dr Ian Orpen replied that he felt that the figures relating to patients arriving at A&E were quite stable, but that the complexity of conditions had increased. He added that on average patients were staying around half a day to a day longer in hospital. He stated that there was never a handover delay between ambulances arriving at the RUH.

Councillor Paul May asked if there was an issue with patients being discharged from A&E.

Dr Ian Orpen replied that the RUH had low numbers in terms of delayed transfer of care.

He informed the Select Committee that the CCG supported the roll out of the new Meningitis B vaccine to protect babies from the disease. He stated that GPs now offer the vaccine alongside other routine infant vaccines at two months, four months and 12 months of age. He added that in August the CCG also promoted availability of the new Meningitis W vaccine for teenagers.

He said that two CCG employees had been selected as finalists in the ‘Excellence in Healthcare Analytics’ category of the E-Health Insider Awards for their work on collating and analysing local data for patients with Type 2 diabetes. The winner will be announced on 1 October 2015.

He added that the CCG had also been shortlisted for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) Healthcare Award in the ‘Commissioning for Carers’ category in recognition of its collaborative working alongside the Council and Bath Carers’ Centre.  The winner will be announced on 18 November.

The Chair thanked Dr Orpen for his update on behalf of the Select Committee.