Agenda item

Members of the Select Committee are asked to consider the information presented within the report and note the key issues described.

Alex Francis, Team Manager - Healthwatch B&NES and Healthwatch South Gloucestershire addressed the Select Committee. A copy of the update can be found on their Minute Book and as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

NHS Quality Accounts

During quarter one, Healthwatch B&NES undertook its role to receive, review and respond to the NHS Quality Accounts. These reports, which are published annually, capture the work that NHS providers are carrying out to improve the quality of care and treatment that they provide.

Healthwatch B&NES responded to five Quality Accounts during this period, including:

·  Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

·  Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

·  Arriva Transport Solutions Limited

·  Care UK

·  South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Healthwatch will arrange to meet with providers throughout the year to seek updates on the work that is being carried out and track their progress.

It is hoped that a closer working relationship with NHS providers around the Quality Accounts will enable Healthwatch to have a stronger understanding of the improvements that are being made locally, and the impact that patients can expect to see in the services that they receive.

Work plan: Healthwatch B&NES 2017/18

In March 2017, the Healthwatch B&NES advisory group met to discuss the project’s work priorities for the year. Based upon feedback received from local residents and Healthwatch champions during the past 12 months; intelligence gathered by Healthwatch representatives and staff at meetings and boards; and consideration of the strategic priorities for health and wellbeing in B&NES, the following topics have been selected for staff and volunteers to focus on:

·  Mental Health

·  Accessible Information Standard (AIS)

·  Urgent Care

·  Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP)

New Healthwatch B&NES team

Following some staff changes at The Care Forum during April and May, I am pleased to announce a new member of the team, Dan Hull, who is joining us as Healthwatch B&NES engagement officer. Dan will work alongside me and Pat Foster (Volunteer Support Officer) to engage with the public, gather their views on local services, and help to promote the project and its role as an independent voice for local people.

Councillor Tim Ball asked what help can be given to members of the public who have autism and have difficulty in accessing information.

Alex Francis replied that she had had a recent conversation with a member of the public in South Gloucestershire on this matter and acknowledged that it is a difficult area to know where to signpost people. She added that she thought that within B&NES there was an Autism Planning Group.

The Director of Integrated Health & Care Commissioning said that she would see what further information was available locally.

Councillor Bryan Organ asked the purpose of scrutinising the Arriva Transport Solutions Quality Account.

Alex Francis replied that they provide Non-Emergency Patient Transport.

The Chair thanked Alex Francis for the update on behalf of the Select Committee.