Agenda item

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

Dr Ian Orpen addressed the Panel. 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.

Working together in B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) – CCG Merger Update

As previously reported, NHS England and Improvement approved in principle our application to merge with Swindon and Wiltshire CCGs on 14 October 2019. This was following support from each CCG Board to merge, stakeholder engagement and communication, and a member practice vote.

The three CCG’s Governing Bodies are currently meeting in common, but from 1 April 2020 there will be single a Governing Body for BSW CCG.

Dr Ruth Grabham took up the position of Medical Director for BSW CCG on 1 March 2020.

Locality Clinical Chairs for B&NES (Dr Bryn Bird – who will take on my role for the Panel) and Swindon (Dr Amanda Webb) will join Dr Grabham on the Governing Body from 1 April, and voting is currently underway for the Wiltshire role. Five Locality GPs have also been appointed to the Governing Body, with Dr Tim Sephton representing B&NES. Corinne Edwards is also a local key lead officer.

We are still in the process of recruiting for the registered nurse role. A fully constituted Board is a condition of merger.  We anticipate all posts will be filled by the end of March.

Release of the Five-Year Plan for BSW

The BSW Partnership will be publishing a draft public-facing version of its Five-Year Plan for BSW this week, which sets out how health and care services across the region will be organised between now and 2024.

The priorities have been drawn up by health and care organisations from across BSW and include feedback gained from an extensive public engagement campaign carried out last summer.

The priorities set out to:

•  Address the problems posed by an increasingly elderly population by helping people to age well, stay well at home and improve how community services can help them

•  Help to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and autism and their families by improving access to services

•  Help to deliver the best mental health support for local people, regardless of personal circumstances, age or individual need

The full version of the plan will be available later in the Spring.

Coronavirus planning across B&NES

Nationally, the NHS and Public Health England (PHE) are well prepared for outbreaks of new infectious diseases. 

Locally, we are working extensively with our partners and providers in B&NES and across Swindon and Wiltshire to ensure the safety of our patients and colleagues while also ensuring services are available to the public as normal.

Testing of suspected coronavirus cases is carried out in line with strict regulations. This means that suspected cases are kept in isolation, away from public areas. Any equipment that comes into contact with suspected cases is thoroughly cleaned as appropriate. Specific guidance has also been shared with NHS staff to help safeguard them and others. Members of the public can be reassured that their safety is a top priority, and we encourage them to attend all appointments as usual.

More information can be found here: gov.uk/coronavirus

Our Health, Our Future Panel

Recruitment continues for people to join the Our Health Our Future panel – a new way of engaging with the public in B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire to get their views on health and care issues.

After four weeks of recruitment activity, we have signed up around 400 panel members, well on the way to our target of 1000 members.

The Our Health Our Future Panel is an online panel made up of a representative sample of the population from across our region. Panel members will take part in regular surveys throughout the year as well as form focus groups from time-to-time. The option of hard copy surveys and telephone interviews will be offered to people who are not able to access the survey online.

We are keeping the Get Involved section of our website up to date with details of recruitment activity – visit www.wiltshireccg.nhs.uk for locations, dates and times.

If you would like to know more about the Our Health Our Future Panel or would like to join, please get in touch with the communications team communications.wiltshireccg@nhs.net

Year of the Nurse and Midwife

To celebrate the World Health Organisation-designated ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’, BSW CCG will be supporting local and national plans as well as running our own campaign. Our campaign will focus on recognising the contribution and skills of general practice and community nurses.

Many of the planned events and actions to celebrate the Year of the Nurse and Midwife will happen on 12 May, which is the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. We will also release our BSW campaign materials on that date, and then re-use them throughout the remainder of 2020 under the umbrella of the main campaign.

BSW CCG online

As we head towards the merger with Wiltshire CCG and Swindon CCG in April 2020, we are consolidating our online presence.

Our Twitter accounts have already merged – you can follow us @NHSBSWCCG. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts can also be found at @NHSBSWCCG.

We are on LinkedIn as NHS BSW Clinical Commissioning Group.

By 1 April 2020 we will have a new website in place – this will be bswccg.nhs.uk 

Kevin Burnett asked in terms of the BSW Five-Year Plan how will the CCG ‘Help to improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and autism and their families by improving access to services’?

Dr Orpen replied that it is recognised that this is an area of unmet need and that individual constraints can be a factor. He added that the assumption must not be made that a disability is a barrier and that there are good services in place locally. He added that AWP have been involved in the draft of the Plan.

The Chairman asked if an example could be given of how the BSW Partnership is working together.

The Director of Adult Social Care, Complex and Specialist Commissioning replied that the Autism Partnership Group was a good example in her opinion and that a presentation was due to be given to the next meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

The Chairman asked for this presentation to be added to the Panel’s workplan.

Councillor Paul May asked for reassurance that there will be no adverse effect to local services following the CCG Merger.

Dr Orpen replied that none were anticipated.

Councillor Paul May stated that he would like to see the public be included in the consultation on the Government’s review of Social Care.

Dr Orpen replied that he believed that a cross party conversation had begun but added that the Green Paper had been pending for some time.

Councillor May wished to thank Dr Orpen personally for his work for the Panel and the area as a whole over many years.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked for confirmation as to whether maternity services in Paulton would cease in April.

Corinne Edwards replied that she would find out that information for the Panel.

Councillor Jess David asked if support was in place across the BSW health services in respect of Covid -19.

Dr Orpen replied that a great deal of work was ongoing, and that information was being received regularly from Government. He stated that the NHS and Social Care were already under pressure. He added that it was vital that we make sure that the people who need help receive it.

He said that the NHS 111 telephone service had seen a huge rise in calls and wished to remind people that there was a 111 online service also available. https://111.nhs.uk/

He stated that he felt that services were as well prepared as they can be and at this point in time it was believed that infections would start to decline in April / May.

The Chairman explained that today marks the last scrutiny meeting for Dr Orpen and that he wanted to acknowledge his contribution to improving the health and care of local people and their communities.

• Ian came to Bath in 1986
• He was a GP at St James’s Surgery, Bath from 1991 until last June
• He has been Clinical Chair of the CCG from when it was established in April 2013 and he led on the preparation of that on behalf of B&NES 
• He has had a number of leadership roles including co-chair of Health and Wellbeing Board, Board member of West of England Academic Health Science Network and Associate member of Local Government Association
• He has played a key role in ensuring that GPs’ insight and expertise informs decisions about how we design and deliver services locally.

The Chairman said that it had been a privilege to work with Dr Orpen for many years and that on behalf of the Panel he wished him well in all that he does in the future.

Dr Orpen said that he had enjoyed his time working with the Council in this capacity and that he respected the roles that the Councillors have played in the local decision-making process.