Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies received from Members of the Committee. 

Members of the Joint Oxfordshire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee were invited to the meeting by the Chairman and the following sent apologies:

Councillor Mark Cherry

Councillor Hilary Hibbert-Biles

District Councillor Paul Barrow

City Councillor Nadine Bély-Summers

District Councillor Neil Owen

There were no declarations of interest.

A presentation which outlines the progress towards the future Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care System, the potential benefits and examples of success from other areas. It also includes a summary of the development of the BOB ICS Long Term Plan and associated timelines.

Stephen Chandler gave a presentation on the NHS Long Term Plan and the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care System (ICS) which is a strand of the Long Term Plan.  The ICS is a new service model bringing together the NHS and care systems.

The priorities of the new system will be prevention and health inequalities; better quality and outcomes; greater support for staff; more use of digital systems and maximum impact for taxpayers’ money.

There are five levels of organisation: national, regional, county, district/city and local.  Members raised a number of issues and Stephen Chandler, Ansaf Azhar and Kiren Collison, Clinical Chair, Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) responded as follows:

·         At the local level, groups of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) can agree local initiatives, for example on mental health, loneliness.  These will only include patients registered with those PCNs.

·         Greater use of digital could include Skype meetings to avoid travel issues or digital monitoring systems.  Those not confident with computers can be assisted to use them at GP practices or libraries.

·         BOB includes three Berkshire local authority areas Berkshire West, Reading and Wokingham.  The boundaries will not be so rigid – many hospitals provide services to patients across county boundaries.

·         Some services will be commissioned at BOB level.  There will be a lot of strategic planning at that level which will still be delivered at a local level.

·         ICS contracts will be outcomes-based so that performance can be scrutinised.

·         Fiona Wise was appointed Executive Lead of BOB.  It is a time-limited post until 2020 to set up BOB ICS.  She has experience as CEO of NHS Trusts.

·         David Clayton-Smith was appointed Independent Chair.  He has a commercial background having worked for Boots but has also held Chair roles for NHS Trusts.

·         A meeting is being set up with the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of HOSCs in the areas covered.

·         It is expected that all parts of the country will be covered by an ICS by 2021.  Some have been more successful than others so far, but they can learn from each other to avoid major differences in performance.

·         Examples of successes include:

o   Gloucestershire provided an extra 100,000 GP appointments.

o   Dorset developed a single care record.

o   West Yorkshire achieved a reduction of admissions related to heart disease.

·         Early adopters of ICS have reported how it broke down barriers and enabled them to work together, for example on services for frail elderly.

·         Oxfordshire already has a very large pooled budget separate from ICS and has led the way in this thinking.

·         ICS will not necessarily mean more privatisation.  It is about delivering better outcomes.  Streamlining is not new.

·         The CCGs will have to publicly consult on the proposed merger and the final decision remains with each CCG.  OCCG will start with a public engagement programme which will be incorporated into the consultation.

·         There will not be a single budget for ICS.  It provides an opportunity to use existing budgets more effectively.  There may be a Green  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58/19