Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 March were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of Glen Burley, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item

The Scrutiny Board considered a Briefing Note, together with a presentation at the meeting, which provided an update on the Urgent and Emergency Care workstream.

The Programme Mandate for the Urgent and Emergency Care work stream of the STP was appended to the Briefing Note. This provided an overview of the workstream and its programme vision which are to deliver enhanced patient care through improved services and more appropriate access to urgent and emergency care. The workstream will complement other workstreams which aim to reduce unscheduled care in local systems. A number of focused reviews will also be carried out over the next year.The Programme Mandate also provided information in relation to governance arrangements.

The presentation by Glen Burley, Lead Director of the workstream, covered the following areas:-

  • Alignment with the Coventry and Warwickshire A and E Delivery Board

  • Current Performance (March 2018)

  •Influencing Factors

  •Achieving Flow System (Through front door (admissions), inside the

  hospital and back door (discharge))

  •Scope and Challenges

The Scrutiny Board sought information and assurances on a number of issues, including:-

  •Statistics and data provided to enable proper scrutiny of the issues

  •Target figures set to improve performance and initiatives introduced to

    achieve those targets

  •How all interested parties, including staff and patients, are engaged and

    included in any decision making regarding the introduction of system

  improvements

Notwithstanding the complexity of the issue and the national situation in

relation to A and E provision over the Winter period, the Scrutiny Board expressed serious concerns and disappointment regarding the information provided recent A and E performance at UHCW.  Glen Burley indicated that he would convey the concerns raised by the Scrutiny Board to UHWC.

RESOLVED that, in light of the Scrutiny Board’s serious concerns and disappointment in relation to the information provided and the situation in relation to the A and E performance figures at UHWC over the recent Winter period, the following issues be considered by the Scrutiny Board in the next Municipal Year:-

(1)  A generic update on the STP as a whole

(2)  More data and details on each of the workstreams

(3)  Specific A and E Plans and Winter Plans for UHCW

Report of the Director of Adult Services

The Scrutiny Board considered a Briefing Note of the Director of Adult Services which summarised the outcome of the CQC system review and the action plan arising from the identification of areas for improvement by the CQC as a result of the review.

The Department of Health asked the CQC to undertake a programme of targeted reviews in local authority areas. A total of 20 reviews of Health and Social Care Systems where there are challenges particularly in relation to delayed transfers of care were announced and Coventry was selected as one of the first 12 areas to be reviewed.

The Coventry review commenced in December 2017 and a whole system approach was taken focusing on how people move between health and social care, with a focus on people over 65 years of age. The review report was published by CQC on 15 March, 2018 and, in summary, in the course of the review, the CQC found that there was a system wide commitment to serving the people of Coventry well and that Coventry was at the beginning of its journey in ensuring all services worked well in a “joined up way”.  However, the review also highlighted some areas where further work is needed to ensure all those responsible for providing health and care services worked effectively together.

The Coventry action plan was appended to the Briefing Note and contains the following seven sections which group together the areas for improvement arising from the CQC review:-

  •Vision and Strategy

  •Engagement and involvement

  •Performance, pace and drive

  •Flow and use of capacity

  •Market development

  •Workforce

  •Information sharing and system navigation

The Scrutiny Board questioned officers on aspects of the Briefing Note and action plan, particularly in relation to:-

  •Actions identified in the plan to address issues relating to Leadership

 and staff ownership of strategies

  •The biggest challenges in delivering the action plan

  •The proposed future involvement of Scrutiny in the delivery of the action

    Plan

RESOLVED:-

(1)  That the Scrutiny Board notes the outcome of the Review and the subsequent action plan submitted to CQC following the review

(2)  That the Coventry Health and Well-Being Board be requested to share the system-wide data/dashboards referred to in points 3.1 and 3.2 of the action plan with the Scrutiny Board.

Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

Commentary from Joint Quality Account Task Group

The Scrutiny Board considered a Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator which introduced the 2017/18 Quality Accounts commentary. The commentary had been provided by a Task and Finish Group, including Members of the Scrutiny Board, in response to the UHCW Quality Account.

Quality Accounts are annual reports to the public from providers of NHS healthcare services about the quality of services they provide. Their purpose is to encourage the boards and leaders of healthcare organisations to assess quality across all the healthcare services they provide and encourage them to engage in the wider processes of continuous quality improvement. Providers are asked to consider three aspects of quality:-

  •Patient experience

  •Safety

  •Clinical Effectiveness

Quality Accounts are published on the NHS Choices website, as well as being available in hospitals and other locations to illustrate providers’ commitment to quality. They are used by the Care Quality Commission to understand how providers are engaging with patients and stakeholders about quality and the need for improvement. They can also be used by those monitoring or scrutinising providers to assess the risks of an organisation and monitor the services provided.

The Briefing Note outlined the role of the Scrutiny Board as building confidence in the data and the conclusions drawn from it. Scrutiny has the opportunity to provide a commentary on the local Trusts Quality Accounts which the Trusts are required to publish unedited and in full. During the year, a Quality Accounts Task and Finish group made up of representatives from the City Council, Healthwatch Coventry and Healthwatch Warwickshire has met to provide a joint commentary on the Quality Accounts for UHCW. A first draft of the commentary was appended to the Briefing Note and the Scrutiny Board’s views were sought on the document.

RESOLVED that the commentary on the Quality Account produced by the Task and Finish Group be noted and that the Scrutiny Board request that a comment be included in relation to ensure information sharing and openness and transparency with the Scrutiny Board. 

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Scrutiny Board noted their Work Programme for the current municipal year.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

There were no items of urgent public business.

The Scrutiny Board extended their congratulations to David Spurgeon on his recent marriage and thanked him for his continuing contribution to the work of the Scrutiny Board.

The Chair, Councillor D Gannon, was thanked for his work on the Scrutiny Board during the course of the Municipal Year.