Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Charlie Best.

Councillor Graham Lawman declared that he was a public governor of Kettering General Hospital.

Councillor Mark Pengelly also declared that he worked for the British Red Cross, which also worked with Kettering General Hospital.

RESOLVED that: The minutes be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

RESOLVED: The Health Scrutiny Committee:

                   i.        Performance monitoring: Seeks reassurance and asks that a six-monthly report, with relevant metrics, risks and outcomes capturing A&E performance and health assessment rates of children & young people, be provided.

                  ii.        Targeted recruitment and retention: Suggests specific partnership work with the local university and other relevant institutions to ensure steady supply of local health care professionals.

                 iii.        Integration of Health care (ICB) and Social care (NNC): Urges the ICB to foster stronger collaboration with social care, to address broader determinants of health that impacts GP service demands.

                iv.        Governance/Corporate: Requests that any future reports to Health Scrutiny Committee use the scrutiny reporting template that caters specifically to scrutiny, providing relevant context, details, options and possible recommendations. The report should avoid jargon and spell out acronyms when used for the first time.

                  v.        Support North Northants Project: Requests that the ICB contact the LAP co-ordinators to liaise on funding for the ‘Support North Northants’ project, with a budget of £175k.

The Committee considered a presentation by the Directors of Strategy and Planning and Primary Care from the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which outlined the ICB’s Five-Year Joint Forward Plan (2024-2029).

During discussion, the principal points were noted:

·         Members queried what specific financial challenges the ICB faced and how they could impact the implemented of the plan and services provided to residents.

·         Members queried how the ICB intended to manage financial resources to ensure financial sustainability of its plan, despite the existing £34.8M budget deficit.

·         One member expressed concern, regarding 2023/24 savings, and scepticism that service areas had delivered more savings than were required to balance budget deficit positions.

·         Members queried whether a breakdown of the planned allocation of financial resources was available to demonstrate how each area would ensure service delivery.

·         One member emphasised the significance of work around prevention within integrated care and queried what percentage of funding had been dedicated towards prevention. The member expressed concern regarding the lack of reference to communication within the presentation and suggested that the ICB should seek feedback from its partners and stakeholders to further inform future reports.

·         Members queried how the ICB’s plan aligned with the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Partnership’s ‘Live Your Best Life Strategy’ and the Health and Wellbeing Board strategies for North and West Northamptonshire. Members questioned how the ICB would utilise the anticipated £175K funding to support the Local Area Partnerships.

·         Members queried what agreed outcomes, metrics and key performance indicators would be implemented by the ICB to measure its success and how often they would be reported to Health Scrutiny. Members also questioned how outcomes would be communicated to residents and how their feedback would be incorporated into these measurements.

·         Regarding delivery partnerships, outlined in the report, one member expressed disappointment in relation to the lack of reference of Local Area Partnerships. The member queried whether work concerning prevention in falls of patients aged 65+ continued to be monitored.

In response, the Directors from the ICB clarified that:

·         The ICB was in the process of finalising the 2024/25 service plans and budgets with NHS England. The ICB would prioritise further improving productivity, particularly around planned care in hospitals.

·         The ICB was in the process of formulating an operational financial plan, to address its budgetary constraints.

·         Information regarding 2023/24 savings would be provided following the meeting.

·         Programme Boards had been established, with project leads, to oversee each element of the plan. An overall breakdown of the planned allocation of financial resources was not available at the time of the meeting.

·         Prevention was one of the core priorities of the ICB’s plan and was embedded within each of the programmes of work, such as mental health and learning disabilities. The ICB had employed an approach towards focusing on prevention and health inequalities. Additional work was also being carried out around the Prevention Board.

·         The ICB could not commit to any funding guarantees regarding the anticipated £175k at the meeting, since its financial plan had not yet been approved.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

RESOLVED: The Health Scrutiny Committee:

      i.        Effectiveness of digital tools and portals:  Asks that data and evidence of outcomes/results from patients and users be provided as part of the next update in six months.

    ii.        Proactiveness: Asks the ICB to establish a regular review and feedback mechanism/report involving patients and health care professionals.

The Committee considered a presentation by the Directors of Strategy and Planning and Primary Care from the ICB, regarding primary care, which outlined the performance and availability of GP services within North Northamptonshire.

During discussion, the principal points were noted:

·         One member requested that all Councillors be informed of the ‘trigger point’ of the number of houses in large estates, to gain understanding of when funding may be provided for new GP surgeries. The member expressed concern that areas such as Hanwood Park in Kettering did not have GP surgeries.

·         Members queried how access to primary healthcare could be improved for young people.

·         One member emphasised the importance of increasing capacity and improving the interface between primary and secondary care.

·         Members expressed concern regarding capacity issues for GP surgeries and pharmacies and that the standard of care was often not consistent across the board. Members praised NHS Health Checks as effective prevention.

In response, the Directors from the ICB clarified that:

·         The ICB was actively engaged in work to assess areas such as Hanwood Park and how GP availability could be improved moving forward.

·         ‘Young health watch’ was carrying out important work with young people.

·         The ICB aimed to build resilience across primary care, while managing the urgent care demand. National solutions looked at different ways of working.

RESOLVED: The Health Scrutiny Committee:

      i.        Effectiveness of digital tools and portals:  Asks that data and evidence of outcomes/results from patients and users be provided as part of the next update in six months.

    ii.        Proactiveness: Asks the ICB to establish a regular review and feedback mechanism/report involving patients and health care professionals.

RESOLVED: The Committee notes the Scrutiny Work Plan as it relates to Health Scrutiny.

RESOLVED: The Committee notes the Scrutiny Work Plan as it relates to Health Scrutiny.

There being no further business, the Chair thanked the Committee for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9:17pm.