Dr. Russell Hills, Clinical Chair, will be in attendance and will update the Panel on the work of the Clinical Commissioning Group, including its work undertaken as part of the Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership.
Minutes:
Dr. Russell Hills, Clinical Chair, was in attendance and updated the Panel on the work of Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
The Panel was reminded that Surrey Downs CCG was made up of 31 GP membership practices across three localities (Epsom, Dorking and East Elmbridge), 19 of the practices in the Epsom locality. The CCG planned and bought healthcare for just over 305,000 people living in an area that crossed four local authority areas (Epsom & Ewell, Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Reigate & Banstead). The CCG procured health care from a range of different organisations and one of the CCGs largest contracts was with Epsom & St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. The CCG was part of the Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership (formerly the Sustainable Transformation Partnership) which involved eleven organisations and covered a population of around 850,000.
In terms of the population and local health needs in the CCGs catchment area, it was an ageing population and the CCG faced a number of challenges around issues such as obesity, smoking and skin cancer. New care pathways had been launched across a range of areas with more services available in the community, closer to home. The CCG has recently won a Health Service Journal Award for the success of a skin care intitiative aimed at preventing/catching problems early and targeting intervention. The majority of patients in the Surrey Downs area were now benefiting from better access to primary care with extended GP opening hours, including weekends, via the hub system, which was proving extremely popular.
Dr. Hills highlighted that Surrey Downs CCG has also started working more closely with Guildford and Waverley and North West Surrey CCGs. To reflect closer working across the three CCGs, a new Joint Executive Team had been established. The three CCGs remained separate statutory organisations but were increasingly aligning their plans and priorities. He was also pleased to announce, hot off the press, the new provider for adult community services in the Surrey Downs area from the 1 October 2018. The new service was to be delivered through a partnership with Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals Trust, CSH Surrey, GP Health Partners, Dorking Healthcare and Surrey Medical Network. The partnership was to be known as the Integrated Dorking, Epsom & East Elmbridge Alliance (IDEEA).
In terms of the CCGs current focus, it was currently finalising its commissioning plans and priorities for 2018/19, aligned through the Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board. The need to live within financial means was recognised and there was a continued programme of efficiency savings, looking for opportunities to improve care and reduce variation. The CCG was also actively supporting the progression of the Epsom and St. Helier Acute Sustainability Programme.
Dr. Hills then went on to talk about the Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership working across health and social care He explained that across England there were 44 of these partnerships with local NHS organisations and Councils drawing up proposals to improve health and care in the areas they served. Within that there was a group of 10 partnerships, of which Surrey Heartlands was one, that were part of an Integrated Care System and Surrey Heartlands was only one of two devolved regions in England, piloting taking on greater responsibility for health and care commissioning at a local level. The partnership stemmed from the need to meet the demands of an ageing population in a challenging financial environment through the delivery of sustainable, integrated services. There were currently 13 work streams in progress and progress to date included securing additional investment to improve care in several priority areas such as psychiatric liaison in A & E. In response to a particular concern about mental health services, Dr. Hills stated that, as a heartlands network, partners took the issue of mental health very seriously and was about to appoint a new Mental Health Lead.