To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting.

10.1           Members received an update from the Council’s reserve representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee on matters discussed at its last meeting held on 8 May 2018.

10.2           Members were informed that the non-emergency patient transport service was run by Arriva Transport Solutions and the National Head of Service Development had attended the meeting to present a paper with the Lead Commissioner for the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (GCCG).  Arriva had held the contract since December 2013 and provided 8,500 journeys per month with dialysis patients taking a 52% share.  An eligibility review was being introduced by the GCCG to focus on patients with the greatest medical needs and a Patient Transport Advice Centre had been established where NHS staff, working from a script, would decide if a patient met the new criteria for acceptance.  Arriva was working with Gloucestershire County Council to see if there was a possibility of using the local authority’s transport fleet during quiet periods; similar dedicated renal routes had been implemented in other areas and this had gone live in Gloucestershire at the beginning of May.

10.3           The Committee had also received the annual report on the Health and Wellbeing of Children and their Families in Gloucestershire from the Director of Public Health.  Members had liked the clarity of the report which had stated the intention to drive system-wide changes to improve outcomes for all of the county’s children and young people.  The Director had highlighted the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) work being led by the Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing Board and it was noted that this initiative fed into the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy as it developed enhanced community input for closer focus on the population’s future health.  A recent peer review had emphasised a need to review the strategy to ensure it remained fit for purpose; this was accepted by the Board which would now formulate a plan to deliver the recommendations.  It was noted that the Director had announced the creation of a five year multi-supplier framework agreement for providing specialist domestic abuse services.  In addition, the Armed Forces Covenant now sat in the Prevention, Wellbeing and Communities Commissioning Hub under the leadership of the Director of Public Health and e-learning opportunities would be developed for county and district staff with Councils eventually being able to earn a ‘Forces Friendly’ mark.

10.4           The Committee had requested an update on the financial position of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Members had been disappointed to note the deficit of £27.8M against a planned deficit £14.6M in February 2018, the last reported forecast for the year.  This was said to arise from reduced income in three main areas: reduced demand for services; loss of operational capacity following the introduction of a new electronic patient record system; and, loss of income resulting from deployment of the system as a consequence of being unable to capture and record all activity taking place.  Mitigation of risk was promised for the new financial year and Members were assured that services to patients would not be cut as a result of the Trust’s financial position.  It was also noted that Gloucestershire’s Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) was progressing, with key schemes being embedded and delivered.  A particular target was type two diabetes and a GP Clinical Champion would be appointed during the year to raise awareness of the need for diabetes prevention within general practice.

10.5           A Member failed to see how patient care would be unaffected as a result of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s financial position.  The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who had also attended the meeting, advised that the new strategic lead for NHS Gloucestershire was convinced that it was possible to deliver what was needed without affecting frontline services.  The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee reiterated that there had been an issue with the new computer system which had meant that activity was not recorded properly and money could not be collected; however, time would tell.

10.6           The Chair thanked the representative for his report and it was

RESOLVED          That the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee update be NOTED.