Public Patient Involvement Sub-Committee report
Mark Jackson, the Chief Executive of St Richard’s Hospice, and WAVOCC member, kindly gives a brief overview of the most recent Public Patient Involvement Sub-Committee held on 18th August 2009.
• A telephone survey of patients helped by the TCN Out of Hours service in April 2009 (albeit only approximately 120 responses) showed an overall 92% were either Very Satisfied or Satisfied by the service given.
• Worcestershire PCT (i.e. the Provider Services) are looking at an integrated Community Nursing Service to provide skilled, holistic nursing care to individuals with an identified nursing need where home is recognised as being the most appropriate setting. This should avoid unnecessary admissions to acute hospitals and facilitate timely and coordinated discharge. The aim is to deliver this service 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• There had been 58 replies to NHS Worcestershire's public consultation on its 5 year strategy entitled "Investing in Health". The vast majority supported the Strategy and direction of travel, and the majority supported the overall vision, values and priorities. Unsurprisingly there was some concern about its affordability in the current, and expected near future, financial climate. Suggested areas for inclusion included better joined up working between health and social care providers, support for the elderly and carers, expanded screening, more domiciliary care and to develop the caring nature of the service.
• NHS Worcestershire and Worcestershire PCT have employed some Consultants to examine the desire to Transform Community Services. Initially the expected direction of this would lead to possible Foundation Trust - or some other - status for the Provider Services, a process that has been criticised publicly by the BMA nationally as creeping privatisation of the NHS. In fact it appears that since the Consultants were engaged this study is rapidly being overtaken by events so the guidance given by the DoH in London is changing. There has been a realisation that each Trust that changes status costs the NHS £1m, excluding the staff hours worked, and that this may not be affordable in the changing financial climate. We should all be aware that Worcestershire PCT has sent a questionnaire to all its staff to seek their views, but any resultant action will have to take place against a background of financial constraints.
• Update on a few Clinical Developments:
Strokes: Community focus groups established across the county. 12 month survey conducted at the Alex, Redditch, focussed on support received from NHS, Social Care and VCS since leaving hospital. Results to be used as baseline for future studies.
COPD: Care Planning Group keen to develop self-management course for new patients. Team Leader of Community COPD Team is consulting patients.
Palliative and End of Life Care: Over 300 staff, clinicians, patients, health and social managers have been consulted. First Draft of Plan will be completed by September, followed by 8 working groups to look into various areas of Palliative and EOLC.
Dementia: Looking for patients who would be interested in contributing to dementia work.
Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: Susan Pinfold-Brown has recently joined the Clinical development Team as Programme Leader and is keen to link with other interested in this stream.
Falls/Intermediate Care: Programme Leader, Ruth Davoll, is keen to develop Patient Focus Groups across the county to understand perception of this pathway and effectiveness of prevention methods.
Diabetes: Sian Finn, Self Care Programme Manager, seeks information on the needs of diabetics via some focus group work.
Arthritis: The first Challenging Arthritis course was commissioned last quarter by Arthritis Care.
• LINKs is working discharge arrangements and the expectation of obtaining drugs, the fact that there are tow postcodes in South Worcestershire where emergency ambulances never get there within 8 minutes, and have been impressed by Maternity Services.
• The next meeting of the Radiotherapy Stakeholders will be on 15th September.
• It was requested that NHS Worcestershire improve the signage to Pershore and Malvern Community Hospitals.
Full minutes of all Public and Patient Involvement Sub-Committee can be found here.