Agenda item

Stuart North, Chief Operating Officer, Bury Clinical Commissioning Group, will report at the meeting.  Presentation attached.

Stuart North, Chief Operating Officer Bury CCG, gave a verbal update on the current engagement with the public to support the configuration of Urgent Care Services in Bury. A review of current service provision had concluded that the system was disjointed, had areas of inequality and supported duplication of some services in Bury.  It was reported that the new model of service provision would not be about saving money but was about public engagement, ensuring that investment in services was being made in the right areas in order to provide a more simpler and efficient service. 

The Chief Operating Officer reported that the result of the engagement exercise will form part of the report that will be considered by the CCG Board in December 2016.

The Programme Manager reported that a series of engagement exercised had been undertaken by the CCG including presentations at all six Township forums.

The Chief Operating Officer reported that the purpose of the review is to ensure that the right care and the right treatment is provided in the right place.  There will be six clinical hubs all providing a range of services providing equality of service provision across the Borough.

In response to a Member’s question the Programme Manager reported that the proposals would looked to include a Primary Care front end service at Fairfield General Hospital.  This service would provide a primary care presence and would allow GPs to triage patients.

The Programme Manager acknowledged that there had been initial teething problems with the NHS111 service, it is envisaged that the service would be developed to provide a localised Bury response. 

In response to a Member’s question the Chief Operating Officer reported that of the 67,000 patients seen in the walk in centres in 2015/16 could have been seen in a suitable alternate provision. 

With regards to communication and engagement the Chief Operating Officer reported that the CCG would need to ensure all the information in respect of services provided is kept up to date and easily accessible to members of the public.  The Chief Operating Officer reported that he would be very reluctant to double run services, as evidence suggests that the more services made available to the public the more patients will use them. 

The Chief Officer reported that these proposals were not about saving money.  The proposals would ensure that patients access the services via the most appropriate patient pathway.  A front-end primary care service at Fairfield Hospital will help to alleviate some of the pressures on A&E centres as well as being able to treat patients that would have previously attended a walk in centre.

The Chief Officer reported that the proposals will involve re-educating patients in where to get the best most appropriate treatment, provide information and advice with regards how to self care and encourage patients to use their local pharmacist.

It was agreed that:

Once the outcome of the engagement exercise in respect of the Urgent Care Redesign has been considered by the Board of the Clinical Commissioning Group, Members of this Committee will have an opportunity to re-consider the proposals