Agenda item

A presentation to be given by North Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Care Partnership on the day of this meeting

Members received a presentation from John Rooke on the North Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Care Partnership’s Progressing Integration of Health and Care.

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Nawaz stated that there was nothing in the slides to cover substance abuse, drugs, or alcohol addiction and with an 80% increase in this category he would like to know what is tailor made for the Fenland area particularly the North? He continued the measures that were presented did not indicate the allowances to be made for the future and, therefore, there were no indicators for future assets so he would also like to know what the budget is for Fenland, for Peterborough and for Huntingdonshire and how the budget is to be distributed and allocated and to what areas. Councillor Nawaz added to give some medical facts as examples as to how funding can make a difference in many areas of the medical profession and stressed he would like to see a better plan of how this new committee will work and the measures put in place to see results year on year. John Rooke responded that today’s presentation was designed to give the panel an overview of what is available, there are some statistics on the website which he feels Councillor Nawaz will find interesting and cover most of what he has asked today, but in the short term as the committee gets better and the indicators build this will help to develop what changes are needed to be made for the future and the aim is to think about what the population needs, not just practically or clinically but holistically too and how this will be put into practice. Councillor Nawaz stated his initial question was not answered around the budget and asked how much would be allocated to the hub, how would the staff be trained and would the staff be recruited within the Council or through the NHS or from outside and how the achievements would be logged? John Rooke responded that the budget allowance comes from the NHS and is divided out to different areas, some of this will contribute to the Hub with a link to need, there will be a bid going into the local GP surgeries for a contract and a linked need for this service plus other voluntary organisations with the project being reliant on some of these partnerships’ contributions and initiatives for its success. He added that this hub is designed for the people of Fenland and ideally to employ people from Fenland, there will be a central team which be tailored and relevant as possible to the local needs of residents.

·         Councillor Sennitt Clough asked what will be said to residents who mistake the Care Partnership as just another tier and how will action be taken instead of just passing cases around? John Rooke replied there has been a new Integrated Care System formed which is about partners coming together and the hub being able to add value to the service provided to fill the gap when case loads come in to support those people in the community and bridge the gap of their needs.

·         Councillor Roy stated there has been a Fenland case study by Cambridge University going on for around 20 years and a massive amount of data has been collated and asked how much of this information was used when putting the Care Partnership figures together and was Mr Rooke aware of this study going into stage 3. John Rooke stated that they were aware of the study and the data used for this project was used from the same system, and they are looking forward to seeing what stage 3 produces as this will enable more insight into options and solutions on lifestyle as there is a lot of ground to make up. He stated that one issue that has been picked up already from this study is the diagnosis of dementia in this area and that the support is not available so one thing the Partnership will be looking at is how this practice can bridge the support of families using the resources from the different partners that are involved.

·         Councillor Booth stated as councillors the most common complaint received is around getting appointments with GP’s and asked where GP practices sit within this Partnership? John Rooke responded there are GPs already involved in the Partnership and there is an elected GP partner who sits on the board called Wendy Harrison. He added that to try to address recruitment, the Partnership has been over recruiting to compensate for additional roles within the practices, however, this does not solve the national challenges that arise with the shortage of doctors. Councillor Booth asked what sort of numbers locally are being looked at for GP surgeries? John Rooke replied he did not have the figures with him, but the other roles within the surgery have been successful like paramedic and pharmacies and the key to making changes within the practice is to offer the chance to work with Care Partnerships and others alike to achieve a more efficient system.

·         Councillor Nawaz stated he believed there are some national measures in place to fill the need for the number of doctors such as IDP which bring in doctors from overseas on a four-year contract. He would like to see on the next visit an update of GPs within the Fenland area which have been recruited. Councillor Nawaz asked who Mr Rooke is answerable to within his role? John Rooke responded he would be happy to come back and share ongoing progress of the Care Partnership as for who he answers to it is the partners of the Care Partnership and the bodies of partners involved, the NHS and elected Governors.

·         Councillor Booth stated he would like to see a meeting set up with the Director of Public Health and Care Partnerships to be able to give a joint presentation to get to see the whole picture. John Rooke requested that a topic be chosen so both parties can work together.

Members noted the information provided on the North Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Care Partnership.