Minutes:
The Chairman thanked the Committee for voting him in as Chairman and gave thanks to Cllr Mike Hewitt for his good work as Chairman of the previous Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee. This view was endorsed by several members of the Committee, Phil Matthews from WIN and the Joint Chief Executive of NHS Wiltshire and BANES. A letter would be sent to Cllr Mike Hewitt thanking him accordingly.
Appointments had now been made to the positions of Senior Scrutiny Officer (Maggie McDonald) and Scrutiny Officer (Teresa Goddard) within the Democratic Services team. The Chairman welcomed both officers who were in attendance.
Representations from Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP), Great Western Hospitals Foundation Trust and the PCT were in attendance. The Chairman requested that representatives from each briefly introduce themselves for the benefit of the Committee members. The following information was provided:
AWP
Mike Relph, Interim Chief Executive, confirmed that AWP was one of the largest mental health Trusts in the country covering a population of approximately 1.6m with an annual budget of approximately £160m.
Following the recent resignation of the Chairman it was expected that the successor would be announced later this week. Once the new Chairman was in place the position of Chief Executive would be recruited.
Clarification was provided that the Board had fallen short of high standards in a number of areas and that active engagement would now take place to ensure the Trust moved forward in the right direction.
A Primary Care Liaison Service to improve access had been launched in April. This consisted of two community services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service had been rolled out in the north and was expected to be available for the rest of the County shortly.
An invitation was extended to members of the Committee wishing to visit one of the AWP sites should a more detailed briefing be required.
GWH Foundation Trust
Simon Cook, who had recently been appointed to the position of Director of Strategy, and Kevin McNamara Head of Marketing and Communication were in attendance. Both looked forward to attending future meetings of the Committee.
PCT
Ed McAllister Smith, Chief Executive of NHS Wiltshire and NHS Banes confirmed that the task of the PCT was to finalise its work by close of the financial year and to ensure a smooth transition of roles and responsibilities of service to the successor organisations.
Prior to April 2013 the PCT would continue to commission and lead services across Wiltshire in addition to assisting the RUH Bath in seeking Foundation Trust status.
Key areas for the PCT at present include delayed transfer of care and safeguarding for children and adults.
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
Debbie Fielding, Interim Accountable Officer introduced herself and confirmed that she was working closely with Ed McAllister Smith in developing future working arrangements post April 2013. This was an exciting time for the development of community based services.
Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care
Jemima Milton confirmed that the Department of Health had published the ‘Caring for our future: reforming care and support’ White Paper on 11 July 2012. The Paper set out the vision for a reformed care and support system and referred to Wiltshire Council’s Help to Live at Home service as a positive case study.