Issue - meetings

      Report of the Chief Executive

Cllr Jane Davies, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, SEND, Transition and Inclusion presented the report which provided information about (i) the Urgent Care contract with Medvivo, (ii) a recent review of the contract by the Council and the CCG to inform recommendations for the potential extension of the contract, (iii) a request by Medvivo to increase the cost of the contract; and (iv)  the need for a review of the future urgent care delivery model to ensure it is fit for purpose and does not duplicate other services.

Cllr Davies reported that at the time of publishing the Cabinet report, the CCG agreed that it would jointly extend the contract with Medvivo for 1 year only with the Council.  Since that time, the CCG has requested more time to consider its options.  The recommendations remain the same as detailed in the report and below.

The Cabinet noted that the LGA High Impact Change Model and Better Care Fund require the development of a sustainable model for integrated urgent care and rapid response in crisis in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS operating framework 2020/21. The model is required to be a form of community care that is available on the same day or within the 2-hour target for people assessed through the Integrated Urgent Care Clinical Assessment Service

The report detailed the costs of the service over the next 2 years and in particular an overall contract price increase of 16.4%, a significant proportion of which related to corporate overheads.

The Leader reminded Cabinet of the current levels of inflation and increases in the cost of living. He expressed a concern that requests to cover additional costs are greater than the cost of inflation, and these costs should be challenged in an appropriate way.

Cllr Gordon King, Vice-Chair of the Health Select Committee confirmed that he, Cllr Johnny Kidney, Chair of the Health Select Committee had met with the Cabinet member and officers on 25 April 2022 to discuss the report. The Members noted the reasons for the contract extension and welcomed the long-term aspiration to reduce handovers and duplication, recognising the landscape changes since the contract was originally awarded. Cllr King welcomed the opportunity  of Scrutiny input into the development of future proposals.

Resolved:

1. Agree that the Council extends for 1 year (until April 2024) jointly with the CCG in additional to negotiating the price with Medvivo. The CCG has agreed to this option and that both parties will work collaboratively to develop options for post April 2024

2. Note that officers will bring a report to a future Cabinet meeting for agreement on a future service model

Reasons for Decision:

The proposals are following a review of the Urgent Care services which were necessary to make a decision by the 30 April 2022 to establish if the contract would be extended for a further 5 years from April 2023 until March 2028.