Agenda item

A presentation to be received by the Board from the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group.

David Williams, Director of Commissioning for Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) delivered a presentation to the Board.

He reported that work had taken place over the last two years to develop a new model for urgent care as well as changes to rehabilitation services, in liaison with partners. He stated that changes to services in Bracknell and Ascot were part of a three month consultation in 2012. The plans had been developed by doctors, nurses, midwives and other clinicians and were now at implementation stage. The PCT Board in March 2013 had supported the proposals and the three CCGs representing the area had also endorsed the proposals and they would now be responsible for implementing these proposals.

The Director made the following points:

·         All the CCGs were very keen to involve patients and local people in on-going dialogue about the changes through the Community Partnership Forum. CCGs had heard very clearly the concerns of people about the changes and were determined to address them.

·         Changes to services were part of wider plans to develop the Heatherwood site. Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was developing plans to establish Heatherwood as a state of the art centre for high quality planned surgery. It was proposed that this facility would open in 2015/16.

·         In terms of whether services would be secure at Brants Bridge, the Director stated that a three year lease had been agreed at this site and he felt optimistic that services would be secure at this site.

·         In terms of timescales for the Urgent Care Centre at Brants Bridge, the Director reported that providers would be shortlisted in July 2013; a decision would be made by CCG governing bodies in October 2013. The Minor Injuries Unit would then move to Brants Bridge in February 2014, subject to the outcome of the Judicial Review. The prospective provider would then begin in March 2014.

·         It was envisaged that there would be a GP on site at the Urgent Care Centre for a minimum of two hours per day.

·         In terms of the Judicial Review initiated by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead against the proposed changes to services, the Director reported that the legal proceedings were likely to take place in Sept/October, with a potential full review next year. The CCG could not make any irreversible decisions until the Judicial Review process was complete. The CCG had made provision for legal costs and would be going ahead with procurement plans but would not be awarding any contracts. Contractors would be made aware of the potential risks.

The Chairman stated that there were real concerns over the delay that the judicial review could have on the implementation of the Urgent Care Centre. This in turn would impact wider discussions around health services for East Berkshire. He was encouraged that the CCG would be pressing on with processes in parallel with the judicial review. He stated that the Council was keen to support health partners as fully as possible to progress implementation of services. It was noted that the judicial review was unlikely to impact the eventual decision.

David Williams confirmed that all was being done to attempt to progress service implementation this included attempts to enter into a dialogue with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

He stated that he was keen to work with the Council and local people to get services in place as soon as possible. A Community Forum had been set up and Healthwatch and local people had been invited to attend.

The Public Health Consultant stated that her team could assist with a communications strategy for the Urgent Care Centre; this was welcomed by David Williams.

The Chairman stated that he was hoping to meet with MP Jeremy Hunt to discuss potential health services for the East Berkshire population. David Williams confirmed that he would like to engage in these discussions alongside the Council.

David Williams made the following points in relation to Stroke and Rehabilitation services:

• The CCG were keen to maximise the number of people who got comprehensive health and social rehabilitation care in their own homes. New community services would be set up from September 2013. He recognised that it was imperative that existing provision for Stoke patients was not lost before appropriate care was in place to support these patients in their own homes. An additional eight Stroke beds would be made available at Wexham Park hospital.
• He stated that Mira Haynes from the Council’s Adult Social Care Department was a part of the project team and had provided useful input around the Council’s service models.

The Chairman thanked David Williams for his presentation.