Agenda item

·       Fiona Slevin-Brown, Managing Director - Bracknell Forest Executive Lead for Urgent and Emergency Care, NHS Frimley CCG, will provide an update on the key health issues and an overview of service capacity in Bracknell Forest.

Queries and requests for information were submitted by members of the Commission to the Clinical Commissioning Group in advance of the meeting and responses are attached.

·       Councillor Birch, Chair of Health and Wellbeing Board, will explain how these issues are being considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board and any resulting actions.

·       Grainne Siggins, Executive Director: People, will explain how these issues interact with priorities for the People directorate and any plans in place to address them.

Fiona Selvin-Brown, Managing Director – Bracknell Forest Executive Lead for Urgent and Emergency Care, NHS Frimley CCG presented to the Commission on the current health provision and key issues in Bracknell Forest.

Following questions, the below points were noted:

-        Some residents had struggled to book a GP appointment by telephone at peak times. Improvements in telephone capacity and call handling would be considered.

-        It was expected that residents would be allowed in waiting rooms at GP surgeries in future. Provision for shelter outside GP surgeries where this was not possible would be considered.

-        It was confirmed that the work force at Brants Bridge Urgent Care Centre was the same as pre-pandemic levels but some of the minor illness provision had been upgraded. When support was not available at GP surgeries, there was an additional 1700 appointments per month available at the centre.

-        It was acknowledged that signage at Brants Bridge Urgent Care Centre could be better and improvements would be considered.

-        Currently GP surgeries were getting increased enquiries for appointments with some experiencing requests for an additional 200 appointments per day. This increase was attributed to a combination of reasons including support for people who were recovering from Coronavirus, updates to prescriptions and people delaying their appointments through fear of catching Coronavirus.

-        It was confirmed that the commission would receive confirmation regarding whether a medic would be available on-site at Brants Bridge Urgent Care Centre.

-        It was confirmed that there was an ongoing recruitment campaign for GPs and nurses and some excellent professionals were being attracted to working in the Bracknell Forest area.

-        It was confirmed that NHS services were still very busy and services were preparing for winter. Nationally there was new NHS leadership and there was a strengthened emphasis on partnership and community working.

Councillor Dale Birch, Chair of Health and Wellbeing Board explained the work of the board and current focuses.

Following questions, the following points were made:

-        It was confirmed that quarterly meetings were considered optimum and allowed partners to feedback to the board in a timely manner.

Grainne Siggins, Executive Director: People explained the current priorities for the People directorate and plans for the department.

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Following questions, the following points were made:

-        It was noted that the full impact of coronavirus had not yet been realised and the situation would need to continue to be monitored.

-        It was acknowledged that mental health support was under pressure with increased demand and there was a focus on signposting young people to the services available. Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHs) were investing in early help support to prevent young people needing CAMHs support. Online and virtual support solutions were also available to people in need. A lot of investment had gone into routine CMHS offer and decreasing the Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) support waiting lists. There was also investment into crises services and there was more work to do.

-        It was requested that figures were provided to the Commission on the number of referrals, the waiting times and readmittance to mental health services.