Agenda item

Purpose: to agree and gain the support of the Health and Well Being Board to implement the mandatory training criteria for long term conditions within the Service Specification.

Debbie Holdway and Caroline Bridger introduced themselves and their report which sought agreement and support from the Board to implement mandatory training criteria for long term conditions within the Service Specifications.

The purpose of the work was for Health and Social Care to work with Care Providers to raise awareness of effective management of patients with Long Term Conditions, specifically Diabetes, Coronary Heart Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Dementia and End of Life / Palliative Care and identify their training needs.  It was recognised that in West Berkshire, there was an increasing elderly population and the focus of the project was on supporting people to remain independent within their own homes. 

An increased awareness of Long Term Conditions for Care Providers would reduce the requirement for hospital admissions/crisis interventions and delay the need for residential or nursing home care. The training would address key aspects relating to the care of patients with Long Term Conditions, End of Life care, reducing avoidable admissions and supporting the integration agenda.   

Caroline Bridger reported that they were looking to standardise the level of care provided through a dynamic training programme. There was already significant training available however, it was not being taken up. There was also very little training that focused on long term conditions. A pilot had been run to look at existing resources and it had identified pockets of training, some of which was provided by the voluntary sector and Social Care providers.

Caroline Bridger reported that they were continuing to network in order to develop core training needs. A meeting was taking place on 18^th December 2013 to raise awareness. They welcomed suggestions from Board Members.

Councillor Gordon Lundie summarised the points made by Caroline Bridger and Debbie Holdway: Newbury and District CCG had identified a level of hospital admissions, due to a range of chronic conditions and following this had carried out an analysis to identify the gaps in training. A training specification would then be developed to cover these gaps, which in turn would reduce admissions to hospitals.

Caroline Bridger reported that a large amount of money was spent on long term care and this was mainly aimed at reducing admissions to hospital. Debbie Holding stressed that there were currently no standards on training in this area.

Lesley Wyman stressed that Public Health would very much like to be involved in future discussions, as they had specific actions around training for dementia, anxiety and depression.

Gabrielle Alford commended the positive work being carried out however, queried where the joint resources were coming from. Gabrielle Alford also asked if they were able to identify other gaps in training as a result of the scoping project. Debbie Holdway reported that they had spent a lot of time getting to know what was going on in the training remit. It was vital to utilise existing resources. The next meeting to discuss the training would also look at which organisations were able to contribute and how much. Caroline Bridger reported that West Berkshire Council were already carrying out a large amount of Social Care training. Care providers who had provided feedback had said that there were often only two to three people in attendance. Training of a standard quality, for more people would be much more beneficial and more cost effective. Training currently available was of varying quality. Caroline Bridger stressed that if all were to share information on what they provided and look at this collectively, then this could resolve some of the resource issues.

A pilot of the training programme would enable its effectiveness to be demonstrated with carers. The next step would then be to access pockets of resource. It was hoped that the outcome of the pilot would encourage others to contribute resources.

Councillor Marcus Franks referred to the Service Specification and commented that if this was carried out locally, there would be an increased risk that the local cost of care would increase. In order to encourage involvement of the private sector, Councillor Franks suggested that Care Quality Commission (CQC) be lobbied.

Regarding driving up the local cost of care, Debbie Holdway reported that the integrated agenda for training would save money and resources whilst improving the quality of care. Caroline Bridger reported that many social care providers were keen to improve the quality of their services and therefore willing to invest in training.

Rachael Wardell felt that the programme should be health and social care led and that it would have been helpful to hear from a representative from Social Care services.

Lise Llewellyn stressed that not all training had to be face to face and suggested that e-learning and You Tube training be offered as part of the pilot.

Councillor Lundie asked for Jan Evans perspective on the area. Jan Evan’s reported that the Council delivered its Social Care training in line with CQC standards. She commended the proposal and felt it gave a more robust quality framework. Jan Evans confirmed that the Council did carry out a lot of training however the service was under strain due to the way it was funded. A shared honest approach to funding was critical.

Gabrielle Alford suggested that she and Rachael Wardell have a conversation outside of the meeting to discuss the use of the Integrated Transformation Fund for training

RESOLVED that Rachael Wardell and Gabrielle Alford would meet outside of the Board meeting to discuss the Integrated Transformation Fund.

Councillor Lundie queried what action was required from the Board in terms of enabling the training project to move forward. Racheal Wardell clarified that in essence the Board were being asked if they supported the project and she did not feel it was at a stage to do so. Councillor Lundie commended the work however, concurred with Rachael Wardell and stated that in principle the Board supported the proposal; it however, needed clarity on the implications of this support before doing so.

RESOLVED that the training project be brought back to a future Board meeting.

Debbie Holdway and Caroline Bridger thanked the Board for its comments.