Agenda item

To receive an update on the progress of Sustainability and Transformation Plans, including the implications for West Berkshire.

Cathy Winfield gave a presentation to the Board (Agenda Item 13) concerning an update on the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) submission. She advised that she had made some updates to the version included in the agenda and this would be published on the website following the meeting.

The STP would encompass working with a number of different statutory organisations which would retain their autonomy, but there were opportunities to streamline back office functions. For example the CCGs, Royal Berkshire Hospital and Berkshire Hospitals Foundation Trust might share some functions or even collocate as part of the One Public Estate programme to deliver value for money.

The STP had five key ambitions: prevent ill health; improve access to urgent care, improve hospital services, improve mental health services and to co-commission specialist services. To achieve these ambitions there were two enabling workstreams: workforce and digital solutions. New ways to improve recruitment and retention were being pursued, including rotational opportunities across organisations to keep work varied and it was planned to reduce agency spend. More digital solutions for self care and remote appointments were being investigated.

Initial assessments suggested if nothing was done differently, rising costs, inflation and demand on the NHS would lead to a gap of £479m by the end of 2020/21 so while there was not going to be a cut to funding, there needed to be transformation in the ways services were delivered. Since then CCGs had undertaken more detailed planning and reviewed the initial assumptions. Once CCG Operating Plans for 2017-2019 were finalised the STP financial position will be refreshed in January 2017 and a final version of the STP would be published.

The governance arrangements were still a work in progress, for example at the Delivery Board there was only one Local Authority representative and the most effective way to include Local Authorities was yet to be determined.

Residents of West Berkshire would be most interested in the commitment to review community hospitals. However, West Berkshire had a fantastic community hospital with a new renal unit being constructed; the plan would be to continue to expand and develop West Berkshire Community Hospital.

Councillor Graham Jones thanked Cathy Winfield for offering clarity on the financial aspects of the STP.

Alison Foster expressed concern that there was no lay engagement within the STP governance structure. Cathy Winfield advised that one of the sub-groups was a Patient and Public Engagement Group which included membership from Healthwatch. Alison Foster expressed the view that there was a lack of visibility and asked what had been done locally to raise awareness of the STP. Cathy Winfield advised that in the summer of 2016 there had been the ‘Let’s Talk’ call to action and once the STP was made public the golden thread would be revealed.

Paul Jones asked what the implications would be for the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Thames Valley Police who worked on different footprints to the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West footprint. Cathy Winfield advised that there would be some overlaps between footprints, for example Milton Keynes came under the Central Bedfordshire STP footprint.

Cathy Winfield concluded by stating that the document would be released to the public before Christmas.

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.