Agenda item

The Board received a report and presentation from Chris Bird on the Integrated Care System Joint Forward Plan (JFP).

The presentation provided background into the JFP and where this sat within the NHS planning guidance. The ICB are required to co-ordinate production of three planning documents, including:

-      Integrated Care Partnership Strategy

-      Operational Plan for 2023/24

-      Joint Forward Plan for 2023/24 – 2028/29

The principles of the JFP were highlighted to the Board, with a particular focus on how the NHS would contribute to meeting the health needs of the local population.

The Board were reminded of what the JFP was and what information was included within the document. In developing the content, it focussed on the following areas:

-      Our Commitment / Our Ambitions and Priorities

-      Why is this important for our population?

-      How do we plan to make a difference?

-      How will we know we are making a difference?

-      What do we know about people’s local experiences?

The Board were shown a slide which demonstrated how the strategies for both Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council were aligned with the Integrated Care Partnership Strategy priorities and developed the final eight priorities for the JFP.

Key dates were shared with the Board. The document would be circulated to the ICB Board on the 15^th June, whereby delegated approval would be sought for any final amendments, with the final document being published on the 30^th June 2023.

Garry Jones referred to the lack of reference around hospitals in the south of the County, primarily those in Wolverhampton, but also in Derby/Burton, where the plan presented to the Board omits these. It was clarified that from an NHS England planning perspective, ICS areas are co-ordinated with a one-to-one relationship with hospitals, therefore the Royal Wolverhampton Trust would fall under the Black Country ICS and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton fall under the Derby and Derbyshire ICS. Efforts had been made that the voice of those partners was represented in the plan and it was noted that whilst other hospitals are headquartered under other ICBs, they did serve the residents of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Garry further noted that better emphasis could be included as part of the diagram on page 9 of the JFP to highlight this.

Councillor Jessel noted a couple of issues, in particular:

-      Page 57 – reference to annual increase of workforce numbers, and a lot of the plan was based on this resource being available. It was queried whether there should be more of a focus on the hours worked rather than the amount of people, as a number of people work part-time and therefore the availability isn’t present.

-      Throughout the document – narrow references to digital and having access to information online however little recognition on assisted technology and AI by way of online assessments.

In response, Chris highlighted that there was a degree of oversight and regulation from NHS England, whereby the established mechanism for measuring GP availability was through appointments. Data was being presented to Scrutiny on appointments delivered through primary care which was in excess of the annual plan for 2022/23. The comments regarding digital would be taken away and reflected in further iterations of the JFP.

Richard Harling requested information on the development of more specific action plans and resident-facing metrics as the JFP was a high level document. Chris Bird highlighted that whilst this was a five year plan, it wasn’t designed to provide specific detail on elements. However, there were other strategies, such as the GP Strategy, which is the delivery vehicle for the work.

Tim Clegg highlighted whether there was an opportunity to look at the model for treating minor health concerns and access to the broader health system, more locally rather than at a national level. The GP five year strategy does set out the mechanism for recruitment and roles within general practice at the Primary Care Network level.

The Board agreed to review the updated JFP following circulation to the ICB Board on the 15^th June and feed back to the Chair directly, taking into account neighbouring trusts, along with the comments on digital. A covering letter would be provided to highlight any changes.

Resolved – That the Board (a) note the process and progress made to develop the Joint Forward Plan (JFP) since the last Health and Wellbeing Board in March 2023;

(b) Receive the draft of the Joint Forward Plan;

(c) Endorse a written letter of HWB support reflecting the draft high-level wording in the attached slides; and

(d) Agree to delegate actions to the Chair in order to meet the national NHSE deadline of publishing the final JFP by the 30^th June 2023.