To receive a presentation on the Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Winter Resilience Plan and receive an update on the continued work to refine and deliver a responsive and high quality emergency care system.

The Acting Director of Strategy and System Redesign outlined the collaborative approach undertaken to plan for the winter period that took account of the lessons learnt in previous years and actions taken to reduce emergency admissions.

In light of the presentation Members queried the following:-

·          The proactive action that had been taken to reduce the number of non-elective admissions to hospital in light of which the Acting Director advised that BCCG looked at trends, capacity and predictive modelling for services. An in-depth report on emergency admissions in Central Bedfordshire had been received bt the Better Care Fund Board. As part of the better care fund work a ‘Caring Together’ pilot is commencing from the 1^st November 2015 to  identify groups of patients with multiple conditions and at high risk of hospital admission.  A national winter communications campaign has also commenced. BCCG is continuing  to work with local providers to ensure residents are able to access the right care in right place at the right time, ensuring that avoidable hospital admissions are reduced

·         Concerns regarding the delays in residents obtaining an appointment to receive flu jabs and whether local GPs could meet demand, which the Acting Director agreed to review.

·         Whether reassurance could be provided that communication between GPs and Hospitals in respect of hospital discharge had improved and whether performance in dealing with slips, trips and falls in a period of bad weather had a big impact on hospital admissions performance.  The Acting Director advised all partner agencies were in close contact during bad weather to ensure patients received the care they needed following discharge.

·         The effective role undertaken by the voluntary sector and carers to ensure patients were able to return home from hospital despite the absence of support from a family member, which the Acting Director advised the BCCG would continue to promote.

·         Whether the campaign to steer residents to use the pharmacy for general illnesses had achieved its goal and reduced the numbers seeking a GP appointment.  The Acting Director confirmed that GPs and Pharmacists worked closely and co-commissioning would be an opportunity to improve services.

·         Whether GP surgeries were able to cope with demand in light of the number of new housing developments nearing completion.  The Acting Director confirmed BCCG was aware of new demand in areas and would look into specific concerns raised by Members.

·         Whether BCCG could consider providing reassurance to patients on the service they can expect from their GP.

·         Whether there was resilience in the system to deal with social care discharges.  The Director advised the service had performed well, however, improvements were under constant discussion with partners.

RECOMMENDED that the Committee welcomes all efforts to provide an efficient service during a period of greater call on health services and looks forward to a positive report as to the effectiveness of the resilience plan 15/16 with a report back at the end of the winter.