To consider any other business that the Chairs accept as being urgent.

JOINT STRATEGIC COMMISSIONING BOARD

Draft Commissioning and Transformation Strategy

In accordance with Section 100b(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the Chair reported that because of an administrative error a report entitled ‘Draft Commissioning and Transformation Strategy’ had been missed from the agenda.  She had agreed that the JSCB would consider this report as a matter of urgency because this strategy document was, in its effect, the terms of operation for the JSCB and it could not proceed to begin that operation until such time as it had been approved. It was therefore essential that the document be presented to this meeting of the Committee in Common for approval by the bodies and, if it were not for the administrative error in respect of the agenda printing, it would have been."

The Director of Commissioning and Transformation (Nesta Hawker) introduced a report which informed that the Strategy outlined the principles, approach and processes which would be followed by Wirral Health and Care Commissioning (WHCC) (the Commissioner) to support effective decision making. Attached to the Director’s report was the draft Commissioning and Transformation Strategy.

This option involved a single joint commissioning decision making policy for WHCC. An alternative approach would be to retain separate decision making policies.  However the Council did not currently have a published commissioning decision making policy or process.  The absence of such a policy would present significant risk to the integrated commissioner.

The JSCB noted that the new process had been drawn up jointly by Council and CCG staff.

A general discussion ensued around the following issues:

·  A three year plan must be drawn up by the integrated team that provided direction for its providers.

·  There were financial pressures.

·  Key Issues included an aging population and poorer health outcomes compared to the rest of England.

·  Health and Care Organisations have not worked together in the past.  People are admitted to hospital and spend too long there when they should have stayed at home. This and the way the organisations on Wirral worked had to change.

·  The Commissioner must be an advocate for the public, look across the whole of the system and commission in a much better joined up way.

·  The priority was to set up neighbourhood teams and empower them to look at local needs (Primary, Secondary, Mental Health, Social Care etc. all coming together.

·  NHS Services and the Voluntary Sector should work together.

·  A proposal to appoint a GP to act as a Neighbourhood Co-ordinator and consider local needs.

·  The current system was very fragmented.  The new approach would involve a system of collaboration and working together to deliver better outcomes for the people of Wirral.

Councillor Bernie Mooney declared a personal interest by virtue of her employment with Age UK.

The NHS Wirral Members and Wirral Borough Council’s three Cabinet Members, sitting as a Committee of the Cabinet

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the Commissioning and Transformation Strategy be not adopted at this meeting; and

(2)  the Director of Commissioning and Transformation be requested to carry out further work on the draft Strategy outcomes, review the wording in some areas and present a revised document for adoption at the next meeting of the JSCB.