Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies on behalf of Mr Molyneux, non-Executive Director were submitted.

The Chairman welcomed Ms Smith to the meeting and around the table introductions were provided.

Board Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state the nature and extent of the interest.

If any Board member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Company Secretary in advance of the meeting.

None.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 17 May 2016 as a true and correct record.

The Board agreed:  To approve the minutes of the Board meeting held on 17 May 2016 as a correct record.

        i.            Articles of Association – Mr Towers confirmed that the Council had agreed the revised Articles and they had been subsequently lodged with Companies House.

      ii.            Articles of Association (Public Meetings) – The Board was advised that the meeting had been publically advertised using Social Media and it was agreed that an alternative venue should be sought prior to the Board meeting in September 2016 to facilitate public engagement.  It was suggested that the City Learning Centre, Dinmore Avenue could be a potential venue.

    iii.            Performance Review 2015/ 2016 and Business Plan 2016/ 2017 – It was reported that Mr Garner would be working full time for Empowerment from 18 July 2016.  The Board thanked Empowerment and viewed this as a vote of confidence for Healthwatch Blackpool.

     iv.            Any Other Business (Board Membership)  – Mr Towers advised the Board that he had received an expression of interest from a person with a Health and Social Care background and was in the process of establishing the Appointments and Remuneration Committee to progress the matter.  It was agreed that increasing the Board membership to six, would be sufficient at this time.

       v.            Any Other Business (Medically Related Charities) – Following on from Dr Davis suggestion to include representation from medically related Charities in the Strategy, it was agreed not to pursue the matter at this stage, but reconsider the option at a future date.

Ms Michelle Smith, the new Chief Executive of Empowerment will update the Board on recent management changes.

Ms Smith explained that she was the Chief Executive Officer of Blackpool Carers Centre and had been in negotiations with Empowerment over the last six months with a view to bringing together the Third Sector organisations, the Health Sector and Social Care tendered services with the intention of sharing resources across the organisations and reduce costs.  She advised that this was the start of an interesting journey and aimed to provide a shared leadership and develop a sustainable future for Empowerment.  The Board was advised that negotiations were on going with other organisations to develop a shared resources function.

The Chairman reported that she had been undertaking the Line Manager role for Mr Garner, meeting regularly to set objectives and reviewing performance, which was acknowledged as being important in the short term, but asked about Empowerments long-term goals.  Ms Smith reported that the recruitment of a Service Manager was being considered.  Mr Jackson asked for visibility of an organisation chart and terms of reference and expressed his interest in understanding how the organisation operated from the ground up.  Mr Towers added that Empowerment were accountable for the contract with the Council and for the delivery of Healthwatch Blackpool and for providing a support mechanism to the Board.

To receive verbal updates from the appointees on the Health and Wellbeing Board, Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Governing Body and the Primary Care Commissioning Committee.

The Board was advised that due to prior commitments Dr Davis had been unable to attend the recent meeting of the Primary Care Commissioning Committee.

In Mr Molyneux’s absence, the Chairman provided feedback from the recent Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Governing Body meeting he had attended.

She reported on the following points:

·         Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) AGM to be held on 29 September 2016.  There was an opportunity for Healthwatch Blackpool to provide an information stall at the event.  The Board agreed this would be beneficial.

·         Grange Park Health Centre had been placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission with specified areas of improvement within the next six months.

·         A reference was made in the Blackpool CCG Performance Summary relating to Patient satisfaction.  There was no indication as to how this had been measured and it was questioned whether Healthwatch Blackpool should have visibility of this information.

·         Health and Wellbeing Strategy – there was a lack of reference to Mental Health and concerns were raised that the consultation process had been a ‘tick box’ exercise and the suggestions raised by Healthwatch Blackpool had not been included.

Following a discussion, it was agreed that Healthwatch Blackpool should be actively pursing the issue of Mental Health to be included in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.  It was agreed that Mr Garner would contact Mr Butterfield to raise the Boards’ concerns and provide evidence from past Healthwatch Blackpool consultations and Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) statistics. It was acknowledged that there was a real need for a review of psychiatric and paediatric services and in particular the referral/ access process between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Adult Mental Health Services.

The Chairman and Mr Garner agreed to meet outside of the Board meeting to discuss on how and what information would be presented to Mr Butterfield.

The Chairman provided the Board with updates on a number of meetings and events she had attended since the last Board meeting.

Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – It was reported that quarterly meetings had been scheduled with Helen Skerritt, lead nurse within acute secondary care sector with a lead commissioning role focusing on safeguarding and quality.  The Chairman advised that Mr Garner would be attending future meetings with the view to developing a good working relationship with the CCG.

Blackpool Victoria Hospital – Meeting scheduled with the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer on 2 August 2016.

Health Summit – PAN Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Summit to be held on 26 July 2016.

Health and Wellbeing Board for Blackpool – At the meeting held on 8 June 2016 the option of a Combined Authority was discussed, with the exception of Wyre Borough Council, fourteen Local Authorities were in agreement with the concept.  The alcohol strategy was also discussed, but the effectiveness of the previous strategy was unclear.  The Lancashire and South Cumbria Sustainability and Transformation Plan, looking at the alignment of health and social care programmes was discussed. 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Mr Garner provided a comprehensive report to the Board detailing various sessions Steven Robinson, Mary Whyham and himself had attended over the two-day event.  He reported that it had been a fantastic opportunity to meet other Local Healthwatch organisations, view their methods of working and share good practice.

He highlighted the following points:

Working with Mental Health Services – opportunity to speak with Lancashire MIND ahead of Healthwatch Blackpool’s Mental Health review.

Sustainability – Sources for income generation, such as the Better Care Fund and Public Health.

Patient Experience – Consensus was that services were not always receptive to patient feedback when developing services, the cause of which was unknown.  Dr Davis suggested that if this was a national trend then it should be progressed with senior figures.

Using Enter and View with Residential Care Homes – A tool for positive change not an audit or an inspection.  Healthwatch Blackpool was just embarking on this and had not to use its Enter and View powers to date.

Young Healthwatch – Blackpool had already taken steps to brand and create a Youth Healthwatch.

Additional resource material from other Healthwatch providers was circulated at the meeting for Board Members information.

The Chairman reported she had discussed with other Healthwatch Chairmen, ideas around long-term sustainability and had been made aware that Healthwatch England would fund option appraisals to assist with the correct direction of travel for Healthwatch Blackpool.  Ms Smith suggested that Mr Paul Jebb (NHS England Patient Experience Lead), who was a member of the

Blackpool Carers Centre Board could be invited to attend a future meeting.

Ms Burrell referred to the fact that 25 percent of the UK population were aged 25 or under and suggested that themed days could be held at colleges, other educational facilities and on the hospital children’s wards at Blackpool Victoria Hospital to encourage young people’s participation in the development of the Young Healthwatch.  She suggested that the Children’s Experience Officer at Victoria’s Voice could provide assistance.

This report is for information and update as the written resolution was agreed by Board members in June 2016.

Mr Towers reported that the report had been circulated for information and update as the written resolution had been agreed by Board Members on 7 June 2016.  He confirmed that the final accounts had been lodged with Companies House prior to the 15 June 2016 deadline.

The Board agreed: To note the report.

To consider the draft Business Plan 2016/ 2017 and Strategy for 2016/ 2018.

The Chairman presented the draft Business Plan and Strategy for consideration by the Board and welcomed comments and suggestions.

Mr Garner explained that the work plan for Healthwatch Blackpool for the next 12 months would focus on five in depth studies of services to build relationships and co-operation and increase the organisations influence and the public voice from ground floor level.  Mr Jackson asked if the impact of Healthwatch Blackpool could be demonstrated in the Business Plan and asked what actions were taken from unresponsive services.  The Chairman advised that she liaised with the Chief Executive Officers or Senior Personnel from those services. 

Mr Garner reported that the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) had yet to be agreed with Blackpool Council, but the Board was of the opinion that Healthwatch Blackpool should suggest possible KPI’s and not just accept those the commissioner felt relevant.  It also suggested that the agreed KPI’s should be both qualitative and quantitative.  Ms Smith suggested, to assist with the reporting process to the Council, the operational plan should be included in the Business Plan.

Ms Smith offered to assist with the development of a meaningful financial overview for inclusion in the Business Plan.

The Board agreed: To adopt the draft Business Plan and Strategy, subject to the agreed amendments.

Mr Steven Garner, Healthwatch Blackpool Manager presented his report to the Board, which included information about a number of reports that had been prepared following Healthwatch Blackpool reviews and consultations.  He explained that a response to the Substance Misuse report was still outstanding despite the 11 July deadline, but a response to the Dentistry report had been received and would be forward to Board Members separately.  The Board was advised that the reviews of the Brooklands Care Home and The ARC (Rehabilitation Centre) were being finalised and would be forwarded to Board Members and the service provider shortly.

The Board was informed of the first Listening Event, focusing on Mental Health and involving professionals and service users and carer to look at short and long-term changes to improve mental health services.  Mr Garner explained that the event was not representative, but had provided learning opportunities and a draft report had been produced for the Board’s consideration.

Included in the agenda was the Priorities Public Consultation report, with the top five responses being GP Surgeries, Emergency Services, Adult Mental Health, Blackpool Hospitals and Care Homes.  Mr Garner explained that those priorities would form the proposed work plan for Healthwatch Blackpool with reviews being undertaken as follows:

July and August 2016: Care Homes

September and October 2016: Blackpool Teaching Hospitals

November and December 2016: Adult Mental Health Services

January and February 2017: GP Surgeries

March and April 2017: Emergency Services

Dr Davis offered to provide guidance to Mr Garner in the planning stages of the reviews to ensure comprehensive data was collected to enable the impact of any recommendations/ suggestions to be effectively reviewed at a future date.  It was suggested that past reviews should be revisited to assess the impact of Healthwatch Blackpool on service providers.

Mr Garner reported that the Lancashire Care Foundation Trust (LCFT) Adult Mental Health Services was due to be inspected by the Care Quality Commission in September 2016 and it was felt that Healthwatch Blackpool could assist with any resulting action plan to provide the public voice.

The Board was advised that a meeting to discuss a Memorandum of Understanding with Healthwatch Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen had been arranged, following The Harbour review and this would be shared with the Board at a future meeting.

The Board agreed:

1.      To adopted the proposed work plan.

2.      To approve the Annual Report 2015/ 2016.

3.      To note the Operational Leads’ report.

To receive an update on the current Financial position.

It was reported that the provisional balance brought forward as at 31 March 2016 was £3,563.81, but it had subsequently become known that the June salaries had not been included, despite this omission the organisation had not exceeded its budget.

In response to a question, it was confirmed that £68,000 had been ring fenced for Healthwatch activities, but how the funding was calculated was unclear.  It was believed that other Healthwatch organisations had considerably higher budgets and it was suggested that the Commissioning Manager be invited to attend a future meeting to explain how the budget had been set.  Mr Towers commented that he believed that the amount received from Central Government was allocated for Healthwatch use.

The Board was advised that the operational costs had been higher than usual due to the associated cost of attending the Healthwatch Annual Conference.  It was suggested that this cost should be identified in future budgets as it had proven to be a valuable resource and there should be a separate training budget for future development of staff.

In response to a question regarding additional funding, Ms Smith advised that Empowerment could act as a conduit to secure additional funding.

The Board agreed: To note the report.

The purpose of this report is to define the relationship and roles of the Board and that of Empowerment to assist each in undertaking their duties.

Mr Towers advised the Board that the purpose of the report was to define the relationship and roles of the Board and that of Empowerment to assist each in undertaking their duties.

The Board agreed:

1.      To adopt the draft outline of the roles and relationships between the two bodies.

2.      To consider, at the next meeting, the commissioning relationship between Empowerment and the Council in relation to the delivery of local Healthwatch.

None.

The Board is asked to note the date of future meetings as:

·         Thursday 15 September

·         Tuesday 15 November

The Board agreed: To note the dates of future meetings for 2016 as follows:

·         Thursday 15 September

·         Tuesday 15 November