Agenda item

To receive a presentation setting out ongoing developments and planning for 2021/22.

The Committee received a presentation that advised the Committee of NHS developments over the coming months.

Considering the final quarter of 2020/21, the Covid second wave meant that the winter period had been another challenging time for the NHS and presented five key tasks of responding to Covid-19 demand; implementing the Covid-19 vaccination programme; maximising capacity in all settings to treat non-Covid-19 patients; responding to other emergency demand and managing winter pressures; and supporting the health and wellbeing of the workforce.  Activities and programmes supporting each of these key tasks were advised. 

Looking to 2021/22, whilst full guidance had not been provided, it was known that national themes would be around recovery from Covid, especially focused on elective care and waiting lists; primary and community care; health inequalities; people and workforce; mental health; and integrating care.  Locally, Oldham’s health and care phase 3 recovery assessment had been established and a six month plan with eight priorities of cancer; elective; workforce; mental health and learning disabilities; health inequalities; primary care; winter; and integrated care determined. Actions underway and planned to further address these priorities were outlined in the presentation. 

A process for the transition to an integrated system model for health and social care during 2021/22 was advised, with a view to shadow running from September 2021.  The presentation considered the vision and principles behind this development and the issues being considered in the development of new systems and arrangements.  It was ,however, noted that the recent NHS White Paper pointed to a further period of change in the NHS and an offer was made to report further to the Committee on the developments and local implications that would follow.

Members of the Committee recognised the work undertaken over the past 12 months and expressed their appreciation of all the NHS staff who had worked hard in order to keep services up and running in difficult circumstances.  While Covid remained an issue, the major challenge of tackling waiting lists was recognised and the planning and prioritisations around addressing this was queried, with the managing of patients with cancer and other long term conditions being particularly highlighted.  The Committee was advised that work on clinical prioritisation had been undertaken nationally and across Greater Manchester looking to prioritise those in most clinical need: this could mean that conditions which might be painful but not life-threatening would be of lower priority.  The next stage would be to match up that demand with available resources, noting that capacity was reduced due to, for example, beds having to now be further apart and there being the same number of doctors etc., for which planning considerations were underway.

The reported preparation of a new equality strategy for Oldham was noted, with a comment being made that health inequalities had been recognised for decades and had been the subject of many previous reports and strategies.  There was a concern that this would just be another Strategy document and that concrete actions needed to be put in place now to address these issues.  The Committee was advised of certain developments during the Covid period, for example, the holding of special vaccination clinics for people with learning disabilities and autism who needed certain conditions to receive their vaccination and in Mosques to be responsive to local needs, and the challenge was to carry these approaches over into the post-Covid period.   ‘Population health management’ would become a recurrent message over the coming months, highlighting the need to get to know local communities, what is happening in them and being able to plan to deliver appropriate health and other supporting services to specific areas, recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach could not meet health needs across the Borough.

Reference was made to the NHS White Paper and a view expressed that the Committee should have an input into this issue.  That governance would change was acknowledged, and an interest in following this process was expressed.  It was emphasised that health services must continue to be patient orientated, and this needed appropriate publicity and public understanding of the system and how to appropriately access A&E, GPs etc.  The need to map out access, perhaps in the form of a ‘customer journey’ was suggested, as the proper access to and use of services would make best use of resources.

RESOLVED that

1.            the presentation on NHS development and planning for 2021/22 be noted;

2.            further reports be submitted to the Committee providing additional detail in respect of the NHS White Paper and in following developments arising from the White Paper, a consideration of the ‘patient journey’, and local and Greater Manchester-wide elective waiting lists and clinical prioritisation considerations.