Minutes:
The Committee considered an update on Community Care – Strategy and
Governance.
Within the South East London Region, Community Care was delivered via Local
Care Networks which had been designed collaboratively by the six Clinical
Leadership Groups. All local areas within the region had adopted the target model
which would embed an integrated pathway of care to be supported by delivery
milestones encompassing the London Primary Care Standards. The new model of
Local Care Networks would realise a number of benefits including longer opening
hours for primary care, increased use of digital technology to improve patient
experience and social prescribing in which patients would be supported to manage
their own health. The new way of working also aimed to improve access to
diagnostics, including for the management of long term conditions, and increased
joint working with specialist providers to improve reablement and end-of-life care.
An updated governance structure had now been agreed and would be used to
support the leadership and oversight of the Community Care strategy.
The Clinical Chairman, Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group outlined a new
model of care that had been introduced to the London Borough of Bromley in the
form of three Integrated Care Networks launched in October 2016 which took a
Multi-Disciplinary Team approach to making appropriate care and support
available to Bromley residents with complex care needs. Over 550 referrals had
been made to the Integrated Care Networks during the first nine months of
operation up to the end of June 2017 with an average service user age of 82
years. All key partners had now signed an Integrated Care Network Alliance
Agreement which set out the objectives, expected deliverables and operational
framework for partner working, and consideration was being given to how this
model could be used to support other vulnerable groups such as people with heart
failure.
In discussion, a Member suggested that new models of care would benefit from
linking in with the Mayor of London’s strategies. Another Member emphasised the
value of involving the voluntary sector and carers in delivering new models of care,
which might require a change in culture and language. In response to a query
from a Member on how parity of esteem could be built into new models of care for
patients with mental health needs, the Programme Director, "Our Healthier South
East London" Programme confirmed that this issue was being reviewed and would
be supported by a planned realignment of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
management teams to Borough-level. The Member suggested that this work be
aligned with Thrive LDN which was a London-wide movement to improve mental
health and wellbeing and was supported by the Mayor of London.
A Member noted the need to promote new initiatives effectively, such as longer
opening hours for primary care. The Member also underlined the benefits of nonmedical interventions such as social prescribing and highlighted the importance of encouraging diversity of provision within new models of care, such as inclusivity of
community groups. The Programme Director, "Our Healthier South East London"
Programme confirmed that the "Our Healthier South East London" Programme
was working with community and voluntary groups to access a national fund
supporting community groups with social prescribing, and that this would include
identifying best practice in mapping to enable a robust database of community
activities to be developed.
RESOLVED that the update be noted.
Supporting documents: