Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health and the Interim Director of Public Health, and to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on a proposed decision to extend the contract.

Ms K Sharp, Head of Public Health Commissioning, was in attendance for this and the following item.

1.            Ms Sharp introduced the report and responded to comments and questions from Members, as follows:-

a)    it was a challenge for the County Council that its performance at delivering health checks was not as it would like, but it was hoped that an improvement could be achieved soon.  Ms Sharp responded that analysis of what happened after a health check, eg how a patient planned to address any issues highlighted in their health check, was also important;

b)       the recommendation in the report was welcomed but it was suggested that it could be enhanced to aim for a higher target rate of uptake, and should at least start off as 50%;

c)    one speaker who had recently attended the contracting Trust’s annual general meeting told the Committee that the Trust had recently received a good CQC assessment and that he was content that it was capable of meeting the challenge of improving the uptake of health checks;

d)    progress so far had been good but would need to be sustained.  Ms Sharp said performance had moved from a red to a green rating within one quarter and reassured Members that the County Council was not complacent in setting or striving to reach its targets; and

e)    Ms Sharp explained that the element of risk mentioned in the report referred to any area of expected activity which was not covered within the required timescale and reassured Members that the terms of the contract would stipulate that any such area would not be paid for.  Any saving made by this means could be used to fund pilots for other areas of work, eg with Public Health England.

2.            Mr T A Maddison proposed and Mr S J G Koowaree seconded that the recommendation in the report be enhanced to specify a target rate for Kent of 50% uptake.

Agreed without a vote.

3.            The Cabinet Member, Mr Gibbens, thanked Members for their comments, of which he would take account when taking the decision, and reiterated comments previously made about target setting. Sensible, realistic targets should be set, with a timeframe within which they would expect to be achieved. He reminded Members that updates on this and other public health issues would be available to the committee as part of the regular performance monitoring reports.

4.            RESOLVED that:-

a)    the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, to extend the contract with Kent Community Health Trust  to 31st January 2016, after taking account of views expressed by the committee, be endorsed; and

b)    a series of innovation projects designed to deliver a significant improvement in the uptake of checks, with the aim of achieving a target rate of 50% in Kent, be endorsed.