Agenda and minutes

1.    The clerk noted the following membership changes. Mr Tony Hills had stepped down from the Committee and Ms Wright and Mrs Parfitt-Reid had joined the Committee. The Committee also welcomed the following district and borough council members: Councillor Keen, Councillor Mochrie-Cox, and Councillor Moses.

1.    The Chair declared he was a representative of East Kent authorities on the Integrated Care Partnership.

2.    Mr Mochrie-Cox declared that he was a representative of North Kent authorities on the Integrated Care Partnership.

3.    Mr Cole declared that he sat on the West Kent and Tunbridge and Malling Integrated Care Board forums.  

1.    RESOLVED that the minutes from the meeting held on 19 July 2023 were a correct record and they be signed by the Chair.

Lee Martin, Chief Delivery Officer – Integrated Care Board, and Mark Atkinson, Director of integrated Care Commissioning - Integrated Care Board, were in attendance for this item.

1.    The Chair introduced the two guests and asked them to provide an overview of the published report.

2.    Mr Martin gave a brief overview of the contract situation; the key highlights were:

a.    There was a backlog of contracts requiring re-procurement after they were paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. The community services contracts were some of the most significant to be procured during the current period.

b.    Following a review of the previous contract it was recommended that a new specification was used so that providers were required to adopt new models of care that were sustainable for communities for the following 5, 10 and 15 years.

c.    Procurement and contract award(s) would take place with new contracts commencing on 1 April 2024.

d.    The proposal was to procure contracts on a like for like basis for one year, during which time transformation would take place, leading to new models of care. Engagement with the public and partners would occur during the transformation year.

3.    The Chair asked about the community midwifery service and if there were any proposals for change. Mr Martin noted that those services were outside the scope of the contract being discussed. During the year of transformation, the links to those pathways would be considered to ensure they were seamless. 

4.    The Chair requested further details on the nature of the engagement in the transformation year. Mr Martin said that the engagement would focus on how to implement and operate nationally defined models of care within the local community. The engagement would take several forms including through GP practices, specific forums and re-design events.

5.    Members were concerned that there was a lack of detail about the consultation and how co-designing services would be achieved. Mr Martin said that the NHS had numerous ways by which to engage with the public and their partners. Further information and documents would be published in due course, setting out how the co-design would be achieved. 

6.    A Member asked who the anticipated industry partners were. Mr Martin said that many of the required partnerships were already in place, but a new overarching framework was required.  Groups of staff and providers would need to work together to design the clinical pathways identified in the prospectus.

7.    Mr Martin noted that earlier commissioning decisions had resulted in variations across the county. Asked how service variation would be overcome when there were staff shortages, Mr Martin said that part of the transformation process would be to ensure that the workforce had the right skills to deliver the clinical models of care where required, as well as general competencies and specialist skills. Mr Martin said a skills centre would be established to develop staff within primary care and community settings, which would also help with recruitment and retention.

8.    Mr Martin said that the transformation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.