Agenda and minutes

The committee noted that it had a vacancy in its membership, following Mrs C Bell becoming Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health.

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

Apologies for absence had been received from Miss E Dawson and Mrs L Game. 

Mr D L Brazier was present as a substitute for Miss Dawson and Mrs P A V Stockell as a substitute for Mrs Game.

To receive any declarations of interest made by Members in relation to any matter on the agenda.  Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which their interest refers and the nature of the interest being declared

Mr B H Lewis declared that his wife was employed by the County Council as a care worker.

Mr I Thomas declared that, in relation to any mention of plans for a new hospital site at Canterbury, he was a Member of Canterbury City Council’s Planning Committee.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2019 are correctly recorded and they be signed by the Chairman.  There were no matters arising.

a)    Kent and Medway Integrated Care System - Introduction to the meeting. Andrew Scott-Clark (Director of Public Health, Kent County Council)

b)    Strategic and Policy Overview - Michael Ridgwell (Deputy Chief Executive of the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership)

c)    Primary Care and Primary Care Networks -

                      i.        Dr Fiona Armstrong (Chair of the Primary Care Board, STP)

                    ii.        Dr Gaurav Gupta  (Chair of the Kent Local Medical Committee)

d)    Local Care – Cathy Bellman (Local Care Lead, STP)

e)    System Commissioning – Dr Bob Bowes (Chair of the System Commissioner Steering Group, STP)

Michael Ridgwell (Deputy Chief Executive of the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership), Dr Fiona Armstrong (Chairman of the Primary Care Board, STP), Dr Gaurav Gupta (Chairman of the Kent Local Medical Committee), Dr Bob Bowes (Chairman of the System Commissioner Steering Group, STP) and Cathy Bellman (Local Care Lead, STP) were present for this item at the request of the committee, with Ms P Southern, Corporate Director, Adult Social Care and Health.

1.            The Leader, Mr P B Carter, introduced and thanked the guest speakers for attending.  He explained that he had asked for this special meeting to give the committee time to listen to the invited speakers and explore where the significant structure change to the health economy was leading to within Kent and Medway, with a hope and aspiration that it would lead to better health care in Kent communities and better health outcomes for the Kent population.

2.            His hope was that Kent and Medway was introducing the changes set out in the NHS forward view, recently published, at a faster rate than in other areas, bearing in mind that Kent had one of the most complex health geographies in the UK, with multiple clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), multiple hospital trusts, etc, and this brought an enormous challenge.  He hoped that, with the changes being made around empowered GP practices, the investment in multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) to support primary care networks (PCNs), and an ability to solve challenging workforce issues alongside technology and funding, Kent could deliver the aspirations in the forward view.  If Kent invested in local care and got it right, many hospital admissions, particularly of the elderly and frail, could be saved, with good health care being delivered in the community. 

3.            He thanked Karen Cook for writing the paper at short notice and setting out as clearly and simply as possible some very complex changes in the way in which health services would be reconfigured in Kent and Medway. He hoped that the committee would be able to have a high-level discussion focussed on outcomes.

4.            The Director of Public Health, Mr A Scott-Clark, gave a brief introduction and summarised the aim of current work to integrate all aspects of the health economy, public health and social care to make one joined-up system with a shared vision and outcomes.

5.             Each of the guest speakers presented a series of slides about the subjects listed below:

Mr Ridgwell - Strategic and Policy Overview

Dr Gupta and Dr Armstrong - Primary Care and Primary Care Networks

Dr Bowes - System Commissioning

Ms Bellman – Local Care

Ms Southern – Social Care

and responded to a range of comments and questions, including the following:-

a)     asked about the aim to attract additional funding, Mr Ridgwell replied that, although additional funding would always be welcomed, it was important to be realistic and make the best use of the funding currently available. Integration would reduce duplication, but it was important to distinguish between integration and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

To receive a report from General Counsel on the committee’s work programme.

It was RESOLVED that the Cabinet Committee’s planned work programme for 2019/20 be agreed.