Agenda item

Simon Perks (Accountable Officer, NHS Ashford CCG and NHS Canterbury & Coastal CCG) was in attendance for this item.

(1)       Mr Parks began by explaining that the paper set out the four different approaches to the local care model in East Kent. As part of the model, CCGs were investing in community services to enable more care to be provided out of hospital; this had been evidenced in the Canterbury & Coastal CCG area where a catheter clinic in the community had lowered acute admission rates. He reported that the management teams of the East Kent CCGs were working together to share learning.

(2)       A Member requested an update about the reinstatement of acute medicine at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital. Mr Perks reported that the Trust was making progress with its recruitment and had asked Health Education England to reassess the situation before Christmas. He stated that the challenges in East Kent were not unique; he had attended a meeting of the 80 trusts with the worst A&E performance, including organisations in Lincolnshire, East Sussex and Dorset, which had a similar geography with a mix of rural and urban areas and faced difficulties in recruiting junior doctors. Mr Perks committed to provide an update about the local care models in Faversham and Sandwich.

(3)       Members enquired about public engagement, minor injury services and investment in public transport. Mr Perks explained that a range of engagement methods had been used including public meetings and a survey which had received 1200 responses. He recognised that there were groups of people, such as the young and the working age population, which had not been reached. Mr Perks stated that whilst there was a national design for urgent care. In Canterbury, there were minor injury units (MIU) in Faversham and the recently opened unit in Herne Bay which were well used; in East Kent there were 290 MIU attendances a day, in addition to 550 – 570 A&E attendances. He noted that minor injury and illness services would be developed as part of the community hubs. Mr Perks noted that EKHUFT had invested in additional public transport as part of its outpatients reconfiguration and it was being looked at by the Trust as part of its future plans.

(4)       Members asked about forecasting, x-ray facilities at Estuary View Medical Practice and the impact of the GP closure in Folkestone. Mr Perks stated that ONS data did not reflect growth in Ashford which impacted on the CCG’s financial allocation. Mr Perks noted that there was an x-ray pipe between the Estuary View Medical Practice and the hospital which enabled images to be sent to and reviewed by a radiographer. Mr Perks noted that whilst he could not specifically comment on the GP closure in Folkestone as it was not in his area, it was important that primary care increased its scale in order to be sustainable. He noted that large practices such as the Estuary View Medical Centre, which served a population of 32,000 and had 30 partners, did not have problems recruiting staff. He stated that whilst some GPs felt the current value of the GMS contact made it difficult to deliver quality services, it was beginning to be demonstrated that primary care was able to provide enhanced community services through mergers and networks.

(5)       RESOLVED that the report on Local Care in East Kent be noted and an update be presented to the Committee in six months.