Agenda item

Ravi Baghirathan (Director of Operations, Kent and Medway STP) and Matthew Capper (Head of Seasonal Planning and Resilience, Kent and Medway STP) were in attendance for this item.

(1)  The Chair welcomed Mr Baghirathan and Mr Capper to the meeting and invited them to give their presentation (appended to these minutes).

(2)  The salient points from the presentation were:

·         Winter 2018/19 had been milder than average with little snow and few frosts.

·         There had been a lower seasonal flu outbreak than in previous years.

·         There was a general increase in demand at A&E departments and GP practices (which Mr Capper explained was in large part due to the ageing population).

·         The local acute trust A&E data showed that Kent and Medway’s performance during winter 2018/19 was comparable to that of the South East.

·         There were areas identified as requiring improvement before next year’s winter planning, as well as areas that had worked well following on from changes made in previous years.

(3)  Mr Baghirathan explained that winter planning was being carried out in a much more systematic way, with Local A&E Delivery Boards (LAEDBs) expected to have robust plans in place. These plans, which were assessed through a two-part bipartite process, had to explain the actions taken to improve on the previous year’s performance; how the national ten high impact interventions would be delivered; the flu programme for staff and patients; as well as work on Delayed Transfers of Care.

(4)  A Member asked for assurance that the historic system pressures around weekends, and the reduced level of staffing during that period, were overcome. Mr Capper accepted that there had been discrepancies between weekend and weekday performance but added that some of this was due to legitimate issues around discharge (such as some Care Homes not accepting new patients at weekends). He assured Members that the STP were implementing new systems across all their services to ensure performance was more consistent.

(5)  When asked if the reduced incidence of flu was down to milder weather or better prevention, Dr Duggall from Public Health explained that there had been a better match between the immunisation given to vulnerable people and the actual flu strain. There was also a bigger drive for vaccinating young children, and this also helped protect their older relatives.

(6)  The bed occupancy rate had reduced from 95.5% to 95.0% between 2017-18 and 2018-19. Members questioned if there was an optimum level, and whether different categories of bed were considered. Mr Capper explained the aim was for 85% bed occupancy, as this provided a level of flexibility. He also assured Members that the occupancy of different bed types was also considered.

(7)  Members asked for clarity around acronyms that had been used in the presentation and covering report:

                      i.        SHREWD – this was not an acronym but the name of a software product that provided a real time data dashboard by using a single source of data.

                    ii.        WOLF – “Weekly Operation Look Forward” – these were weekly calls that took place between system partners in order to discuss upcoming risks and put plans in place to mitigate these.

(8)  The Chair thanked Mr Baghirathan and Mr Capper for their time, and congratulated NHS staff for the improvements made since last year. She requested this be fed back to staff.

(9)  RESOLVED that:

                      i.        the report be noted;

                    ii.        NHS England South East and the Kent and Medway STP provide an update on the winter planning for 2019/20 at the appropriate time.