Agenda item

In attendance for this item: From East Kent CCGs: Ailsa Ogilvie (Director of Partnerships & Membership Engagement), Maria Reynolds (Head of Nursing, Quality and Safeguarding), Tamsin Flint (Commissioning Manager. From Millbrook Healthcare: Mike Teaney (Operations Manager), Lydia Rice (Regional Operations Manager), Clive Bassant (Service User)

1)    The Chair welcomed the guests and invited them to introduce their report. Ms Ogilvie began by highlighting the improving performance of the Wheelchair service, as demonstrated by a reducing waiting list for assessment and equipment along with shortening average waiting.

2)    Ms Ogilvie drew attention to two areas that were off trajectory and had remedial action plans in place: repairs within three days and children’s cases closed within 18 weeks.

3)    The CCG were working with Millbrook Healthcare to better understand the data behind the repairs target. They were considering separating out the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in order to show standard repairs as opposed to specialist repairs, because the latter was very challenging to achieve due to the specialist nature of the equipment needed.

4)    Since their attendance at the previous HOSC meeting, the CCG had undertaken a thorough review of Millbrook Healthcare using the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) rating system. The CCG had judged the quality of the provider to be “good”.

5)    Steve Inett spoke of the improvements from Healthwatch Kent’s perspective. He explained that Healthwatch Kent attended quarterly liaison meetings with the CCG and Millbrook. They also attended the Service User Improvement Group, and Mike Teaney regularly attended the Kent Physical Disability Forum in order to gather feedback and respond to queries.

6)    In light of the rising demand for the Wheelchair service, the Kent and Medway CCGs had agreed to increase the funding for the contract and the CCG were expecting Millbrook healthcare to deliver the service within that budget.

7)    Members requested that the layout of the report be adapted the next time the CCG attended HOSC. They requested clearer data (using tables) which easily demonstrated which areas were more challenging and what action was being taken. They also asked if there was comparator data with other parts of the country. Finally, Members asked for qualitative data that demonstrated users’ experiences.

8)    Ms Ogilvie stated that there would always be a waiting list, but it was important for them to demonstrate what “business as usual” looked like and how performance compared to this.

9)    The agenda (page 239) provided some examples of the circumstances which prevented Millbrook Healthcare progressing children’s cases within the required timeframe. In cases where parents were not aware of their rights to time off work, or were unable to fill out the necessary paperwork, a Member questioned if more could be done to support them.

10) Members were concerned that apparent slow procurement chains when purchasing specialist replacement parts were contributing to waiting times. They were unclear why specialist parts were taking a number of days to be delivered once ordered. Mr Teaney expressed that the company did chase suppliers for orders.

11) Mr Teaney explained that Millbrook Healthcare did have 20,000 standard parts in stock in the UK for repairs. A weekly stock review was carried out, with items that were no longer frequently required removed to make room for more common parts.

12) A Member questioned why a wheelchair was not always provided when an eligible patient was discharged from hospital. It was explained that assessments were carried out once a patient had recovered from their intervention at hospital, as opposed to during rehabilitation.

13)  Mr Teaney explained that when a wheelchair was no longer required by a user, Millbrook Healthcare would refurbish the chair if it was in a decent condition, as opposed to always purchasing new products.

14)  Ms Flint explained that a Personal Wheelchair Budget was when a service user would be given an allowance equivalent to the cost of a chair that the NHS would fund based on clinical need, but then there would be a range of top-up features available, or the ability for the user to purchase privately.

15) HOSC welcomed the improving picture in the provision of the Wheelchair Service but wanted to ensure all areas continued to improve.

16)  RESOLVED that the report be noted, and that Thanet CCG return to the Committee in 9 – 12 months’ time. Should contract performance decline, the CCG should alert the Chair of HOSC as soon as possible, with a view to returning to the Committee with an update sooner.