Agenda item
Health and Social Care.
Engagement by NHS Borders. Ms Edwina Cameron, Interim Director of Workforce and Planning.
Minutes:
6.1 The Chairman welcomed Ms Edwina Cameron, Interim Director of Workforce and Planning and Dr Sheena MacDonald, Medical Director from NHS Borders who were present at the meeting to update the Forum on matters of interest and concern within Berwickshire. Ms Cameron began by highlighting some of the key issues for NHS Borders at this time, the first of which was a review of all services which would deliver the best possible care to local communities within the available resources. Members were advised that the public consultation for the Review took place during the summer of 2014 and at no time was it stated that community hospitals would close. Ms Cameron went on to explain that NHS Borders had a duty to ensure that community services were situated in the right places and that the Service Review would be underpinned by the principles that people in the Scottish Borders helped to design. She went on to explain that only in-patient services were being reviewed at the moment but that other services could be affected and it was necessary to move with the changing needs of the community, eg an inpatient could be prescribed a course of antibiotics which could be administered at home rather than in hospital. With regard to the Out of Hours Service, discussion took place and a number of concerns and questions were raised. It was noted that there had been a national shortage of GPs since 2014 and Members were advised that NHS Borders was one of the best services in Scotland at the current time. With regard to the use of the Knoll Hospital in Duns for Out of Hours Service, Dr MacDonald advised that this service was always provided from the BGH after 11.00pm and that currently, the service was achieving close to 95% of its target response times.
6.2 Discussion took place in relation to consultations and the effectiveness of communication between NHS Borders and local communities. It was noted that during recent consultations, a number of Community Councils had submitted comments but had not received any acknowledgement so were unsure whether their contributions would be taken on board. Ms Cameron and Dr MacDonald apologised for this oversight but confirmed that all submissions from Berwickshire Community Councils had been received. In terms of statistical information used by NHS Borders, it appeared that Kelso was included in figures relating to Berwickshire and that this was not a true reflection of the area, particularly in respect of the more remote East Berwickshire. This was relevant when services were removed from Duns and offered from a centre further away. It was noted that a national Review of Out of Hours Services had been announced by the Cabinet Secretary and that the outcome of this was expected in August. Ms Cameron advised that, as a result of being unable to recruit GPs within the Scottish Borders, it had been necessary for NHS Borders to proceed with its Review earlier than this. Discussion took place regarding cross-border services with Northumberland and East Lothian. Dr MacDonald clarified the situation and advised that this issue had been highlighted during the consultation process. Concern was raised regarding the increase in Category A medical response times. Dr MacDonald advised that she was meeting with the Ambulance Service to discuss this issue and asked the Forum to submit to her any examples of specific situations when this had been a matter of concern. She went on to advise that it took 18 months to train nurses with enhanced skills to deal with these emergency skills. In response to further questions, it was noted that there had been a slight dip in NHS Borders' Accident and Emergency waiting times since the beginning of 2015 and that all figures were published on their website for information. In respect of travel for health care services, it was acknowledged that consideration of car parking, car sharing and a public transport shuttle service would be useful when linked to the provision of such services.
6.3 For information, the Forum was advised that the consultation period for the draft Scheme for Health and Social Care Integration was due to close on 13 March 2015. The Chairman thanked Ms Cameron and Dr MacDonald for their presentation and looked forward to a valuable dialogue between NHS Borders and the Berwickshire Area Forum. In response, Ms Cameron stated that it would be useful to receive advance notification of any issues which the Forum wished to discuss as this would allow time for a meaningful response to be prepared and presented at meetings.
DECISION
(a) NOTED the presentation.
(b) AGREED to notify NHS Borders of any issues which the Forum wished to discuss in advance to allow time for a meaningful response to be prepared and presented at meetings.