Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group (ELRCCG) which presented the Primary Care Strategy 2019-2034 and provided an update on the progress of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Leicestershire. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

The Committee welcomed Tim Sacks, Chief Operating Officer, ELRCCG to the meeting for this item.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          The Primary Care Strategy was a high level document which set out the basic aims for primary care and key areas to focus on. It was not intended to be a public facing document. Leaflets had been produced for the public regarding PCNs however each Network was expected to link in with its own stakeholders and patients to explain how the new structures would impact on them. It was expected that changes would be incremental over the five year period. Members asked for reassurance that the changes would be explained to the public including how they would affect patients’ ability to access a GP. The guidance did not set out explicit requirements for access; it only required that the reasonable needs of patients were met.

(ii)         Not all PCNs were contiguous with county boundaries; this was allowed under the guidance. Many patients crossed the county boundary to receive medical treatment.

(iii)       In response to concerns about recruitment and retention of staff it was acknowledged that the decrease in the number of available GP sessions was an issue and explained that it was primarily due to GPs working less hours rather than actual GP numbers decreasing. Work was being undertaken to promote Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as a good place to live and work in the NHS. An international recruitment campaign had taken place which resulted in 16 new GPs for Leicestershire and a further 16 were to be recruited in 2020. If it could be demonstrated that Primary Care Networks in LLR were well supported and cover was available when staff sickness occurred, this would help recruitment and retention. A training and development programme for pharmacists was also in place across primary care, community health services and acute health services. The role of pharmacists was seen as a real opportunity as their new contract would include treating minor ailments. Practices would be able to book patients into the pharmacy and vice versa.

(iv)       A detailed review of estates was taking place which would look at what facilities were available, where the gaps were and what opportunities there were for making better use of buildings. Consideration would also be given to what funding was available due to developer contributions under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It was expected that the results of this review would be made public in January 2020.

(v)        Given the large amount of changes that were taking place in primary care, and the different workstreams, consideration needed to be given to how future developments would be scrutinised publicly and who would be the most appropriate officer to be held to account for each component.  A new structure was being implemented across all three LLR CCGs and officers would be given broader roles with oversight across the system though this may result in some officers being less cognisant of the details of individual work areas. 

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the Primary Care Strategy 2019-2034 and the update on the development of Primary Care Networks in Leicestershire be noted.

(b)        That officers be requested to give consideration to how the Committee can scrutinise progress against the five key system challenges as set out in section 4.1 of the Primary Care Strategy.

(c)        That officers be requested to produce a report on the Primary Care Estates Strategy for a future meeting of the Committee.