Issue - meetings

Purpose of the reports:

For the Select Committee to receive reports on the measures put in place across the health system to mitigate against pressures during the 2022-23 winter period.

Witnesses:

Liz Bruce – Joint Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Integrated Commissioning (Surrey County Council and Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Ben Hill – Director of Urgent Care (Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Dr Charlotte Canniff – Joint Chief Medical Officer (Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Jo Hunter – Deputy Director of Recovery (Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Nikki Mallinder – Director of Primary Care (Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Dr Pramit Patel – Primary Care Network Leader (Surrey Heartlands ICS)

Dr Helen Rostill – Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Therapies (Surrey and Borders Partnership)

Daryl Gasson – Executive Place Managing Director (NHS Frimley)

Stephen Dunn – Director of System Delivery and Place (NHS Frimley)

Mark Eley – Deputy Director of Operations (South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust)              

Helen Wilshaw-Roberts – Strategic Partnerships Manager (South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust)

Maria Millwood – Non-Executive Director (Healthwatch Surrey)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. Witnesses from Surrey Heartlands and the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) presented slides (Annex 1). Witnesses from NHS Frimley also presented slides (Annex 2).

2. A Member asked about the implications of the ICS restructuring on preparations for winter this year (2022). The Joint Chief Medical Officer (Heartlands) explained that there should be limited implications if all partners worked together to create the capacity required. The Director of System Delivery and Place (Frimley) added that NHS Frimley were developing a five-year strategy which involved significant stakeholder engagement during the summer regarding working together on collective priorities.

3. A Member queried the measures in place to support the mental health of staff during a period of increased pressure on the system. The Deputy Chief Executive of Surrey and Borders Partnership (SABP) explained that the system approach in place was the wellbeing hub which all staff could access. Individual organisations were now considering the cost-of-living crisis and how to support staff through that. SABP had also been linking in with other organisations to support their employee assistance schemes.

4. In response to a question on the fragility of the workforce, the Deputy Director of Operations (SECAmb) explained that they were aiming to reach 2,555 frontline staff by March 2023. SECAmb currently had approximately 2,150 frontline staff, with 150 in training. There had been a small reduction in overtime and the Deputy Director explained that it was about being able to achieve balance and not exhausting staff, whilst still offering the opportunity to earn extra money. Thus, the overtime hours made available were reviewed weekly. New avenues for recruitment had been developed and there had been international recruitment events targeting trained staff.

5. A Member queried whether the countries SECAmb were recruiting trained staff from were also short of staff. The Deputy Director of Operations (SECAmb) explained that they were recruiting from countries where they trained more staff than they were able to recruit. The Member asked at what stage SECAmb would be fully staffed. The Deputy Director responded by this time next year (October 2023), the resources were planned to reach the target number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32