Issue - meetings

Purpose of the item: The purpose of this report is to update the committee on the recent public engagement undertaken by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and the Frimley Integrated Care System (known as NHS Frimley) on the criteria to evaluate a shortlist of possible sites for a new hospital. This report serves as an update to the previous report presented to the committee by the Trust and NHS Frimley on 7 December 2023.

Witnesses:

Emma Boswell, Director for Partnerships and Engagement

Cain Thomas, Interim Programme Director

Key points raised in the discussion:

1. A Substitute Member asked if Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust felt enough was being done with engagement, given the survey conducted received 3,399 responses but Frimley HealthNHS Foundation Trust had a customer base of around half a million. The Director of Partnerships and Engagement responded that there could never be enough engagement achieved but Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust would always strive to do more. The engagement completed so far was at the beginning of the new hospital’s journey, with many lessons to learn from it and plans were in place to improve. Partners were relied on in terms of sharing information as well as using Frimley Health’s own networks.

2. The Substitute Member suggested that Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust needed to do more to make residents feel their views were important. The Substitute Member also referenced from the report that only 25% of responses from the engagement was from Frimley Health’s staff and asked what Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust was going to do further to improve on this. The Director for Partnerships and Engagement said there were several different ways Frimley HealthNHS Foundation Trust engaged with staff, one of which was through the online survey. There were two all staff events, attended by over 600 staff members. The new hospital programme team engaged with staff through existing meetings within Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and in other ways. This engagement was continuing. There was an engagement plan, that would be refreshed considering the outcomes of the early engagement so far. The Interim Programme Director added that the feedback of the surveys undertaken was contributing to the selection criteria and considered when reviewing sites for the new hospital.

3. A Member asked how ethnic minority groups with cultural/language barriers were being addressed in Frimley Health’s engagement. The Director for Partnerships and Engagement explained that Frimley HealthNHS Foundation Trust was committed to engaging with all sections of the community with reducing health inequalities being a core ambition. Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust had good examples of working with local community groups, faith leaders, the voluntary sector and interpretation services to ensure ethnic minority communities could engage with Frimley Health’s work. However, this had not come through in the work. Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust would revisit these communities to ensure elements of best practice were built on.

4. The Member also asked what questions were asked in Frimley Health’s public consultation process. The Director for Partnerships and Engagement explained this would be checked and a response would be provided to the Committee.

5. A Member asked Frimley Health to elaborate further on the consultation process. The Director for Partnerships and Engagement explained it was imperative for Frimley HealthNHS Foundation Trust to offer a broad range of opportunities to engage in the work and recognise the different needs of the communities. Engaging with communities, conducting face-to-face sessions, and offering access to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5