Agenda item

To receive a presentation on developing the Integrated Care Strategy.

Sarah Webster, Executive Director Berkshire West, BOB ICB, and Rob Bowen, Deputy Director Strategy, BOB ICB, provided an update on developing the Integrated Care Partnership Strategy.

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

·       Rob Bowen emphasised that the Strategy had been developed on behalf of the Integrated Care Partnership.  He thanked those, including Ingrid Slade and Tracy Daszkiewicz, who had been involved in the integral conversations in developing the Strategy.

·       The Integrated Care Partnership were accountable for developing the Strategy.  The Strategy would set a clear direction for the system and promote joint working to meet local population health, care and social need.

·        It was intended that the Strategy would –

Ø  help to improve the public's health and well-being needs;

Ø  reduce health inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes across the system;

Ø  bring learning from across places and the system to drive improvement and innovation;

Ø  address the problems that would benefit from a system response and multiple partners.

·       How this would be achieved included –

Ø  The Strategy would complement but not supersede existing priorities within the Health and Wellbeing Strategies;

Ø  Joint working with a wide range of ICS partners;

Ø  Co-develop evidence-based, system-wide priorities – engaging a broad range of people, communities, and organisations.

·       Six thematic working groups which had provided a framework for more detailed conversations, were highlighted.  Three of them followed a life event and the other three were cross cutting through that.  Representations from different areas and organisations had been involved to ensure a wide range of perspectives.

·       A draft set of 18 priorities had been identified, which linked into a vision and the following 5 principles –

Ø  Preventing ill health;

Ø  Tackling health inequalities;

Ø  Providing person centred care;

Ø  Supporting local delivery;

Ø  Improving join up between our services.

·       Rob Bowen went on to outline the approach to engagement that would be taken.  The draft Strategy would hopefully be published on Monday 12^th. 

·       The Board noted the timescale of engagement.  Rob Bowen commented that the previously identified period of engagement would not have provided sufficient time to carry out meaningful engagement. 

·       There would be two parallel streams to this engagement – engaging well with the Borough residents; and considering the different partner organisations that should receive the document when it was published.

·       With regards to public engagement, information would be available online and there would be an engagement platform which enable people to access the Strategy and supporting documents, and also to complete a survey to give their views on the proposed priorities.  It would also provide links to the Health and Wellbeing Strategies. 

·       Work would be undertaken with Healthwatch on public engagement and work had been undertaken with the Voluntary Sector forum.  Existing patient engagement forums such as Patient Participation Groups would also be contacted.

·       Where possible links had been made with the local authority Communications Teams in order to assist in the distribution of information.

·       Virtual meetings to outline the vision, principles, strategic themes, and priorities and seek feedback, would be held in January.  Consideration was also being given to face to face meetings.

·       The engagement period would run to the end of January.  Following that an engagement report would be produced, and the Strategy updated.  The Strategy would hopefully be published at the end of February pending ICP approval.

·       Councillor Hare questioned whether there would be information on the local authority websites and was informed that it was hoped that there would be.  Ingrid Slade agreed to follow this up with the Wokingham Communications team.

·       Alice Kunjappy-Clifton questioned whether the information would be easy read and in different languages.  She also suggested the use of a QR Code.  Rob Bowen responded that an Easy Read version was being developed, which would hopefully go live the following week.  He believed that the engagement platform would have the ability to flip between different languages on the online version.  Requests for translations would also be considered.

·       Philip Bell asked whether the BOB Voluntary Sector Forum had worked on engagement, and was informed that it had.  Philip felt it was a good platform for distributing the wider message around the Strategy.

·       Nick Fellowes indicated that the Wokingham Volunteer Centre and the local Voluntary Sector could also help to disseminate the engagement message across the Borough.

·       Ingrid Slade asked whether there would be engagement with workforces.  A lot of acute sector, health, social care, and local authority workers were also residents.  Rob Bowen commented that currently there not anything specific for the workforce groups and further consideration would be given to this area.

·       Councillor Bray questioned when the Strategy would start and how long it would be in place before it was refreshed.  She also asked if there would be action plans supporting the Strategy, and if so, if these would also be joint pieces of work.  Rob Bowen emphasised that there was not a specified end date.  The guidance suggested that the Strategy should be strategic and provide a direction of travel, but it was for local areas to decide what this should look like.  It was recognised that different systems were at different points of development and establishing partnership working across the system.  It was likely to be for five years, but it was possible that would be refreshed prior to this as the system matured.  He went on to outline the likely arrangements around underpinning action plans.  Sarah Webster added that it was a national requirement that the Strategy come into effect from 1 April 2023.  Berkshire West had some existing shared governance in place which would help to identify the key priorities for Berkshire West.

·       Councillor Bray sought assurance regarding integrated working.  Sarah Webster reaffirmed the commitment to joint working.

·       Nick Fellowes expressed concern regarding Berkshire West being referred to as a ‘Place’ and cautioned against a generic approach being taken to the Berkshire West area which was made up of three distinct areas.  Sarah Webster emphasised that ‘Place’ was a national term.

·       Councillor Hare questioned where the Strategy would be signed off.  Rob Bowen indicated that there was a requirement that it was signed off by the ICP.  It was clarified that Councillor Hare was the Council’s representative on the ICP.

RESOLVED:  That the update on developing the Integrated Care Partnership Strategy be noted.