Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the last meeting held on 5 April 2022 are attached for approval.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 5 April 2022 were approved as a correct record.

Report of Sheena Ramsey, Chief Executive and Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health (attached).

Representatives of Gateshead Health NHS FT and CNTW NHS FT will provide the OSC with a presentation in respect of their respective Quality Accounts.

Appendix 1 – Gateshead Health NHS FT Quality Account 2021- 22.

Appendix 2 – CNTW NHS FT Quality Account 2021- 22

The Committee received a power point presentation from Karen Roberts, Deputy Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Quality and Jane Conroy, Head of Quality and Patient Experience on the Gateshead Health NHS Trust, Quality Accounts 2021-22.

Based on the Committee’s knowledge of the work of the Trust during 2021-22, the Committee were able to comment as follows:

Quality Priorities for 2022-23

OSC is supportive of the Trust’s proposed Quality Priorities for improvement.

Progress Against Quality Priorities for 2021-22

OSC expressed its thanks to all the Trust’s staff and volunteers for its excellent work in continuing to make some real improvements in quality and safety whilst still facing significant operational challenges as the Trust recovers from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic e.g. End of Life Care where the results of the national audit were excellent and the Trust is exceeding the national average in 10 out of the 12 domains being audited; Responsiveness to the needs of patients – where the trust is above the national average’ 29% reduction in C Difficile cases since 2019-2020 and reductions in both Hospital Acquired Pressure Damage and Community Acquired Pressure Damage and introduction of biodegradable red tabards to help avoid medication errors.

Workforce

OSC noted that workforce challenges meant that Trusts were having to rely on agency staff in some areas and sought to understand howthe Trust was ensuring continuity of care for patients, particularly those in vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, where this was the case. OSC was informed that agency staff are seen as a key part of the workforce in times of pressure and are block booked so they get to know ward/patients and staff and become part of the team and this supports continuity and quality of care.

OSC also noted that some staff are on short contracts and then pick up agency work and sought to understand whether there was scope for such staff to be on longer contracts to fit in with other outside responsibilities. The Trust is also, through its workforce strategy, carrying out investment with a view to reducing the Trust’s reliance on casual staff and last year had managed to achieve zero vacancy rates for healthcare support workers.

Patient Engagement

OSC noted that non-attendance in outpatients was an issue and queried what work was taking place to address this. OSC was advised that it was considered that non-attendance at outpatients had been exacerbated as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic and there had been a great deal of work carried out via social media to reassure patients that outpatients provides a safe environment for appointments.

Quality of Care

OSC sought to understand the work the Trust was progressing to ensure that patients from minority ethnic groups were not receiving a lesser standard/quality of care. OSC were reassured to note that the Trust was consulting on improvements arising from the national Ockendon Review of Maternity Services and would be using the Maternity Voices Partnership to involve patients from all backgrounds to assist  ...  view the full minutes text for item CHW2

The Committee received a power point from Paul Sams, Feedback and Outcomes Lead, Commissioning and Quality Assurance Team on the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Quality Accounts 2021-22.

Based on the OSC’s knowledge of the work of the Trust during 2021-22 the Committee were able to comment as follows:

Quality Priorities for 2022-23

OSC is supportive of the Trust’s proposed Quality Priorities for Improvement.

Progress Against Quality Priorities for 2021-22

OSC expressed its thanks to all the Trust’s staff and volunteers for its excellent work in continuing to make some real improvements in quality and safety whilst still facing significant operational challenges as the Trust recovers from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic e.g. Positive and Safe Strategy – Impact -there have been significant improvements in reducing restrictive practices within the Trust such as restraint, prone and seclusion which is particularly noteworthy given the pressures that Teams and clinician have been working under. The Trust has ALSO retained the Better Health at Work Maintaining Excellence Award and the NHS Improvement Single Oversight Framework which identifies NHS providers potential support needs across 5 themes and trusts are “segmented” according to the level of support each Trust needs identifies CNTW is segmented as 1 – maximum autonomy. In addition, in the area of Adult ASD – there has been a reduction in those waiting over 18 weeks in spite of an increase in referrals.

Waiting Times

OSC was concerned to see that waiting times were rising and service users were waiting over 18 weeks in a number of areas and sought to understand what plan were in place to address the situation. OSC was informed that as demand had increased significantly work was being carried out within the new ICS to actively engage with partners such as local authorities, CCGs and the third sector to better sign post individuals to the support they need and put in place earlier access to help within communities such as mental health nurses in GP surgeries. OSC was assured that Gateshead was not an outlier in terms of numbers and all areas had seen an increased number of referrals. OSC considered that it would be important for the Trust to ensure that the third sector continues to be robust enough to take on the signposting role outlined and that it works with partners to help ensure social prescribing initiatives they are working with are adequately resourced.

It was also queried whether there have been any work carried out to understand why demand was increasing and whether this was a consequence of the pandemic or some section of unmet needs. OSC was advised that it was likely to be a combination of both, however, overall, there was a correlation with the Covid 19 pandemic. In response the Trust’s offer had changed and the Trust had embraced the provision of digital services which many service users had found valuable and meant some individuals were accessing services they had not accessed before.

CQC Inspection  ...  view the full minutes text for item CHW3