Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meetings held on 13^th January 2009 and 26^th January 2009 were taken as read and were signed as a correct record.

            It was confirmed that no public questions had been received.

            The Board considered the Minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board and the Executive Board Sub Committee relevant to the Healthy Halton Policy and Performance Board.

            RESOLVED: That the minutes be noted.

            The Minutes of the meeting of the Halton Health Partnership Board from 13^th November 2008 were submitted for information.

            Members were advised that following concerns raised with regard to a comment about Area Forums in the last set of minutes, these minutes had now been amended.

            RESOLVED: That the Halton Health Partnership Board Minutes be noted.

            The Board received a presentation from Mr. R. Walker, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust (the Trust) on its consultation regarding its application for Foundation Trust Status and its organisational proposals.

            Mr. Walker’s presentation set out:

·        who the Trust was and what they did;

·        what the Trust was consulting on;

·        the required content of the application for Foundation Trust status;

·        the process that would now take place, including public consultation, engagement events etc;

·        what a Foundation Trust was and what it would mean in terms of benefits; and

·        the proposed governance structure, constitution of the Council of Members and how the public constituencies and partners would be appointed.      

            Members were further advised that Foundation Trusts were subject to NHS Standards, Performance Measures and Inspection Processes. Foundation Trusts were overseen by an independent regulator, Monitor, and inspected by the Health Care Commission, which was the body that ensured that Foundation Trusts meet their obligations. The report set out what Foundation Trusts were along with what they must demonstrate.

            It was noted that the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust was now ready to be considered for Foundation Trust Status. Significant improvements had been made over the last 12 months in managing finances and improving services. During the last year the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust had been successful in achieving Level 2 as the NHS Litigation Authority’s assessment of its ability to manage risk.

In addition it was noted that the Trust was one of only four Mental Health Trusts to have achieved this position and the Trust’s submission for the Annual Health check was assessed by the Healthcare Commission as achieving a rating of excellent for the quality of services.

            Arising from Members’ comments and concerns the following was noted:

·        that Membership would be from the age of 14+ and support would be provided to ensure members were able to fully carry out this role; and

·        that it was expected that Local Authorities would be represented by Officers, however, this was being looked at as part of the  consultation process.

The Board thanked Mr Walker for his presentation.

            RESOLVED: That

(1)       the Board endorses the Trust’s proposals, as contained within the Consultation Document; and

(2)       any comments arising from its deliberations be provided to the Trust, within the Consultation Period which commenced on 26^th January 2009 and ends on 19^th April 2009.

(NB: Councillor Lloyd Jones declared a personal interest in the following item of business due to her husband being a non-executive director of Halton and St Helens Primary Care Trust)

            The Board received a report which described the progress made with the self-assessment against the Standards for Better Health during the period April 2008 – March 2009 within the following organisations:

·               Halton and St. Helens PCT;

·               North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust; and

·               The 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust.

The Board was advised that the Annual Health Check in 2008/09 would assess how well NHS Trusts performed during the financial year from 1^st April 2008 to 31^st March 2009.

It was further advised that the Health Care Commission published the Annual Health Check 2008/09 assessing and rating the NHS in June 2008. The guidance set out:

·               Proposals for the annual health check in 2008/09 and related processes;

·               How the annual health check focused on the issues that were most important to patients; and

·               How the annual health check could be better tailored to different types of trust.

The Commission had also published the criteria for assessing performance against the Core Standards. There were different sets of criteria, one for each type of trust; Acute Services, Mental Health Services and Learning Disabilities Services, Ambulance Services and Primary Care Trusts.

The Board received a presentation on the results of the Annual Healthcare Checks from each Trust. It was noted that each of the Trusts was expecting to declare full compliance with the core standards.

The Board considered each presentation and raised a number of queries, to which responses were given.

            RESOLVED: That a Third Party commentary to accompany the submissions of the Annual Healthcare Declarations for each of the NHS Trusts would be sent on behalf of the Board.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Health and Community which proposed forthcoming work topics for 2009/10 for the Board’s consideration as outlined in detail in Appendix 1 to the report.

            Members were advised that topics for inclusion in the work programme for 2009/10 were as follows:

·               Employment opportunities for people with learning, physical or sensory disability and mental health issues;

·               Review of Disability facilities grant

Members were further advised that the Board may be invited to participate in other topics to be progressed jointly with other Policy and Performance Boards for example – Children’s Health.

            RESOLVED: That the Board agreed the proposed work topics for 2009/10 with the following membership:

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Corporate and Policy regarding the Third Quarter Monitoring Report for:

·               Older People and Physical and Sensory Impairment Services;

·               Adults of a working age; and

·               Health and Partnerships.

Members were advised that changes to the Mental Health Act would be reported to the Executive Board and would require amendments to the Constitution, that the project board and work streams for personalisation were now setup and that the majority of targets were on course.

            Arising from Members’ comments and questions the following points were noted:

·                    an update on Oak Meadow was requested and it was agreed that the responsible officer would contact Councillors direct;

·                    that some caution should be used in relation to indicator NI36, as it was a new indicator and was expected to improve;

·                    it would be more efficient for the Council and other organisations to use the same system, as it would reduce officer time on inputting information;

·                    that the budget profile was expected to be underspent at year end and congratulations be passed on to the relevant teams.

            RESOLVED: That the Third Quarter Monitoring Reports be received and the actions outlined above be noted.