Agenda item

            (Mrs. S. Toland, Head of Environmental Health attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that, in December, 2011, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety had published a document entitled: “Transforming Your Care: A Review of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland”, which proposed far reaching changes to the delivery of health and social care over the next five years.  The report contained ninety-nine recommendations for improvements in the quality of care and required a shift of resources of £83 million across Northern Ireland from hospital to community-based services.  It would include an investment of £70 million in transitional funding to enable the new model of care to be implemented.  It recognised that quality must be improved within a fixed budget.

            The Head of Environmental Health explained that crucial changes would include the extension of personalised care, enabled through the holding of care budgets by clients themselves, the establishment of Integrated Care Partnerships, involving General Practitioners, Community Pharmacists, Health and Social Care Trusts, other agencies and the community and voluntary sectors.  One of the opportunities was the ability to access funding for the development of new facilities in the community, thus building on the current network of health and wellbeing centres.  That would allow General Practitioners to co-locate with nursing, social work, therapists, pharmacists, advice centres and others to work in an integrated way.

            The Belfast Local Commissioning Group and the Belfast Trust had been asked to lead the development of a Population Plan for the City which would deliver the new model in partnership with all those who had made a contribution to health and social care.  The Plan must be submitted by 22nd June and Mr. Iain Deboys, the Commissioning Lead, had now requested an opportunity for representatives of the Group and the Trust to present initial proposals to the Council before then.  Accordingly, given the light agenda and the timescale for the production of the Plan, representatives of the Trust and the Local Commissioning Group were in attendance.

            The Committee agreed to receive a presentation and Ms. C. McNicholl and Messrs. C. Donaghy and I. Deboys were admitted to the meeting and welcomed by the Chairman.

            With the assistance of visual aids, Mr. Donaghy outlined the rationale for the production of the Plan in the proposed timescale.  He reviewed the health challenges in Belfast at the present time which included, inter alia, the low health outcomes in Belfast due to deprivation, an ageing population, lengthy stays by some people in hospital environments, the changes in the workforce and outdated facilities which were not fit for purpose.  He then outlined the opportunities which existed in Belfast including a commitment to work in partnership and leadership through the Belfast Strategic Partnership; a recognition that Health and Social Care could not address many of the health issues on its own; and a diverse range of community and voluntary agencies which provided vital support at local level.

            Mr. Donaghy then reviewed the key elements of the Population Plan which included the following:

·        a greater involvement of service users in service-design and contracting for care in a mixed economy;

·        the mobilisation of the diverse community and voluntary sectors in the City in a partnership approach;

·        direct targeting of prevention and support to those most in need;

·        single contact points for those who needed support and clear pathways to that support;

·        an integrated approach in which General Practitioners, nurses, social workers, therapists, pharmacists and other sectors and partners worked co-operatively together to meet the needs of the individuals;

·        more locally-based services, with rapid response and assessment from hospital-based services when required, to reduce the need for admission;

·        no hospital-based continuing care for long stay patients with a mental illness or learning disability;

·        greater family support and fewer children in residential care;

·        a greater range of supported housing as an alternative to residential homes for older people;

·        a higher proportion of midwife-led births;

·        a greater choice for those who wanted to end their days at home;

·        proposals for a range of new facilities; and

·        the need for hospitals to become more specialised.

            In conclusion, he stated that there required to be a shift in resources from a primary care model to also supporting a community supported model and that while the needs would continue to grow the budget would not, therefore, there was a need to get more from the system and be clearer about what the Trust could provide.

            The deputation then answered a number of questions from the Members in relation to General Practitioner hubs, consultation and engagement for the Population Plan, the opportunity to work with the Council as part of its local investment fund and the current and future arrangements for accident and emergency services in Belfast.

            The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, thanked the members of the delegation for attending and they retired from the meeting.

Noted.