Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships and presentation by the Urgent and Emergency Care Network Director and Transformation Lead, North East Commissioning Support regarding the Urgent and Emergency Care Network (for copy see file of Minutes).

The UEC Network Director gave a detailed presentation that highlighted the following:-

·         The UEC Network & Our Approach

·         Network Mandated Interventions

·         Local A&E Delivery Board

·         Model of Care

·         Specific Projects

Ø  Integrated Urgent Care – Clinical Hub

Ø  Pilot 2016/17

Ø  Expected Outcomes

Ø  Digital Care

Ø  Directory of Services

Ø  Mobile Directory of Services

Ø  Delayed Transfer of Care

·         Applying Best Practice

·         Regional Approach

·         Deliverables

·         Additional Network Achievements and Plans

·         Evaluation

Mrs Hassoon referred to the slide on ‘deliverables’ and asked if there was an assessor to do the work.  She was advised that the Network did have assessors and that work needed to be streamlined to provide one service.

Councillor Forster commented that people were trained to go to A&E and she was concerned that the current 111 service did not work.  She suggested that everyone in the service were re-trained and urged people to use the term assessment instead of triage.

Councillor Bell said that good work was being described but asked how this would fit at a regional level.  He referred to rumours through the STP that Darlington hospital would close and asked how this would fit with that agenda.  He was informed that changes were being made at an operational level and that work was ongoing with the STP.  The Director of Primary Care, Partnerships and Engagement, DDES CCG explained that the Local Delivery Boards would look at regional systems and that the STP were looking at the future and anticipating the current demands.  He advised that the current local delivery boards would align and feed into the STP.

Referring to digital care, Councillor Brookes asked how this would fit in with data protection and asked if there was a patient agreement for data sharing, and if the system was deliverable. The Director of Primary Care, Partnerships and Engagement explained that this process starts at the GP practice where patients would be able to opt in or out and if consent was given wherever the patient turned up in the system all information would be available.  Bridging software would be used to combine and migrate the systems.  Each practice had dealt with the issue differently but all practices were being asked to write to those patients who had opted out previously to explain the benefits of opting in.

The Chairman thanked the officers for their presentation.

Resolved:

That the report be received and that the comments of the Committee be noted.