Meeting: Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee (County Hall, Durham - Council Chamber - 08/01/2007 09:30:00 AM)
Item: A4 County Durham Primary Care Trust
Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee
8 January 2007
County Durham Primary Care Trust |
|
| Report of the Head of Overview and Scrutiny |
Purpose: To inform members of the role and function of the County Durham Primary Care Trust and its strategic objectives for the next three to five years.
Information
1. County Durham Primary Care Trust was established on 1 October 2006 to serve the 497,000 population of County Durham.
2. Yasmin Chaudhry is the new Chief Executive and Lady Ann Calman is the Chair of the organisation .
3. The headquarters of County Durham Primary Care Trust is at John Snow House in Durham City.
The Primary Care Trust was formed by the merger of:-
- Derwentside Primary Care Trust
- Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust
- Durham Dales Primary Care Trust
- Easington Primary Care Trust
- Sedgefield Primary Care Trust
4. Staff of the County Durham Primary Care Trust are currently based across the five main sites, one in each of the areas of the former Primary Care Trusts.
5. The functions of County Durham Primary Care Trust include:-
- improving the health of the community and reducing health inequalities
- securing the provision of safe, high quality services
- contract management on behalf of its general practices and public
- engaging with local people and other local service providers to ensure patients' views are properly heard and coherent access to integrated health and social care services is provided
- acting as a provider of services only where it is not possible to have separate providers - and with arrangements for separating out decisions on commissioning from provider management
- emergency planning.
6. The following are considered as strategic objectives over the coming planning period (3-5 years):-
i. Improve the health of County Durham residents.
ii. Achieve best value in all commissioned and jointly commissioned services; ensuring greater patient and public involvement through fully engaged PBCs.
iii. Provide a locally based healthcare service for each care sector where this improves health outcomes and provides value for money.
iv. Develop a choice of providers in each care sector including NHS, independent sector and third sector providers through market management.
v. Achieve national targets to a level of excellence (Healthcare Commission).
7. This will be supported by:
i. Strong Practice Based Commissioning
ii. A financially balanced trust
iii. Strategic intent to invest in specific areas
iv. Productivity improvements based on benchmarking
v. Public Health integrated into the commissioning approach
vi. Effective feedback loops into commissioning to address service improvement
vii. Involved public consultation
viii. Strong working relationships with partners
ix. Joint approaches to specific issues
x, Workforce using their full range of skills and competencies
xi, Infrastructure strategies eg workforce, estates and information technology.
8. As the trust’s provider function becomes more “arms length” there will be a need to put in place support for the provider in the form of advice and assistance so that they can respond to the new commissioning arrangements and so be fit for purpose.
Recommendation 9. That members note the report and look forward to a productive working relationship with the new County Durham Primary Care Trust.
Contact: Feisal Jassat Tel: 0191 383 3506
feisal.jassat@durham.gov.uk |
Attachments
Health Scrutiny meeting 8Jan CDPCT.pdf