Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Head of Strategy, Transformation and Partnerships, Durham County Council that described the progress being made against the priorities and outcomes set within the County Durham Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) 2016-19 (for copy see file of Minutes).

The Corporate Equality and Strategy Manager, Durham County Council gave a detailed presentation that highlighted the performance against the six objectives:-

·         Escalation Area and Strategic Objectives

·         Percentage of mothers smoking at the time of delivery – this was a challenging indicator that saw a decline in performance.  Programmes were in place, for examplean incentive scheme and results of this would be available shortly as an evaluation report, however there were many other initiatives being taken forward by the NHS and council to impact upon this indicator in order to improve outcomes for children..

·         Percentage of patients receiving first definitive treatment for cancer within 62 days of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer – there had been a decline in performance with CCGs reporting poor weather as a contributory factor as patients were not being able to travel to hospital.  Schemes and actions were in place with cancer navigator posts helping to support a cancer pathway.

·         Fall and injuries in the over 60s – there was a decline in performance during 2014/15 and 2016/17 however with a new Falls Strategy in place recent data showed some improvement. 

The Chief Executive of County Durham and Darlington NHS FT shared some positive news for cancer statistics, as up to the end of June 2018 the trust had seen some improvements with figures at 13.6%. 

The Chief Clinical Officer, DDES CCG said that the 62 day target was a concern but that some of the difficulty arose as patients were themselves not aware of the targets that are in place in terms of attending appointments.  He advised that there had been investment in DDES but that there was still work to do in deprived areas.  He was hopeful that with the navigators in place this would make an impact on performance.

The Deputy Director of Public Health, DCC informed the Board that a full audit had been carried out across all foundation trusts in relation to smoking in pregnancy.  A report on themes was being compiled to report back to the foundations trusts.  Durham was seen as good practice and the calibre of the stop smoking service was making a difference.

The Director of Public Health, DCC said that there would be a focus not just on the smoker, but on partners of the smoker and family members.  She outlined that smoking prevalence in County Durham is now at just under 15 per cent. An update on the work would be reported at the next board meeting.

Further to a question from the Chairman of Healthwatch about the statistics for the first appointment for cancer patients to the first consultant appointment, he was advised that this was usually a two week wait.  The Chief Clinical Officer added that there was a focus on the early stages of the pathway and this would help with achieving the target.  He also said that it was about empowering patients to know their own target to be seen.

Resolved:

(i)            That the performance highlights and areas for improvements identified throughout the report be noted.

(ii)          That the actions taking place to improve performance be noted, and any additional action planning required be agreed.

(iii)         That performance against the 2017/18 Quality Premium Indicators be noted.