The Board to receive an update on Better Care Fund and Transforming Community Services.

Craig McArdle, Plymouth City Council, Dave Spencer and Ben Chilcott, NEW Devon CCG provided the Board with an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF).  It was reported that –

(a)           nationally it was felt that the original BCF would not change the balance of care in those communities.  We were asked to complete a more detailed template and have more engagement with partners and acute providers working to tight timescale to submit the completed template by 19 September 2014;

(b)          the Plymouth BCF was identified as area that would benefit from additional support;

(c)           the BCF was only part of the bigger system and important to note this.  This vision had driven our activity and as a result set up the Integrated Health and Wellbeing Programme as agreed by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Plymouth City Council;

(d)          there were a few changes to the metrics since we last presented in March.  A change to non-elective admissions with a target set nationally at 3.5% and looking to keep the dementia metric.

In response to questions raised, it was reported that -

(e)          the BCF was a proportion of the wider system change and by understanding the BCF would help us understand the changes, the scope and the focus on the prevention.  The Board needs to understand the challenges and benefits that the BCF would bring;

(f)            the non-elective metric to achieve 3.5% reduction represents a significant challenge to the system.  This was a very challenging metric;

(g)           the Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust were looking at 3 BCF templates, Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.  There was a need to understand the pace and make sure if we are aligning schemes that we back he tight ones;

(h)          they were honest with the temperature check and the additional support had given them the capacity for wider planning.  They were using intelligence and advice at the heart of the process which allowed them to focus on areas of weakness and to identify the cohorts that would benefit from the changes.

(i)            a focus on being a Dementia Friendly City was important.

Agreed that -

1.         authority is delegated to the Health and Wellbeing Board to sign off the paper via the Assistant Director of Joint Commissioning and Adult Social Care in consultation with the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Director of Public Health when the final template is available.

2.         the Health and Wellbeing Board commend the Better Care Fund to Cabinet in November.