Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which sets out details of draft Priority Action 4e: Ensure equitable access to services that prevent and reduce ill-health and specifically the future role of the emerging Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Leeds.

(Report attached)

As part of the Board’s examination of Health Inequalities, Members considered a report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development, which included the draft Health and Wellbeing City Priority Action Plan (4e) related to ensuring equitable access to services that prevent and reduce ill-health.  The main purpose of the item was to consider the future role of the emerging Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in this regard.  Appended to the report was the draft action plan for Priority Action 4e and a written submission by the three Leeds Clinical CCGs.

Attending for this item to present the report and respond to the Board’s questions and comments were:

Gordon Sinclair (Shadow Accountable Officer) – Leeds West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Victoria Eaton (Consultant in Public Health) – NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds – working with Leeds West CCG

Jason Broch (Shadow Chair) – Leeds North Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Lucy Jackson (Consultant in Public Health) – NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds – working with Leeds North CCG

Nichola Stephens (Senior Information Manager (Public Health, Staying Healthy & LA) – NHS Airedale, Bradford and Leeds

Apologies were received from Andy Harris (Leeds South and East Clinical Commissioning Group), with issues relating to this CCG, being covered by Jason Broch and Gordon Sinclair.

The key points of discussion were:

• the importance to all of the CCGs of reducing health inequalities and, notwithstanding the variation on matters pertinent to the local areas,  the shared approach being undertaken across the City;
• Public Health to be at the core of the CCG organisations’ thinking with commissioning based on need;
• data issues, the difficulties of demonstrating quick wins in this area; the possibility of using proxy indicators; the importance of using postcode data and the reliability and accuracy of the data being collected
• the method used for extracting data from GP practices;
• the Leeds-based Information Strategy and the need for this to include those Leeds residents with BD and WF postcodes;
• the need for data collection systems to be compatible.  It was noted that in the Outer South the incompatibility of data systems effectively excluded 15,000 residents from the information collected, which was not acceptable, and skewed the figures.  It was stressed that this anomaly, which had recurred for years, must be addressed;
• the role of the CCGs in signposting people to services, especially those where a social or economic problem, e.g. poor housing, was affecting their health; the time constraints on GPs and the use of the multi-agency referral system (MARS), with the Board being informed MARS had been considered but was felt to offer limited additional value, other than for advice on benefits, with different pathways being used for signposting to other services.  Some concerns around ‘data sharing’ had also been raised and fed back into the evaluation process;
• how CCGs would meet the needs of those people who did not readily engage with society or were not registered with a GP;
• the use of data, above and beyond the primary care data available across the city, to help estimate the likely prevalence of particular health conditions within particular populations and/or communities,
• a method of patient engagement using a social marketing approach to help improve / encourage patient access to services.

RESOLVED -  

(i)  To note the report, the information provided by the CCGs and the comments made at the meeting.

(ii)  That the information presented and discussed at meeting be used to inform the drafting of the Board’s inquiry report around health inequalities.

(During consideration of this matter, Councillor Hussain left the meeting)