Agenda item

To consider the report on proposals from the NHS or providers of health services to vary or develop health services in the area of the Committee.

a)    Whitehill and Bordon Health Hub – Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board

b)    Integrated Primary Care Access – Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board/Frimley Integrated Care Board

c)    Andover Community Diagnostic Centre – Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

a)    Whitehill and Bordon Health Hub update (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board)

The Committee considered an update from the ICB on progress with developing the Whitehill and Bordon Health Hub. (Since the meeting of HASC on 24 January 2023, Members of HASC have also been sent a link to a publicly available presentation, via the Whitehill and Bordon Town Council website, which includes some further details.)

The purpose-built Health Hub was intended to combine primary care (provided by Badgerswood and Forest GP Surgery) and community health services onto a single site, together with services currently provided at Chase Community Hospital. In presenting, the ICB noted that this was not a merger but rather co-located services. They also confirmed that the IT systems used at the Health Hub would be compatible with one another.

There was discussion regarding the importance of including certain services within the Hub – such as menopause support, women’s health services and linking to preventative health care and health checks. It was anticipated that the planning application for the Health Hub would be submitted in April 2023.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the Committee continue to monitor the progress of the development of the hub and request an update at the June HASC meeting ahead of the planned patient group engagement activity.

b)    Integrated Primary Care Access (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board)

Members heard that, from October 2022, new arrangements came into place across England for additional primary care capacity outside core hours (8.00am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays). These were available from 6.30pm to 8.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 5.00pm on Saturdays. It was noted that the changes were designed to improve access, promote patient choice and support primary care resilience. Members were pleased that more provision, not only to GP appointments but also other healthcare professionals, was being offered and were keen to continue to monitor the progress of the initiative.

In response to Members’ questions it was confirmed that:

·         Some additional analysis of how the new arrangements were working (monitoring figures, numbers of patients seen out of hours) would be provided for the Committee at the June HASC meeting.

·         The IT software tool ‘Apex’ was used by the majority of GP practices and was designed specifically as primary care business intelligence tool to extract and present data.

·         That the online eConsult tool was used differently by different practices. A large number of eConsults being submitted had potential to be unsafe as it was impossible to ascertain the severity of issues without reading each individual submission – it was noted that some practices were receiving unsustainable numbers of forms submitted. Members discussed the importance of utilising pharmacies as a first port of call for non-urgent treatment and suggested that a note be added to the system front page for patients information, advising them to visit their local pharmacy where applicable.

RESOLVED:

i)     That the Committee continue to monitor the item given the importance of enabling access to primary care and request a further update on progress with the new arrangements for providing ‘out of hours’ care at the June HASC meeting.

c)    Andover Community Diagnostic Centre (Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

Members heard that, Hampshire Hospitals (HHFT) had secured investment of £8.2million to create a Community Diagnostic Centre at Andover War Memorial Hospital and that, as part of HHFT’s on-going investment in Andover it would also provide more modernised facilities for the Minor Injuries Unit and Maternity departments.

The Committee were pleased to hear that the proposals would mean patients had greater access to vital services whilst staying closer to home, speeding up early diagnosis and reducing waiting times.

In response to Members’ questions it was confirmed that the Andover Birthing Unit was for low risk births. Patients requiring more critical care would be best placed in a hospital to receive the appropriate clinical services.

RESOLVED:

j)     That the Committee monitor the progress of the project and request a further update at the June HASC meeting if appropriate.