Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Alan Chapman. 

There were no declarations of interest in matters coming before this meeting. 

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That all items of business be considered in public. 

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting.  The importance of having a full suite of key performance indicators (KPIs) was recognised and, as there was a vast range of information available, it was agreed that Members would request the specific information they required prior to health partners attending meetings. 

Hillingdon Health and Care Partners (HHCP) / North West London Integrated Care System (NWL ICS)

Mr Keith Spencer, Managing Director of HHCP, advised that a range of KPIs had been included on page 17 of the agenda which provided a comparison to other London boroughs.  He noted that the focus of HHCP's work in 2022/2023 had been on four main areas with a goal of delivering more care closer to home:

1.    Embedding population health management and addressing areas of inequality;

2.    Ensuring best use of resources to address the Hillingdon Health Place Based financial deficit;

3.    Developing and progressing the clinical models and activity shifts for the new hospital development programme; and

4.    Delivering the three main priorities in the place based transformation programme:

a.    Integrated neighbourhood development;

b.    Reactive care; and

c.    End of life care.

Ms Sue Jeffers, Joint Lead Borough Director at NWL ICS, advised that there had been more face-to-face GP appointments in 2022 (690,900) in comparison to 2021 (587,811), which was an increase of 17.4%.  There had been a 6.4% increase in the total number of appointments attended in 2022 (1,135,045) compared to 2021 (1,066,363).  Members noted that, even though there had been a reported 6.4% increase, this had been difficult to reconcile when residents were still struggling to get an appointment.  It was queried how many people presenting at Accident and Emergency (A&E) would have gone to their GP if there had been appointments available.  Ms Jeffers advised that there continued to be an increase in demand which had proved to be a challenge. 

Ms Jeffers advised that, pre-Covid, approximately 5% of appointments had been virtual.  During the pandemic, 100% of appointments had been virtual and now approximately 35% of appointments were virtual.  As some patients were not comfortable using technology, and because some cohorts of patients had to be seen face-to-face, it was essential that a hybrid approach was taken to meet the needs of patients and manage the day-to-day demand for services. 

Work was underway to introduce a cloud-based telephony system which would help to reduce the bottleneck of telephone calls received by GPs every morning where patients were trying to book an appointment.  Three primary care access hubs were also being set up in the north, centre and south of the Borough to manage same day urgent demand and undertake diagnostic tests to resolve issues in one place rather than referring on to another team elsewhere.  The first hub was likely to go live in July 2023 with the second opening at the beginning of October 2023.  It was agreed that Mr Spencer would provide an update on the effectiveness of these hubs in meeting the demand for GP  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

Consideration was given to the Cabinet Forward Plan. 

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted. 

Consideration was given to the Committee's Work Programme.  It was agreed that, as well as the children's mental health pathway witness session, officers be asked to attend the meeting on 15 June 2023 to talk to Members about the Family Hub. 

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.