Issue - meetings

16.1     The Committee considered a report on Primary Care Networks (PCNs), which are groups of GP practices in East Sussex, following on from a report the Committee considered in March. There are twelve PCNs in East Sussex which include all GP practices, with the largest covering around 100,000 registered patients and the smallest covering around 28,000 patients.

16.2     The Committee asked what progress had been made in the recruitment of mental health clinicians and support staff, and the development of Emotional Wellbeing Services in Eastbourne.

16.3     Liz Davis, NHS Sussex Director of Primary Care, answered that some initiatives were locally led and PCNs were not specifically contracted to provide mental health services. PCNs were expected to work with local partners and stakeholders to develop appropriate mental health pathways and services. There was a primary care workforce hub that was working with all PCNs in East Sussex to encourage uptake of additional mental health staff under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). Jessica Britton, NHS Sussex Executive Managing Director, East Sussex, added that the staff to support the Emotional Wellbeing Services were being trained through the ARRS and developed in partnership with Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust (SPFT), with the intention of introducing those services across all GP practices in East Sussex. The intention was for 90% of practices in Sussex to offer Emotional Wellbeing Services by the end of the financial year. Jessica agreed to provide further details on the rollout of these services in Eastbourne outside of the meeting.

16.4     The Committee asked how mental health ARRS staff connected to other local support services such as youth services and mental health support teams (MHSTs) in schools.

16.5     Jessica Britton answered that across Sussex there was the Mental Health Community Transformation Programme which took a strategic approach to expand the mental health support offer within communities, which included linking between MHSTs and access to talking therapies. As part of the Community Transformation Programme there was ongoing work in East Sussex to identify the totality of services that were available in a given locality to further join up support more comprehensively. Both physical and mental health support would be enhanced further around neighbourhoods in coming months and into next year as Integrated Community Teams were developed, and this would include links between schools and young people’s services that would improve integration between services.

16.6     The Committee asked whether any talking therapies would be delivered by non-clinical staff.

16.7     Jessica Britton confirmed that talking therapies would be delivered by trained mental health practitioners. The Emotional Wellbeing Services was a partnership with SPFT to oversee trained clinical professionals, but also a wider support from non-trained staff and voluntary and community sector to provide a more comprehensive offer. People would always be referred to the right service for them which offered support relative to their need.

16.8     The Committee asked about access to GPs where PCNs covered a large geographical footprint, noting that residents were being offered GP appointments in places far from where there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16

35.1     The Committee considered a report on Primary Care Networks (PCNs), which are groups of GP practices in East Sussex, and emotional wellbeing services provided through PCNs. There are twelve PCNs in East Sussex which include all GP practices, with the largest covering around 100,000 registered patients and the smallest covering around 28,000 patients.

35.2     The Committee asked what services were being provided under the enhanced hours service, and how aware the wider public are of PCNs and the recruitment of specialist staff.

35.3     Liz Davis, Director of Primary Care Operations NHS Sussex outlined that each PCN makes its own decision regarding which services to provide under the enhanced hours arrangements. PCNs are expected to offer enhanced hours services across the whole population covered by the PCN. NHS Sussex does not control which clinics are provided but has some information on enhanced hours services that are being offered. In terms of informing the wider public of the services being offered by the PCN, every PCN is expected to engage with patients, families, local councillors and other stakeholders on the services that they offer. Liz Davis offered to speak to Cllr Shuttleworth outside the meeting regarding the Alps PCN.

35.4     Cllr Turner asked about the work to tackle health inequalities and the provision of a GP surgery in Baird ward in Hastings, which has been under consideration for some time.

35.5     Liz Davis agreed to look into this and get in touch with Cllr Turner after the meeting. Jessica Britton added that there had been a significant amount of effort tackle health inequalities and there is wider work in Hastings to tackle health inequalities. She indicated that she could speak to Cllr Turner about this work outside the meeting.

35.6     Claire Newman, Service Director for Primary Care and Wellbeing at SPFT commented that health inequalities can be analogous with serious mental health conditions. There are priorities to provide physical health checks for patients with serious mental health issues who are likely to die up to 18 years earlier than average. Access to mental health facilitators is now almost fully deployed in all PCNs for mental health issues and to provide health checks for people with serious mental health issues.

35.7     The Committee asked about the governance arrangements for PCNs, and how as a HOSC the Committee could monitor their performance and be satisfied they are making the best use of resources.

35.8     Liz Davis responded that the governance arrangements are quite ambiguous. The Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is NHS Sussex, will be conducting a financial and activity audit at the end of the 2023/24 financial year. The audit will focus on what the money has been spent on and its impact, together with questions about the PCN’s service plans. All PCNs are expected to undertake patient engagement and the requirement for this has been reiterated to PCNs. The results from the audit will be collated and information can be sent to interested parties.

35.9     The Committee commented that it would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35