Issue - meetings

·         Report by Director of Healthwatch East Sussex

16.1     The Board considered a report and presentation by the Director of Healthwatch East Sussex on the Healthwatch Annual Report 2015-16.

16.2     In response to questions from the Board, the following key points were made:

·         Healthwatch East Sussex has a project worker whose role is to contact GP surgeries to assist them in setting up Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). This has been very successful overall as most GP surgeries see PPGs as a valuable way of maintaining a public profile and gaining feedback on how to improve their services; a handful of the 77 GP surgeries in East Sussex choose their own method of engaging with the public. When GP surgeries have been reluctant to develop a PPG, Healthwatch East Sussex has raised this with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure that the issue is raised during a CQC inspection.

·         Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford Clinical Commissioning Group (EHS CCG) and Hastings and Rother Clinical Commissioning Group (HR CCG) have worked closely with Healthwatch East Sussex and the advocacy group has been enormously helpful with ensuring that GP surgeries adhere to their legal requirement to have a PPG.

16.3     The Board RESOLVED to note the report.

A report by Healthwatch East Sussex

14.1     This item was introduced by Richard Eyre, East Sussex Healthwatch Strategic Partnerships and Business Development Manager.

14.2     In response to questions, Richard Eyre told the Board that Healthwatch has been working with East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) for several years, but the relationship has improved markedly in recent months, with ESHT responding more constructively to patient complaints raised by Healthwatch, and beginning to do more in terms of public engagement.

14.3     Amanda Philpott welcomed the input of Healthwatch into primary care, particularly in terms of co-working with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and facilitating cross-border conversations with Brighton & Hove. Dr Martin Writer agreed, identifying the Healthwatch survey of access to GPs as an especially valuable piece of work.  He added that for maximum effectiveness Healthwatch should work with the CCGs before undertaking further studies so that there was common agreement on methodology.

14.4     The Chair commended Healthwatch for the annual report and for all their impressive work over the past year.

14.5.    RESOLVED – that the report be noted.