Agenda and draft minutes

9.1The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2025 were agreed as a correct record.

10.1     Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Terry Byrne and Jennifer Twist.

Disclosures by all members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the member regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

11.1     There were no disclosures of interest.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgent.

12.1     There were no urgent items.

13.1     Garry Money, Director of Primary Care NHS Sussex, presented the report, which provided an update to prior reports regarding primary care performance and the services that Primary Care Networks (PCNs) provide across East Sussex, including access to GP appointments. The report existed in the context of national policy changes in the NHS, including changes to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), NHS England, and the 10-year Health Plan, which would likely change the way general practice is contracted in the future. When compared to other counties, East Sussex had been performing well in terms of volume of appointments, but patient experience, service variation and connection between services remained areas to monitor for improvement.

13.2     The Committee asked what the long-term issues are for the recruitment and retention of staff.

13.3     Garry Money responded that recruitment decisions in general practice were made individually across the 156 practices, which were sometimes in competition with each other for staff. The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) enables specialists to work flexibly across practices within PCNs, but there was room for further integration in the local workforce, which may be achieved in the development of neighbourhood health teams. Difficulties with capacity have also stemmed from the segregation of roles and a lack of flexibility in the workforce, which has led to pressures on doctors and nurses in practices. This amounts to a loss of flexibility for patients too.

13.4     Dr Binodh Bhaskaran added that a training hub had been established that provided support to apprentices and students to use resources effectively to retain staff. He raised complications regarding finding training areas and having sufficient estates to host trainees and recently qualified staff, has become difficult, but the PCNs were working collaboratively to address this. He added that the Levelling Up Partnerships in Rother and Hastings was being used to support the expansion of necessary infrastructure, which aids the retention of staff in the area, and that these efforts should also be inclusive of non-clinical staff that support practices.

13.5     The Committee asked for an update on the development of the Seaford Health Hub, which had been in development for 6 years, as residents in Seaford have been allocated GP appointments in Eastbourne.

13.6     Garry Money confirmed that NHS Sussex would provide a response to this question outside of the meeting.

13.7     The Committee noted from the report that the clinical workforce shrank by 15FTE, whereas the non-clinical workforce increased by 23FTE, and asked what is being done to increase the clinical workforce.

13.8     Garry Money responded that there was no fixed level of staffing within GP practices, and an increase in non-clinical workforce could, for instance, be to correct a deficit in the workforce. The goal was for clinical staff in practices to spend as much time as possible with patients, but there were other practical issues for recruiting and retaining a workforce which are beyond the control of GP practices, such as affordable housing and local facilities. Recruitment and retention of staff in practices  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.1     Ashley Scarff delivered an update from NHS Sussex regarding national and county-wide changes to the NHS, including some service changes. This included the following updates:

• The publication of the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, which had three main strands which were well aligned with the strategic direction of NHS Sussex and the Sussex health and care system as set out in its five year strategy, ‘Improving Lives Together’.
• The ICB had set out its commissioning intentions for year 1 (2026/27) of the 10-year Health Plan.
• The ICB were working on developing neighbourhood health services for East Sussex and the wider area, they planned to use ICTs to deliver integrated community health services together with social care, and incorporate broader health determinants like employment and education in planning to meet population health and care needs.
• The National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme has allocated East Sussex with a focus on Hastings and Rother as one of its 44 pilot areas.
• It has been confirmed that NHS Sussex will be combining with NHS Surrey Heartlands to form a single ICB from April 2026, driven by the national requirement for ICBs to reduce their non-clinical costs by 50%.
• The procurement process was underway for a new community audiology provider. They were planned to be in place by January 2026 and the go-live for the new end-to-end pathway would be April 2026.
• Births have been suspended at Crowborough Birth Centre by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. All antenatal and post-natal services continue to operate from the centre. The ICB is working with the Trust to understand service issues and plans.

14.2     The Committee asked when changes to posts within the ICB would be known.

14.3     Ashley Scarff answered that the ICB would continue to operate as two organisations, until 1 April 2026, and that any changes to officers would be announced as soon as possible. Ian Smith had been appointed as the Chair of the ICB, and chief officer announcements were due in the coming months, but so far there had been delays nationally to ICB changes. 

14.4     The Committee asked how the 10-year plan and neighbourhood health teams would deliver improved access to services in deprived areas of the county.

14.5     Ashley Scarff responded that local delivery of health through ICTs is clearly set out in the 10-year plan; it was expected that the plan would amplify services at the community level. He explained that the learning opportunities from the new neighbourhood teams in Hastings and Rother would support future teams to deliver better health outcomes, particularly around health inequalities. The system hoped that these teams would highlight issues experienced by residents across the county, and could be used for wider mobilisation of neighbourhood healthcare.

14.6     The Committee asked how the ICB were involving system partners, including the VCSE sector, in changes to the system at appropriate governance levels to ensure coherence.

14.7     Ashley Scarff affirmed that the ICB recognises and values the VCSE sector for their support, and that in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.1     Jessica Britton, Deputy Chief Delivery & Strategy Officer and Director of Strategic Commissioning NHS Sussex, introduced the report, which provides information about the mental health transformation programme, the work of mental health support teams and neurodevelopment pathways in East Sussex. She highlighted significant increased demand for services in the neurodevelopment pathway, and a change in patterns for the support needed by children and young people.

15.2     The Committee noted that approximately 60,000 children in East Sussex have a diagnosable mental health condition, representing a 66% increase since 2021, and asked what is being done to expand mental health support teams in schools to support these young people, and whether the establishment of i-Rock hubs is being considered in other areas in the county.

15.3     Jessica Britton responded that mental health support teams were part of a national programme for ensuring equal access to mental health services, and the system identified the schools enrolled according to where support was most needed. The system was working with schools to maintain the 65% coverage, but there was to be no further investment in those teams for the time being, as the system was working to ensure the goals of the mental health teams were aligned with early help and support set out in the mental health transformation programme. It was a core priority for the system to ensure a holistic approach to support for children and young people, before increasing support to 100% coverage. The system was exploring the expansion of i-Rock hubs and access to early help.

15.4     Lizzie Izzard, Head of Children and Young People Mental Health Commissioning NHS Sussex, added that i-Rock was viewed as core part of the mental health transformation programme, providing quick advice and support for access to services. She explained the expansion of this across East Sussex would need to consider how it can best support children and young people in local areas, as it may not be suited to all of them, but would be used to develop the core offer. The service was intended to be preventative, so that children’s immediate needs could be met without them escalating, but the ICB is mindful not to medicalise all children while offering them support.

15.5     The Committee expressed concern that the waiting time for neurodevelopmental pathways is 645 days and asked how this was being addressed.

15.6     Jessica Britton confirmed that this waiting time is longer than it should be, but that this was also a national issue being investigated by a national taskforce. Teams in the system had been working to develop a model to triage young people, to signpost residents to support, and the system was working with schools to expand available support while children waited for an assessment. This was developed in partnership with professionals, schools, the VCSE sector and children and young people with experience of the pathway. It was expected that a new assessment model will be finalised by June 2026, to work to reduce that waiting list.

15.6     John Child,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.1     The Committee discussed the items on the future work programme.

16.2     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)    Schedule the reports on NHS Sussex Winter Plan 2025, ESHT Cardiology Transformation Programme and the ESHT Capital Works Programme to its December 2025 meeting; and

2)    Receive a progress report on the implementation of the new Audiology contract, Neighbourhood Mental Health teams, and EDGH Paediatrics Model at its meeting in March 2026.

17.1     None