NHS England publishes reports showing improvements in local services

Last week, two important reports were published by NHS England showing the performance of local NHS services. These showed a ‘mixed bag’ of news for Brighton & Hove and for Sussex and East Surrey.

1. The Clinical Commissioning Annual Assessment 2016/17 

You can download the report at the bottom of the page. The report was 

published on 19 July provides annual performance ratings for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). CCGs are the part of the NHS that purchases healthcare for people in Brighton and Hove. Last year, Brighton and Hove CCG was rated among the lowest performing in the country. This year they have improved from ‘inadequate’ to ‘good’. NHS England has introduced a new rating scheme so the outcome is not directly comparable but by any measure it shows a marked improvement in performance.

This last year has seen a number of changes within the CCG which Healthwatch Brighton and Hove believes has supported this improvement on performance including: new leadership, co-location of offices with the City Council, and increasing clarity around future plans and the integration of health and social care.

The CCG and Council in collaboration with Healthwatch are currently asking Brighton and Hove residents to play their part in helping to improve health and social care for the city  and have launched ‘The Big Health and Care Conversation’.

As part of that conversation Healthwatch Brighton and Hove are asking people about their experiences of GP services

2. Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships Progress Dashboard 
 

The Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships Progress Dashboard (baseline view) published on 21 July, gives an overview of the work of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs), showing the starting point from which they will drive improvements in local care.

There are 44 STPs in the UK, and Brighton and Hove is part of the Sussex and East Surrey STP, which finds itself in the lowest ranking category of ‘needs most improvement’.

The Dashboard involves 9 measures of performance and in a number of areas the local STP compares favourably with others across England. The key area where improvement is required is around financial controls. While money is just one of the measures it is fundamental to the future plans for the NHS.

STPs are a new way of working, bringing together NHS organisations and local government to improve and join-up services to meet the changing needs of all local people. They aim to deliver more effective and efficient care and improved health outcomes within the funding available. Our local STP is one of the largest and most complex and has a £55m gap to close this financial year 2017/18, and we are one of 14 STP’s placed in a Capped Expenditure Process [CEP].

The CEP is a process for focusing on ‘balancing the books’ and closing that £55m gap. In other parts of the country the CEP has led to controversial and unpopular proposals. Nothing is yet decided or even at a stage for public and patient engagement on the local CEP. Plans are expected to be shared by the end of the summer and we await those with keen interest.