Agenda item - Winter Performance 2024-25

Report of the Chair of the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (copy attached).

6.1      This item was presented by Nicki Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience & Response; Tanya Brown-Griffith, Director for Joint Commissioning and Service Integration, Brighton & Hove; and Dr Andy Hodson, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB). Steve Hook, BHCC Director of Adult Social Services; John Child, Chief Operating Officer, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust were also in attendance.

6.2      Ms Smith told the committee that the health & care system had generally performed well across winter 2024-25. Specific successes included:

·       Category 2 ambulance response times

·       Covid vaccination rates for health and care staff

·       Unscheduled Care Hubs at Brighton and Polegate providing specialist support to ambulance paramedics

·       Virtual wards (with more than 80% of ‘beds’ utilised)

·       Cohort Identification programme – working with GPs to identify and support people at the highest risk of hospital admission

·       Escalation Framework – this was implemented ahead of time and worked well.

6.3      Areas of focus for future planning include:

·       Hospital discharge

·       Long length of stay in hospital beds

·       Improving performance against the 4 hour A&E target

·       Increasing awareness of respiratory disease

·       Better staff uptake of flu vaccination

·       Better targeting of communications at specific ‘at risk’ audiences or communities.

6.4      Ms Brown-Griffith spoke about the local actions over last winter including 30 out of 31 GP Practices signed up to the locally commissioning identification of people most of risk of admission and supporting in community.  In addition, Integrated Community Teams have been busy delivering prevention actions  at a neighbourhood level including Community Health check days and a physical health hub in the East of City. Going forward it would be helpful if the NHS works closely with the Council and specifically with councillors to maximise messaging about take-up of the Flu vaccine, screening and NHS Health Checks ahead of Winter 25/26.

6.5      Members asked questions about issues including: vaccination rates for healthcare workers; delays in discharge from hospital beds; people attending A&E with non-emergency mental health problems; support for the digitally excluded; and measures to enhance staff wellbeing.

6.6      RESOLVED – that the report be noted.