Agenda item - Sussex Health & Care Winter Approach 2023-24

Report of the Managing Director NHS Sussex (Brighton and Hove) and the Executive Director Health and Adult Social Care (copy attached)

RESOLVED - That the Board notes the Sussex Health & Care system approach to winter planning 2023/24 as outlined in the paper and its accompanying appendix.

22.1    The Board considered a joint report of the Managing Director NHS Sussex (Brighton and Hove) and the Executive Director Health and Adult Social Care, the purpose of which was to provide the Board with a summary of the Sussex System Winter Plan approach for 2023/24 and an update on progress to date.

22.2    The Executive Director, Adult Health and Social Care explained that the Sussex-wide winter plan was to ensure that the system was able to effectively manage the capacity and demand pressures anticipated during the winter period to meet the needs of the local population. The winter planning period covers the period November 2023 to April 2024. The plan needed to ensure that the local systems remain resilient and were able to manage demand surge effectively, maintain patient safety and support delivery of the relevant business plan objectives and locally agreed system improvements during this period. Health and care systems typically experience increased demand pressures during the winter months due to a number of factors including:

·         Seasonal illnesses (e.g. flu, norovirus)

·         Extreme weather (e.g. falls in icy conditions)

·         Exacerbation of respiratory illnesses and a range of long-term conditions due to cooler weather

·         Ongoing impact from the cost-of-living crisis affecting the most vulnerable in the local population to keep well.

22.3    The Deputy Executive Managing Director East Sussex, Brighton and Hove explained that Added pressures in 2023/24 would be in relation to Covid 19 and the need for the NHS to recover from previous waves of Covid, and from the impacts of industrial action, particularly in terms of addressing the backlog of elective procedures. Health and care systems had been planning systemically for winter surge pressures for a number of years, and typically a key part of this process was assessing how well the previous year’s plans met demand, and using learning from this to inform the subsequent year’s planning.

22.4    In answer to questions it was explained that currently no information had been provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarding resistance to the current Covid variant.

22.5    Councillor West stated that this highlighted the need to address the wider impact and vulnerabilities within social care, particularly in relation to the current issues around pay. As a way forward this matter needed to be settled.

22.6    The Chair, re-iterated his earlier statement that this was the subject of on-going confidential negotiations and could not be discussed. The Executive Director confirmed that measures were in place to ensure that there was sufficient resilience notwithstanding any planned industrial action.

22.7    RESOLVED - That the Board notes the Sussex Health & Care system approach to winter planning 2023/24 as outlined in the paper and its accompanying appendix.