The Director of Strategy, Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), will submit Document “AJ” which provides an update on the priorities, recent initiatives and public engagement activities by Bradford Districts CCG.

Recommended –

That the report be noted.

(Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

(Sue Jones – 01274 237546)

The Director of Strategy, Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), submitted Document “AJ” which provided an update on the priorities, recent initiatives and public engagement activities by Bradford Districts CCG.

The Director of Strategy, Bradford Districts CCG, was in attendance at the meeting and gave an overview of the report.  He highlighted the financial challenges faced nationally and locally by the NHS.  He outlined the Bradford District and Craven Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) and the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) plan to review all areas of CCG commissioning and ensure financial sustainability.  He explained that, as part of the plan, gluten-free prescriptions would be terminated and outlined a new scheme to order repeat prescriptions.  He touched upon the pressures and challenges at Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments and the focus on self care and prevention to avoid unnecessary visits patients made to A&E and GP surgeries.

In response to Members’ questions, it was reported that:

·         There was a need to keep working to minimise mental health stigma and enable people to talk about mental health openly.  It had helped that some high profile celebrities were speaking out about it.

·         The organisation HALE was leading on social prescribing interventions in the Shipley constituency.  Grants were available to apply for.

·         A £320,000 saving had been made from terminating gluten-free prescriptions.  It cost more to prescribe gluten-free products than buying them directly from shops and products were more readily available now than when the decision had originally been made to start prescribing them.

·         GPs had the prerogative to take into account if a patient could not afford to buy medicine over the counter and prescribe it as appropriate.

·         Patients could not be fined for missed appointments at GP practices.

·         There was a need to understand any underlying reasons as to why some patients were frequent attendees at their GP surgery and this could include loneliness and isolation which could be tackled in other ways to free up those appointments.

·         It was not necessary for patients to use an online system for the new repeat prescription service.

·         No GP practice in the district had a premium rate telephone number.

In discussing the Maternity Partnership, the Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder explained that Better Start Bradford had received funding to roll out ‘Welcome to the World’ which was a free antenatal course for any family expecting a baby. This initiative was in its infancy and was being introduced across the district.

A Member queried why the pharmacy in Bradford Royal Infirmary had limited opening hours, particularly on weekends.  She spoke of the inconvenience this caused to patients and asked why it was not possible for the prescriptions to be picked up in other pharmacies.  The Director of Strategy stated he would feed this back to the hospital as it was not a service commissioned by the CCGs.

The Chair stated that, in his view, the repeat prescription process had been made more bureaucratic and the old system had worked better.  He considered the new method to be more onerous on GPs and their Receptionists.

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder suggested ‘nudge’ techniques in the bid to change patients’ behaviour and Members spoke of the need for a national campaign.

Resolved –

That the report be welcomed.

NO ACTION