Issue - meetings

Sharon Morrow, Director of Partnership, Impact and Delivery (DPID), NHS NEL, presented a report on the NEL Joint Forward Plan Refresh (JFPR) 2024/25, as of December 2023.

The first draft JFPR, which included a Barking and Dagenham Local Plan (BDLP), was appended to the report and Ms Morrow advised that it would be continually updated to reflect, for example, the discussions at the workshop held in December where portfolio leads shared their draft system programme plans, identified health inequalities and gaps, areas of duplication or synergy, and interdependencies.  It was also noted that the annual NHS Planning Guidance which impacted on JFPRs had been delayed until late January, although many of the priorities set out in the 2023/24 guidance were expected to remain, and ICBs were also required to produce a Capital Plan before April, in line with new national guidance.

The draft JFPR, and its BDLP, shared common priorities with the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.  A planning group would be taking the issues forward, identifying key priorities which would best improve health outcomes and have a real impact within the limited resources available.  Prevention would also be a key aspect.

Members discussed the draft JFPR and raised a number of issues, including:

·  The recent discussions at the wider Integrated Care Partnership where it was agreed to re-prioritise the three priorities, with schemes and projects that brought about levelling-up ranking above easing the financial difficulties;

·  Not getting bogged down in national requirements and priorities and ensuring that our JFPR reflected the local priorities;

·  The need to challenge some of the data and commentary to ensure that it properly reflected what was being achieved within the finances, resources and facilities currently available;

·  The need for new health care provision, including new buildings, to accommodate the rapidly increasing population in Barking and Dagenham;

·  Learning from best practice across the health system;

·  The critical importance of prevention and intervention;

·  The work already underway to campaign and lobby for additional health care facilities and capital funding;

·  The need to celebrate our achievements, such as GP pop-ups, close working between health services, social care providers and the Local Authority, GP services providing 30% more appointments and those referred to earlier in the meeting;

·  The need to integrate the new ways of working into ‘business as usual’;

·  Greater emphasis on workforce issues within Barking and Dagenham.  It was noted that a Workforce Strategy was in development and details of initiatives already being progressed would be shared with Members.

Members were encouraged to share any further comments directly with Sharon Morrow and Charlotte Pomery.

The Health and Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee resolved to note the planning update and endorse the draft NEL Joint Forward Plan Refresh 2024/25, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.