Agenda item

The Director of Public Health (DPH) and Dr John presented a report updating the Committee on the Barking Riverside development. Members noted that:

·  If successful, the healthcare models being considered for piloting in the area could act as a model for improving health services across the borough;

·  One of the ideas being considered was the placement of a ‘link worker’ with good knowledge of services in the front door, as opposed to a traditional receptionist so that the resident could be referred to the correct service right away;

·  Also being discussed was a new role of ‘special advocates’ for particular fields that the CCGs and the Local Authority could fund together; and

·  In terms of the accountability of service leaders, locality boards were being formed which would act as a prototype for services in Redbridge and Havering. The Locality Board for Thames ward had a direct accountability line to the HWBB.

The CMSCHI stated that the Barking Riverside development had acted as a blank sheet for designing services that could avoid some of the existing barriers and challenges and recognise that people are residents first, and not just service users or ‘patients. However, she felt one of the main challenges around bringing the vision to life was the willingness of partners to put funding in jointly and building a trusted system in which they could safely pool funds.

In response to a question, the DPH stated that a locality board would have delegated functions and be composed of clinicians, commissioners and residents, who would together, commission services for their locality. The challenge would be to find the right people, who were not just the ‘usual suspects’ to sit on the Board. The CCGs would become more distant as part of governance changes in North East London, which meant that Locality Boards could have a stronger role in place-based care, which was an innovative concept. Dr John stated that the main value of this model was that residents could play an important role in finding new solutions to health needs.

Members welcomed the role of residents in the decision-making process being developed in Barking Riverside; however, questioned whether this would be in the best interests of all residents, as they would not be experts in commissioning health services. Dr John stated that members of the Locality Board would all be provided with detailed information on the needs of residents in Barking Riverside so they could make evidence-based decisions. Furthermore, their role would involve issues wider than health, and residents could bring in their experience in commissioning other services, such as support for victims of domestic violence.

Members questioned the notion of using neutral branding in the development (as opposed to using NHS branding) referenced in the report, as people generally had a lot of trust in the NHS. Members also felt that whilst the ideas around involving residents in the governance arrangements were good, outcomes were paramount and that they would like to see what outcomes were being sought for the residents of Barking Riverside. An example of an outcome that should be sought for Barking Riverside was achieving the highest rates of immunisations in the Borough, particularly as the potential for health inequalities in the area were high.

Members felt that more work was needed to recognise that Barking Riverside was in the Thames ward and there would be many interlinks to the wider community as time went by. Members also referred to the lack of reference in the report to the new Youth Zone and how that would form part of the picture.

The CMSCHI accepted the point about using NHS branding but added that the idea was to inform people that NHS services were only part of the picture and that there would be a range of services, which could be accessed differently and in different settings by different providers. She also emphasised that project leaders were acutely aware that Barking Riverside was part of the Thames community and not a separate entity.

The Chair thanked the DPH and Dr John for the update.