Agenda item

To consider a motion which was referred from Full Council. The motion was originally considered by the Board at the meeting on 8^th June 2022. It was noted Members will be provided with a further update at their meeting on 9 November 2022, on GP Access and Urgent Care and the Board agreed to defer consideration of the motion until then.

The Chairman proposed the following response to the referred motion from Council, on access to GP Services for Solihull residents, as well as the re-provision of a Minor Injuries Unit at Solihull Hospital:

‘The motion was originally considered by the Board at the meeting on 8^th June 2022. It was noted Members would be provided with a further update at their meeting on 9 November 2022, on GP Access and Urgent Care and the Board agreed to defer consideration of the motion until then.

Access to GP Services for Solihull Residents:

The Heath and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board welcomes the update on how Solihull General Practice (GP) teams are responding to ongoing operational pressures. It is recognised the NHS and GP teams continue to experience severe pressures, with significant increases in demand levels.

Demand and Activity - the Scrutiny Board endorses the increased volume of appointments offered by GP teams in Solihull.

Recruitment, Retention and the Additional Workforce – the Scrutiny Board recognises recruitment and retention in general practice have been challenging both nationally and locally. Members welcome that, in response, there has been a focus on recruiting additional health professional roles to support staffing levels, with Solihull identified to benefit from 68 Full Time Equivalent Primary Care Network roles.

Solihull Healthcare Partnership – Members note an Intensive Support Plan has been developed and agreed between NHS England Primary Care Transformation Team and Solihull Healthcare Partnership, with the aim of improving services to SHP patients. Members endorse the actions undertaken by SHP and the ICB, as outlined in the report.

Proposed next steps – the Scrutiny Board endorses that the ICB is engaging with GPs, community teams and University Hospitals Birmingham to design an Integrated Neighbourhood Team exemplar in Solihull, to support improved access to primary care and same day urgent care. Members also recognise the ICB support for the PCNs and GP teams through additional managerial and clinical leadership resources.

The Scrutiny Board welcomes the actions undertaken locally to increase the volume of appointments and support offered via GP teams and Primary Care services in Solihull. It is also recognised that complaint numbers are reducing. Members express their thanks to all staff involved for their continued commitment.

Overall, it is also important to take into account that many local residents continue to contact their Councillors raising concerns on access to GP services. It is recognised that the Health and Wellbeing Board will continue to monitor the delivery of these services. In addition, there will continue to be future reporting on access to GP services at the Birmingham and Solihull Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Update on the re-provision of services at Solihull Hospital:

The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board endorses the option, as set out in the report, to re-provide a Minor Injuries Unit on the Solihull Hospital site, in line with the national service specification.

The Scrutiny Board agrees to receive a future report on the re-provision of an Urgent Treatment Centre on the Solihull Hospital site.

Members endorse the Communications and engagement plan for the Recovery and Proposed Configuration of services across University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.’

  RESOLVED

The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board endorsed the proposed response to the referred motion from Council