MINUTES OF COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE HELD ON 8 JULY 2009 Present:
Helena Corder (Chair) Alison Hyde
Director of Corporate Services Assistant Director of Communications & Public Relations Head of Public Involvement Non Executive Director Social & Marketing Manager, Public Health Pathways Redesign Manager Clinical Governance Team Manager
Dasa Farmer Imran Patel Claire Troughton Liz Pengelly Victor Thompson (On behalf of Sue Smith) Phil Longworth Health Policy Officer, KMC/Public Health, Linda Wilkinson Portfolio Manager, Community Capacity Adult Hazel Wigmore PPI/LINks David Thompson LINks Jon Burke Voluntary Action Kirklees In attendance: Val Ainley
Secretariat
CPR/33/09 The group introduced themselves around the table. CPR/34/09
Apologies
Mick Gudgeon
Head of Communications
Kashif Ahmed Sue Smith Dawn Gordon
Equality & Diversity Project Manager Assistant Director of Clinical Governance PEC Member
CPR/35/09
Minutes of Meeting 12 May 2009
The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true record. CPR/36/09
Matters Arising
CPR/27/09 – Team Briefing Helena reported that the new system is not yet in place due to pressure of other work like swine flu issues. 1
CPR/16/09 - Health Talk and distribution Alison reported that the final proofs have been approved and are due to be distributed in a fortnight. A press release is to be issued. (NB – sent out on Friday, July 10.) Alison confirmed that they have been particularly careful on monitoring distribution. She has been through all alternatives and costed the options but because of the time scales of wanting to update people on the contents of the Strategic Plan it has been decided to go with Royal Mail using a different liaison company. David Thompson reported that he has been in touch with Royal Mail where he was informed that all leaflets delivered door to door by the Postman are claimed for and recorded on the computer. CPR/28/09 - Equality & Diversity Post Update Barry Lane and Alison have interviewed and have made an offer to a candidate who has accepted verbally. Paperwork is in the process of being completed and they should hopefully be starting towards the end of summer. (NB Kate Bell will be starting on September 7. She is joining us from Calderdale Council) CPR/29/09 – Hip Replacement Feedback shows this was a positive exercise and appreciated by those who took part. Letters were sent out via Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust and CHFT to those who had a hip replacement 3-6 months prior to the work taking place. A report will be prepared in due course. Conversation took place around the demographic composition of the groups but it was noted that all patients meeting the criteria were contacted to take part. However, we need to be mindful of diversity issues as the sample was self selected and is likely not to be representative. CPR/31/09 - 18 Week Patient Experience Survey – NHS Kirklees PCT Action Plan Liz reported that the hip replacement focus groups work done by the PPI team has contributed to achieving another outcome ie: integrating PPI in work and plans. CPR/37/09
WCC Action Plan
Helena has included this document for discussion. Helena’s view was that there needed to be more focus on the outcomes and evidence that would be supplied to show we had achieved the level we were aiming for. There is a specific template that needs completing and forwarding to Jim Barwick who is collating the information. The Action Plan should conform with a standard template. With reference to the engagement section it had been hoped to include the Communications section but due to problems with the IT system and issues with swine flu it has not been possible to complete this yet.
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Helena asked the group to go through the plans during the week and inform her of any comments so it can be brought back to the next meeting. Helena felt that it could not wait for formal approval and, as such, the document would be presented for monitoring at the next meeting. Linda Wilkinson asked if the Care Quality Commission scrutinised this work. This is not done at the moment and it will be judged on Standards for Better Health this year but it is not sure how it will be judged next year. Linda flagged up the issue of joint working across Partnership Boards and for this to be included. Phil Longworth entered the meeting at 11.20 am CPR/38/09
Paying for Involvement Policy
Two policies were referred to the group, one which had been adapted from Wakefield PCT’s Paying for Involvement Policy and a Good practice guide was previously adapted from work done by WIP. Helena noted that a decision was needed on steps to be taken regarding paying for engagement, taking into consideration partnership working but to be mindful of the impact on the budget for the future. It was noted that we do not have a specific budget for this activity. It was clear that there needed to be a consistent approach in areas of joint working. Linda reported that a Paying for Involvement document was developed by the WIP Team. The PCT’s concern was that this policy only covered Adult and Communities series and was not consistent across the council. Helena felt that a PCT policy could not be implemented until it has gone through a consultation process and was brought to the meeting to have a discussion and obtain peoples’ views. Imran expressed concern that, potentially, we could have one policy specific to the NHS with its own set of funding, one for the Council and one joint between the partners. It should be recognised that not all work is done on a joint basis. It was felt there was a need for some detailed work to be done on this. Phil identified the key to this would be the parameters. It was agreed we would need to be more specific about incentives. With regard to Expert Patient Programme it should be made clear what payments are paid as there is a significant difference between being a volunteer tutor and a participant. Helena asked for Phil to supply any information on payments that Public Health currently make or feel should be made. Liz also agreed to look into this from a Commissioning perspective. Action:
Phil to provide information on payments made by Public Health
Jon Burke reported that once a decision has been made about what to include and what not to include, he felt that some examples or case studies would be helpful to explain how it is intended to work.
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Dáša noted that the issue of working with groups needs to be considered from various angles as each piece of work and group are different. For example, involving groups such as the LINk will be different in nature and representation to other community groups. She also stated that the ethos of volunteering and individuals’/groups’ views on this should be taken into account and gave an example of Diabetes Redesign reference group which, despite being given full say in how to spend funding externally acquired, felt they did not want to be paid beyond meeting their travelling expenses and providing refreshments/lunch. Claire Troughton arrived at 11.35 A policy is required which makes sense from an NHS point of view but also fits in with partnership working. It was agreed further work was required taking into account work done by Adults and Communities and wider partnership working. Dasa and Linda to liaise with regard to partnership work. Claire noted that, in cases where pieces of work are being contracted out, the issue of payment is left with the organisation carrying out the work. We would not be stipulating the amounts/methods that the contractor should adopt. Helena asked for further guidance on this. Phil requested that the final draft policy be shared with the Drugs and Alcohol groups/local police and agreed to circulate and feed back to the group. Overall it was agreed there is a need to be clear on what costs are. It was noted that we are looking at what other PCTs are doing with regard to Paying for involvement. The financial implications and long term ability to meet this commitment was noted, especially given that involvement work is continuously increasing. Jon Burke referred to the section on the reimbursement rates (Good practice guide, page 4) stating that the amounts mentioned seemed as would be expected apart from the payments for consultancy work. Linda stated that this part had been done in line with national guidance and suggested that a reference be made to this in the document. CPR/39/09 Duty to Involve Helena referred to the document “Involving Communities – A Partnership Approach for Kirklees “. The document has come from the Local Strategic Partnership and sets out principles. The group was asked to consider the document and state whether they felt it could be accepted on behalf of the Board with its current contents. A discussion took place around the various sections of the document noting that several of the Community Involvement Activities as noted on page 6, already being carried out by the PCT. Helena was aware that there is nothing in about LINks. Linda noted that the workstreams identified as part of the document did not appear very tangible and needed to be made more robust.
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The group agreed that the document could not be accepted without modifications and Helena confirmed she would feed these prior to PCT sign up. Action:
Helena agreed to take back any comments to the next Strategic Meeting
CPR/40/09
PPI Update Report
Dasa gave a brief overview of the PPI report Training - A DVD is to be produced on PPI and used during induction days. PPI Toolkit – Roadshows are now coming to an end. The team will be also be organising attendance at team meetings to present the toolkit and raise awareness of PPI. As part of the work, staff are being asked to identify what training needs they may have. Information from this will feed into work done with NHS Calderdale, CHFT, NHS Wakefield and University of Huddersfield on PPI training. Helena asked how we will know that people are using it and Dasa confirmed that at the moment they have a form to identify what peoples’ needs are and in time will revisit and obtain feedback. A revision date for the toolkit has also been set. Hip Replacement Study – This finished at the end of June and was well received. It has been a piece of work for which the team liaised with Liz Pengelly and MYHT/CHFT. The Huddersfield session was attended by a clinician which was beneficial and they felt attendance by a clinical lead in the future may be useful, however, the need to identify the most appropriate person was noted and so was the need to allocate time for briefing. A discussion was held regarding participation of clinicians and it was also suggested that separate sessions be held with them. Liz Pengelly stated that she would be carrying out work in this area with clinicians. A report will be produced. Hazel asked if there would be any follow up and a report will be prepared to present to the Patient Experience Group and Liz is putting together a plan for Pathways for pain Services on Friday. . Pain Management /Focus Reference Groups – These were carried out throughout June with two dates set and further two sessions held for EPP participants. The response to these was very good and the team found that participants on 3rd June had to be divided into two further groups. In the focus groups people were asked if they would like to participate in reference groups and, again, the response was very positive with everyone being interested in further work. Report of the findings was being prepared and all participants would be sent a report. Furthermore, they would be receiving information, for example useful contact numbers, which were raised as an issue during the various sessions.
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Comments Campervan – This is proving to be very successful and it was noted that 2 Councillors and the MP, Mike Wood visited the van at the first session in Batley. When all the sessions have been held the information will be reviewed and the impact evaluated. It was noted that the Mill Group will be producing final report as well as supplying us with footage. The group was informed that editing will be done to remove any person identifiable information. Jon Burke asked about disability access to the van and it was confirmed there are arrangements in place to accommodate people unable to access the Campervan. It was questioned how the van had been publicised and it was noted that it had been put in the Huddersfield Examiner, through the Mill Group through teams, and bulletins etc. The Communications team also liaised with the LA. The SHA have offered a purpose built designed bus that we can use for Patient Choice Roadshows which has been booked for the first week in September. CPR/41/09
Patient Experience Time Out Feedback
A time out recently took place between members of the PPI team and Patient Experience. Dasa had put together a report on the feedback and discussed this with the group. It was felt that there is a lot of positive work going on which is not currently being captured centrally and needs including on the WCC Action Plan. It was felt useful to hear what other people were doing. Victor Thompson agreed and highlighted Clinical Audit as an example of developing an understanding of what is happening. Claire also felt it was beneficial and for her she was able to look at different methods of engagement that were being used. Phil Longworth highlighted the section referring to the electronic form and that the Council have the Ace database to enter data on. Dasa confirmed that in the past they have used this but a lot of members of staff did ask for someone to sit with them to complete it. The team are liaising on the Involve Database through work team looking at the Duty to Involve. They also want to look at work being undertaken by other trusts and incorporate this in a database. Linda Wilkinson suggested that LINk are involved. Phil reported that they are now working on developing a 3 year plan for the JSNA looking at how to obtain and use evidence and information in the JSNA and asked if it would be useful to bring something back to this meeting. Dasa confirmed that one of the action plans was to develop a piece of work on a database to capture general comments from the public and feed this into the organisation, monitoring the actions/feedback taken.
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CPR/42/09
Any Other Business
Communications Alison gave an update on Communications and apologised for the lack of involvement over the last 10 days which is largely due to the communication required of Swine Flu. There have been a number of confirmed cases and related deaths in the Dewsbury area. Alison is looking at ways to increase communications’ capacity to meet the demand in relation to swine flu. Alison also passed on apologies for not looking into the website hits as this was due to a virus in the IT system. Equality & Diversity The Equality & Diversity Steering Group met last week which was entirely devoted to a piece of work done last year on championing diversity. A meeting is to be held with Barry Lane to look at how to take the Action Plan forward. Jon Burke Jon informed the group that he would be leaving VAK late August early September to take up a post with the National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA). He confirmed he would be replaced as his post has now been made into a full-time one which will have a health focus and a more general network to it. The post has been advertised. CPR/43/09
Date & Time of Next Meeting
Wednesday 2 September 09.30 – 11.00 (to include lunch) Committee Room, St Luke’s House Please inform Helena or Val of any agenda items you would like discussing.
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