Agenda

No

Note

1

Welcome and Introductions

Dr Mantgani thanked such a large group of members for attending at such short notice.  Members were advised that the meeting was being filmed and footage may be included in a video being prepared about the Consortium’s journey to date.

2

Minutes of Previous Meeting

As this is an extraordinary meeting, the minutes of the previous meeting were not discussed and will be brought to the next meeting ‘proper’.

3

North West Pathfinder Ambulance Proposal

Sarah Quinn, NHS Wirral Urgent Care Lead, explained a proposal that is being put forward by the North West Ambulance Service:  a large proportion of patients that ring ‘999’ for an ambulance do not have a health need that requires either emergency transport, or to be seen by the Accident and Emergency Department.  In order to ensure that more appropriate use is made of emergency services, it is being proposed that paramedics could be trained to triage calls and to divert patients that do not require emergency services to alternative healthcare facilities.  Patients were asked for their views on the principle of this proposal.  Discussion took place as follows:

-          concerns were raised over the level of responsibility placed on the paramedics who will be determining which patients are classed as an ‘emergency’.  A high level of training would need to be offered for this.

-          Which alternative services will be in place should a patient not need emergency treatment?  A lot of work would need to be done to improve access to GP and Nurse appointments, and also to ensure that alternative services operate over 24 hours, 7 days a week.

-          Some patients, particularly the elderly, ring ‘999’ as they are alone or vulnerable.  More focus should be put into supporting these patients so that they do not feel the need to ring 999 in the first place. 

-          Lots of inappropriate 999 calls are alcohol-related, and the Consortium needs to focus on identifying early alcoholism and also investing more into services for young people with alcohol and drug abuse issues.

The Patient Council was largely supportive of the proposal, but there would need to be a lot of preparatory work in terms of alternative services in order for it to be safe and to work effectively.

Sarah also explained an initiative developed by the Department of Health called ‘111’, which is a number to ring if a patient requires medical attention, but the call is not an emergency.  This is currently being tested as a pilot in different regions, but will eventually be rolled out in all areas (ie there will not be a choice about this locally). 

The patient council were concerned that the 111 service would not be effective and asked whether it was necessary on the Wirral. They fed back that there was an issue with a member of the public determining the difference between a true emergency (999) and an urgent situation (111) that could be dealt with in a different way. Sarah replied that it was likely the service would be introduced with some campaigns to help the public understand what the new phone number was for.

4

Surgical Appliances

Jane Hayes-Green, Programme Manager – NHS Wirral, explained a proposal to redesign the Surgical Appliances service provided by Wirral Hospital Trust at Arrowe Park.  A presentation on this is enclosed.  Patient feedback was extremely positive to the proposals, which were to commission a more accessible service, with shorter waiting times and would be more appropriately based in the community than the hospital.

Jane also explained that she is undertaking a review of the Wheelchair Service and that she would return to this group to discuss this in more detail.  She sought their views on (occasional use) wheelchairs, and whether these should be provided by the NHS, or if people should be expected to self fund. The group agreed this was a difficult area, but on balance felt that the NHS should fund as the impact of not providing them would be social isolation for some people who could not afford to buy their own.

5

Date and Time of Next Meeting

The next meeting is due to take place on the 22^nd November 2011, 6.30pm, Old Market House.