Agenda item

3.1

Public Questions Concerning Sustainability and Transformation Plans

3.1.1

Mike Simpkin asked the following questions concerning the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw and Sheffield Local Sustainability and Transformation Plan:

3.1.2

1)    What was the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board in relation to the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) given that it will not meet in public again until April?

2)     Where was the South Yorkshire regional dimension being publicly discussed?

3)    Given the size of the funding gap for Sheffield, how will the STP be financed, especially if the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw footprint was not successful in obtaining transformation funding? To what extent does the STP require financial reallocations between health and social care organisations within Sheffield and the wider sub-region?

4)    Details of the STP were not expected to become available for another two weeks when some sort of consultation process will begin. Yet the timetable appears to demand that 2 year contracts will be signed before the end of the year.  What was the nature of these contracts?

3.1.3

Greg Fell, Director of Public Health, responded that with regard to the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board, the NHS planning guidance was clear that there was not an expectation that Health and Wellbeing Boards would sign off the Sustainability and Transformation Plans. Health and Wellbeing Boards did not override the existing governance arrangements of constituent organisations at this stage.  Alison Knowles, NHS England stated that the role of the Board was to have responsibility for setting the strategy for health and wellbeing in the Sheffield and therefore to ensure that the STP was something which would help to drive that strategy forward and would not be to the detriment of the strategy for the City.

3.1.4

With regard to where the regional dimension relating to South Yorkshire was being publicly discussed, Greg Fell stated that the NHS wished to make sure that various parts of the health and social care system owned the STP before going to the public. However, no one expected that there would not be wider consultation prior to any change.

3.1.5

The STP was a plan and organisations may choose not to implement some elements of that plan. The plan for Sheffield was progressing, whilst the South Yorkshire plan was quite light on detail at this stage.  With regard to discussion about the plan for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw at regional level, there was not a similar forum at the regional level. People in each area would be discussing the plans. Discussion was taking place regarding the Sheffield plan. 

3.1.6

Alison Knowles confirmed that discussions relating to the STP were happening at each of the five areas in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, and included individual health Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups and Health and Wellbeing Boards. There would be open and public discussion about the STP. In addition, if there were proposals for significant change, there was a statutory requirement to engage and consult. A team was working on the engagement relating to the Plan. The five chairs of Healthwatch organisations in the region were to meet with Sir Andrew Cash, the Chief Executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, including with regard to engagement.

3.1.7

Tim Moorhead, Co-Chair of the Board, stated that a significant amount of work had been done in relation to financing of the STP and with regard to allocation of resources between health and social care organisations. Peter Moore, Clinical Commissioning Group, stated that there was a place based plan and resources would be considered for the City as a whole. Consideration would be given to where providers of services incurred costs in delivering those services and the related opportunities such as how money might follow the patient. Work was being undertaken at present with regard to how funding could be provided which would meet patient need.

3.1.8

Maddy Ruff, Clinical Commissioning Group, stated that the NHS had set a deadline of 23 December for contracts to be signed off and work was being progressed with key providers and contracting intentions were to be produced with providers based on the Sheffield Plan, to which all organisations were signed up. There were also other areas specific to providers which were outside of the Sheffield Plan. Discussion took place at the Clinical Commissioning Group Board with regard to contracting intentions.

3.1.9

A South Yorkshire Joint Scrutiny Committee had met to examine some areas, including specialist children’s services and stroke services, which was considered to be positive and consideration would be given to whether issues relating to the STP might also be submitted to that forum for early discussion.