Minutes:
Martin Wilkinson, Chief Officer of Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group, spoke about the plans being developed for health services in the six south east London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Bromley, Southwark and Lambeth.
A PowerPoint presentation was shown, and can be seen here:
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/getinvolved/localassemblies/rushey-green/Pages/default.aspx (Scroll down to see the link under Documents).
Martin introduced the presentation by explaining that Lewisham CCG exists to buy NHS services for local residents. Lewisham CCG spend a lot of money on care, therefore we need to work with you to give you a say in the services we buy in, and ensure you have as much control over your own health as possible. In Lewisham and in south east London, patients have told us that the quality can be very good but is variable. We are trying to bring the quality of all services up to that of the best, and to join up care better. We also know that outcomes are much better where conditions are detected and treated early.
Local people will be glad to know that we are keeping A&E at Lewisham Hospital. We are also improving primary care by developing Neighbourhood Care Networks (NCNs) – Rushey Green will be part of Central Lewisham NCN.
Another important part of our plan is to develop central elective orthopaedic centres – to become centres of expertise in carrying out planned operations such as hip replacements. This will reduce costs at the same time as improving the treatment and outcomes.
Questions and Answers:
Q: Can health services have enough capacity for all the new housing that is being built in the Catford area?
A: Yes, we have built in projected growth figures to our plans. We intend to deliver the equivalent of a new hospital in terms of community based care in the area.
Q: I have a lot of difficulty in getting to see my GP at present. How will you improve the A&E pathway when people experience barriers to seeing a GP?
A: We are working with GPs on this. Ideas include developing more walk-in services, and better processes to speed up access e.g. online booking, telephone appointments, and involving other health care providers such as pharmacists.
Q: Sometimes you have to start queuing at 7.30 am to see a GP that day. We are only allowed to talk about one issue per appointment. This does not work for older people with long term conditions and often multiple conditions.
A: As a CCG we are working with GPs to address these problems. Sola Afuape, Lewisham CCG Engagement Lead mentioned that she would like to have more conversations with people in Rushey Green to learn more about what needs to happen.
Q: For GPs to work together, the law needs to change so they can share information.
A: That’s a really great point. We all agree that where patients consent, the health professionals working with them should be able to share information about their health condition(s). We have a new programme called Connect Care which is an information-sharing tool that allows doctors to look at all your health information including from the local hospital. To get this aspect of healthcare right, we need to look at IT, buildings and staff training.
Q: Communities are an asset. Where is the app to make that link? I’m particularly thinking about people with life-limiting illnesses with whom I work. Can we have a Health Hub for Rushey Green, similar to those existing in Bellingham and Deptford?
A: We are working with VAL and the Local Authority to develop a community plan. Community Connections are doing work on social mapping and connections. In each locality there will be a Community Connections offer. Referring and signposting to relevant local services and activities. This requires considerable investment in order to keep this information up to date. The Stronger Communities Partnership Group is working on it.
We already have quite a number of health “hubs” – Waldron, Kaleidoscope, Lewisham Hospital and other estates assets within theNHS. Having a health hub in Rushey Green may not necessitate a new building.
Cllr Muldoon thanked Martin Wilkinson for his presentation and said that there will be more opportunities to be involved in OHSEL. Joint Overview and Scrutiny Councils will be visiting different parts of south east London and are open to the public. More information on forthcoming meetings at: http://councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=363&Year=0
or contact: Timothy Andrew, email: Timothy.Andrew@lewisham.gov.uk call 02083147916