Agenda item

To consider a report by the Director of Public Health.

The Board were provided with a quarterly summary of progress in delivering the agreed outputs from the Public Health Dorset business plan for 2019/20. The approach to monitoring delivery was illustrated by RAG rating progress against project milestones, together with an associated narrative. Members acknowledged the progress being made by Public Health Dorset was making in delivering against its Business Plan during this financial year.

The monitoring report showed that midway through the financial

Year, most projects were largely on track for delivery during the year. However, two service areas were experiencing ongoing challenges with delivery :-

·       NHS Health Checks programme,

·       the delivery of effective substance misuse prescribing services to clients in the BCP Council area. This is due in part to resourcing issues for the provider, compounded by the success of BCP Council in engaging many more people in treatment compared with two years ago. This was putting additional strain on the service, particularly in relation to the need to ensure regular and ongoing review while in treatment.

A mitigation plan was being developed with the provider to ensure adequate

capacity within the service, but this might well require additional resources above the contract value in order to provide a safe, effective and sustainable service. Arrangements for this were being formulated and would be formally negotiated as part of a contract variation when finalised.

The Director of Public Health also explained to the Board that there was a statutory requirement to provide assurance over the delivery and effectiveness of public health services commissioned by NHS England - including major cancer screening programmes and immunisation programmes. He asked the Board to support a recommendation that assurance of the delivery of these services would be included in future business plans for monitoring by the Board.

The Board considered this to be a practical and effective way of managing how those assurance capabilities were being monitored and were pleased to see the progress being made in successfully delivering against its Business Plan.

Resolved

1)That the information and overall progress on major projects and deliverables for 2019/20 be noted and endorsed.

2)That the deteriorating position in the substance misuse prescribing service provided by AWP affecting the BCP Council area be noted and that, in order to go some way to alleviating this, the Board support the following recommendations:

i) delegated authority being given to the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to agree a mitigation plan, and additional resource for the service via a contract extension;

ii) the inclusion in future business plan monitoring reports of a summary of the  main public health services commissioned from NHS England under  Section 7A of the Health and Social Care Act (mainly screening and immunisation programmes).

Reason for Decisions

Close monitoring of the delivery of projects in the business plan is important to

enable both Councils and the Integrated Care System achieve Prevention at Scale ambitions in the local health and care system. It also assures the Board that spend through the ring-fenced Public Health Grant is effective and efficient, and complies with the National Grant criteria.