Minutes

Present

Baz Tameez

Nikki Taylor

Derek Hoey

Elaine Day

John Townley

Anna Mather

Chris Sherwood

Apologies

Ian North

Sanji Rahim

None

ED opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to 1^st of 2024’s meeting and asked if anyone had anything to declare before the meeting officially started.

ED gave apologises for Nikki who may be late joining in.

BT demonstrated to the committee on the agenda and discussed Healthwatch updates making the committee aware that this is the final year in the Healthwatch delivery plan April 2024- April 2025.

BT

 Information

PowerPoint presentation given to the committee today on the current Healthwatch programme.

BT gave a brief overview of the findings from last year’s Deep Dives, the impact it has made and the groups the findings have been presented to.

The 3 new Deep Dives for 2024-2025 were discussed with the first survey promoted online from 24.1.24, 999 Ambulance service, with completion for the report by the end of May.

The Second Deep dive will be on Admissions & Avoidance and finishing off the 3^rd will be Hospital Discharges to Feb 2025.

DH has asked if we could look at non-emergency transport (feedback from Good Hope in particular) ERS & WMAS and gave an example of blind patients not meeting criteria.

JT also asking if Red Flag has been removed from the WMAS system.

BT gave feedback on the recent Enter and View at Royal Stoke Maternity ward. Positive and negative comments & CS gave examples of interactions on the day with patients & staff.

BT made the committee aware he and DB Engagement Officer have attended a meeting this week with MPFT on Continual Healthcare and the amount of the budget being used.  Possibly do some work on trying to find out why patients are becoming more dependent when on this plan.

ED spoke about hearing that children whose parents’ first language is not English are being asked to translate information to parents by professionals.

The engagement fund was also highlighted to the committee by BT & CS. BT explained how the engagement fund works and that we are currently working with an organisation to gather feedback on Men’s Health and the barriers when over 55 years of age.

Conversation by BT regarding the Multi-agency referral group MARG possibly coming to an end and how he voiced his concern at the meeting he attended.

AM & BT touched on Drugs & alcohol services and how we will try to do an visit into these services. 

ED feels that people seem more willing to express feedback when Healthwatch do Enter & View/reports but other services state that have so much patient feedback now that they are unable to process it effectively. Feedback needs to be more focused.

BT made committee and other meetings he attends know that Healthwatch tends to get more negative than positive feedback, due to the nature of the service.

JT feels that the voice of Healthwatch must say what they find.

Information/Discussion

ED raised the ripple effects of a young family who lost their partner suddenly and couldn’t pay for the funeral. Not eligible for grant so had to resort to loan shark. Made son feel guilty which led to him having a drug problem.

ED Issues around pharmacists: not enough of them, training is slow, lack of medication supply for patients. BT to address this with other Healthwatch’s and HW England as a national problem.

DH confirmed that George Bryant is not going to re-open and the impact it will have on the community of Tamworth who will now have to travel to Stafford if Mental Health support is needed.

DH also mentioned about Maternity Freestanding Birthing units being cut in potentially 2 areas one of them being Lichfield.

AM has heard VAS had put out a brief email around Mental Health Responders vehicles. This won’t be a scheduled visit it will be in response to a 999 or 111 dispatch.  NT wonders if this is a response to police withdrawal from Mental Health patients.

AM conversation on young people services funds being cut and nobody getting effective support/resources.

ACTIONS

BT to consider some E & V into some of the organisations mentioned by the Advisory committee to gather feedback.

ED asking as a committee do they feel these themes could be feedback to HW England.

Information/Discussion

DH is concerned with the way the government and NHS are trying to get GP surgeries to put everything online- increasing pressure to go digital.

ED asked her GP surgery the pathway after she filled in the 8-page triage form online and submitted it to surgery electronically “Who decides on the right pathway for medical help”. The response was it was artificial intelligence”.

 All committee members were unaware of this.

JT is going to ask the question at his surgery.  The committee feel this needs watching carefully as people are going to be digitally excluded and risk factors to consider with AI making the initial decision.

Discussion/decision

BT made the committee aware that he will share today’s presentation slides to them later today or early next week.

ED raised questions about a feedback form for the committee if it would be a good idea. No one opposed it so ED and BT will look at getting this ready for the next Advisory Committee meeting.

26^th April 2024, 26^th July 2024, 25^th October 2024, 24th January 2025 & 25^th April 2025.

All Fridays between 14.30-16.00 hours via Microsoft Teams.