At the Health and Wellbeing Board on
7th September, consideration was given to the Better
Care Fund (BCF) Annual Plan for
2022/23 and the requirements for submission to NHS England by
26th September. It was agreed that approval of the final version of the plan be
delegated to a Sub-Committee of the Board, once it had been
approved by the Integrated Care Board and the County Council. It
was confirmed that those approvals had now been
received.
Rachel Briden, Integrated Partnership
Manager presented the updated version
of the documents. Following
feedback from the Regional BCF Manager, minor amendments had been
made to the BCF Narrative Plan. These were shown as tracked changes
in the appended document and were pointed out to the
Sub-Committee.
Discussion took
place on the final documents as follows:
- The
Chair asked a question about overall responsibilities within the
new integrated care structures. This had been raised the previous
day at the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny
Committee. Responsibility for the BCF rested with the Health and
Wellbeing Board. The commitment to its delivery had been endorsed
by both the Integrated Care Board and the County Council’s
Cabinet. The lead officers for the BCF were confirmed.
- There
was discussion about how the BCF aligned to specific services,
those which came within the BCF and those such as hospital
discharge which were not part of the BCF. There was a lot of
improvement activity underway both jointly and within individual
organisations.
- Questions were submitted about monitoring arrangements. There
were some areas such as care which needed to be kept under review.
Officers confirmed that all organisations had monitoring
arrangements and there were numerous boards which received periodic
updates. An outline was given of the various arrangements including
the weekly monitoring meetings.
- Officers
confirmed the use of some of
the BCF funds through the IBCF to support workforce development,
recruitment and retention campaigns, both for health and social
care and some wider activity.
- Further
information was provided on the high-level capacity and demand plans for
intermediate care services. This was a new requirement for a
monthly forecast for quarters three and four. It would also look at
the capacity and flexibility of teams to potentially support
increased demand. This was expected to become a planning
requirement moving forwards. An outline was given of the local
services this included. It would provide a joined-up and more
transparent approach.
- Following the BCF submission, there would be a month for the
assurance process in case any further information was required. The
final outcome would be known by 30th November
2022.
Resolved
That the Board’s Sub-Committee approves the
final version of the Better
Care Fund Plan for 2022/23, for submission to NHS
England in line with
the recommendation and delegation of the Board on
7th September
2022.