Agenda item

To receive a report updating on progress with Better Care Fund Priorities, performance against national metrics and planning work in preparation for next year.

Members received a report from Rachel Briden, Integrated Partnership Manager, which updated on the progress with the 2024/25 Better Care Fund, provided information on performance against national metrics and outlined preparations being undertaken for next year.

Rachel Briden outlined the progress so far and key schemes which included   Progress and key schemes including Admission Avoidance, Community Integrator and the Community Recovery Service.  Members were reminded of the Health and Wellbeing Board Sub-Committee meeting held in October 2024, where the revised Better Care Fund Plan for 2024/25 had been approved.  It was confirmed that funding was now in place and Members were signposted to the table at 1.4.4 of the report which highlighted the impact some of that funding was having.

Rachel Briden referred to the discussions had at the Sub-Committee relating to the impact on patients in Rugby and the data outlined at section 1.4.5 of the report.  This demonstrated that the service was well utilised by all three acute trusts and access to services was roughly proportionate across the County.  The report addressed the ongoing impact on services for Rugby residents, which remained challenging despite additional funding being made available from Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board.  It was hoped that all parties would be involved in designing the model for next year.

Councillor Jerry Roodhouse thanked Rachel Briden for the report, raising a concern about the lack of inflationary increase which he felt equated to a reduction in funding.  He asked how early stakeholders could be involved in the process, prior to the sub-committee being held, with a view to influencing where the money was allocated to.

Rachel Briden outlined the planning taking place and confirmed that one element of funding had been confirmed on 18 December 2024.  Officers were still awaiting the conditions relating to the funding and had not received any further details regarding funding.  She advised another sub-committee would be required in the Spring and highlighted that the ICB Discharge Fund was an unknown element at this stage.

The Chair recognised the issues being raised and hoped these could be picked up in the Forward Plan and at the Joint Development Session due in March 2025.

Councillor Maggie O’Rourke, Rugby Borough Council expressed her frustration at not seeing the data at a Place based level.  She referred to a doctor led care unit which had been discussed for three years but the data was not being shared by the ICS.  She expressed her desire for Public Health to look at this as this was not just affecting Rugby but all areas in Warwickshire.

In response, Becky Hale, Executive Director Social Care and Health, advised that she was on the board of the ICB as the local authority representative.  She advised that the public papers were available but agreed to look at how this could be disseminated down to place partnerships.

Sue Noyes, UHCW, confirmed that she had discussed this issue with Danielle Oum, ICB, recently and were looking at how UHCW played into the Warwickshire Care Collaborative as she was concerned there was a gap, particularly with regard to Rugby, and hoped to address how to have a greater presence there.

The Chair stated that the Community Recovery Service had highlighted the challenges for residents in Rugby.  She recognised that there would be no inflationary rise and queried what criteria would be used to address health and equalities.  Rachel Briden advised there were a number of areas being looked at including immediate pressures, externally and internally delivered schemes, with a balance between discharge activity and admission avoidance.

The Chair thanked Rachel Briden for all of the work undertaken by her and the team.

Resolved

That the Health and Wellbeing Board

1)    the progress update on Better Care Fund priorities including the Community Recover Service, is noted;

2)    performance against the national Better Care Fund metrics, is noted; and

Notes planning in preparation for next year.