Agenda and minutes

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed all attendees. The Chair intimated that that as there would be changes to the NHS membership, this would impact on the IJB particularly as the Vice Chair would be leaving his post in April. There was further impact to the IJB structure as the Chair of the APS Committee was also leaving which will result in a restructure for this committee too.

The Chair expressed appreciation for the positive work and commitment of Jonathan Passmore (IJB Vice Chair) and Rhona Atkinson (APS Chair) and wished them every success in their new roles.

Members were requested to intimate any declarations of interest.

The Board resolved:-

To note that no declarations of interest were intimated by members for items on today’s agenda.

The Chair proposed that agenda items 10 and 11 be considered with the press and public excluded and that item 9 be taken in public session.

The Board resolved:

In terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the aforementioned items of business so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the classes described in paragraph 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act; and to agree to move item 9 into public session.

(i)            to move the report at Item 9 into public session and

(ii)          consider Items 10 and 11 with the press and public excluded

The Board had before it the minute of its Special Meeting of 13 November 2018

The Board resolved:

to approve the Minute as a correct record subject to amending the funding approval date for the Northern Corridor Project to January 2019.

The Board had before it the minute of its meeting of 11 December 2018.

The Board resolved:

to approve the minute as a correct record subject to noting that the Alcohol and Drug Partnership Annual Reports would reflect the wider ADP and not only the Investment Plan.

The Chair asked if there were any matters arising, there being none the Chair advised that all matters arising were covered elsewhere in the business statement and later on the agenda.

The Board had before it a statement of pending business for information.

The Board resolved to:

(i)            in respect of Item 1 (Aberdeen City Residential Nursing Home Provision) to note that a report would be presented to the Board in April 2020 following one year implementation

(ii)          in respect of Item 5 (Diet, Activity and Healthy Weight) to note that a report will be presented in March 2019

(iii)         to otherwise note the business statement

The Board heard from Martin Allan who presented the report ‘Brexit Risk’.

This paper supplied additional detail to the existing mitigation contained within the Strategic Risk Register. Martin updated that the Partnership had been invited to attend the EU Health and Social Care Exit Planning event in Stirling which assisted influence the report.

The Chair expressed appreciation for the report and highlighted that the document remained fluid as the developing Brexit position modified and changed. The Chair then sought input from the members who actively participated with questions and comments.

Concerns were expressed that the report did not fully detail the impact of staff and staff numbers especially in areas of speciality which were particularly at risk. Whilst it was accepted that greater detail would be of benefit, the developing position and continuing volume of unknown impacts did not allow for this inclusion at this time. It was agreed that those staff at risk of impact had been the subject of much discussion by the official and staff sides with appropriate recognition of their value in all forums. It was confirmed that the Unions were satisfied at the level and volume of inclusions within such discussions.

As such, there was an agreement that whilst further detail would be of benefit, at this time, the report was satisfactory.

The report recommended that the Board:

a) Note the risk associated with the Brexit transition process (as contained

within the strategic risk register), as attached at appendix A; and

b) Consider the following wording as a Policy Statement for issue:

The Board resolved:

(i)            to note the risk associated with the Brexit transition process (as contained within the strategic risk register), as attached at appendix A; and

(ii)          Agreed to issue the Policy Statement subject to amending the last sentence to read ‘The IJB will continue to work closely with Aberdeen City Council and NHS Grampian to mitigate the risks as far as is possible to patients, clients and staff.’

Note that the Risk Register was to be reported to the Audit and Performance Systems Committee for discussion and that a further report would be reported to the IJB in March 2019

The Board heard from the Alison MacLeod who presented her report based around the performance against the Ministerial Steering Group national indicators for the previous two financial years and program for this coming financial year, which all helped develop targets for the next financial year.

The Board members entered into discussion of the report and it was highlighted that the report did not particularly allow review against Board’s Strategic Plan. It was strongly felt that the report focussed on numbers rather than consideration of benefit including value of performance or improvement. The Board did express concerns that the indicators and format of the report would allow for setting easily achieved or soft targets rather than the broader benefits achieved.

The Board resolved:

(i)            Approve the local objectives for the six MSG Integration Indicators contained within Appendix A, and

(ii)          Instructs the Chief Officer to submit the local objectives to the Ministerial Strategic Group for Health and Community Care by the deadline of 28th February 2019. And

(iii)         Include this Board’s observations and concerns in respect of the MSG indicators and the lack of evidenced outcome versus figures

(iv)         the lack of evidenced outcome versus figures

The Board heard from Chief Officer Alex Stephen who highlighted the national discussions and position affecting all IJBs particularly in the area of reserve funding. Following further explanation around the report, the Chair expressed appreciation for the report and input and encouraged Board members participation in discussion.

Alex Stephen was able to explain the inclusion of education areas within the funding and it was highlighted that specialist recruitment was challenging in these areas.

The Board resolved to:

(i)                  note the content of this report, and

(ii)                agree to cancel the budget meeting on 5 February 2019.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 3 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

The Board heard from Alison MacLeod who provided an update on the contracts for skill development, training and employability services.

During Board members discussions on the report, it was apparent that this process is continuous having covered the previous 18 months and focusing on those renewals within the next 18 months. Board members heard that the duplications in services had been reduced as a result of the review.

The Chair expressed her appreciation for the volume of input to the document and expressed pleasure at the positive status of the contracts’ status and the inclusion of service providers in understanding requirements before tendering.

The Board resolved:

(i) to note the content of the report

·         North East Partnership

·         Section 75 Progress

·         BAC Contract Review

The Board heard verbal updates from Sandra Ross, the Chief Officer on the following items:

·         North East Partnership

·         Section 75 Progress

·         Banks o’ Dee

·         Kingswells

·         Cornerstone and

·         BAC Contract Review

The Board resolved to

(i)            Note the verbal update

This was included at Item 10