Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report relating to the Better Care Fund Plan. It was reported that the Better Care Fund had been announced by Government in June 2013 and provided an opportunity to transform local services so that people were provided with better integrated care and support. It encompassed a substantial level of funding to help local areas manage pressures and improve long term sustainability of their health and care economies. It was noted that the Fund would be an important enabler to take the integration agenda forward at scale and pace, acting as a significant catalyst for change.

The Cheshire East Better Care Plan united a shared vision of Cheshire East Council, NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group, for improving outcomes for residents through improving how and social care services worked together. The Better Care Fund provided the level to drive a transformed model of integrated care, which would ensure that residents experienced care and support of quality that was appropriate to their needs and supported them to live as independent and fulfilling lives as possible. Critically it would ensure that when needs required it, specialist care and support was provided by services best equipped to cater for those needs.

There was a requirement to submit the Better Care Fund Plan to NHS England by the 4^th April. A first draft had submitted in February and the second draft was appended to the report. It was noted that the Metrics and Finance Technical Appendix was being worked on. This had been compiled following extensive work by a team of officers from across the Council and the two CCGs and consultation with provider organisations.

The Board was requested to consider and endorse the Better Care Fund Plan submission.

RESOLVED

That the Board notes that following BCF submission and for pragmatic reasons separate operational plans are progressed using the BCF resources to drive the intended outcomes for residents via Connecting Care (South) and Caring Together (East).

Noted

·         The Board noted the difficulties associated with aligning the proposed schemes within the Caring Together work programme.

·         Following advice from NHS England the Board noted that the BCF submission would be subject to review as a consequence of work being undertaken within the Eastern Cheshire part of the Borough as a consequence of its identification as a ‘Challenged Economy’ and that this review may impact upon the performance metrics and schemes identified.  The BCF facilitated work into Caring Together may be subject to scrutiny and challenge via the challenged economy work and may as a consequence change.

·         The Board also noted that  the BCF submission would be subject to an assurance process by NHS England and asked that that  process acknowledge the difficult context,  namely the challenged economy in the eastern part of the Borough and that a negative judgement of the submission was not made which might reflect poorly upon the wider health and social care economy in the rest of the Borough, or the agencies driving the required changes, namely Cheshire East Council, South Cheshire CCG and associated provider organisations. All Agencies would however,  continue to work together wherever possible.