Public consultation over Telford health service changes 'not possible' during coronavirus pandemic
Public consultation over health service changes in Telford “has not been possible” during the coronavirus pandemic, and may be carried out retrospectively, an NHS report says.
Co-authored by Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group executives, the document says a “streamlined approach”, including liaison with Healthwatch and councillors, should be considered instead.
Titled 'Temporary Changes to Commissioning Intentions and Contracts to support COVID-19', it is due to be discussed by the governance board when it meets next week.
The report adds that two members of the CCG’s own team are qualified and registered clinicians, and have been drafted back into frontline work to help respond to the crisis.
Tracey Jones, the deputy executive for integrated care, and deputy planning and commissioning director Angie Parkes, write: “A proportion of the previous ‘business as usual’ has been stood down during the pandemic in relation to commissioning work.
More Covid-19 coverage:
“As part of the CCG’s agile response to Covid-19, in line with government directives, the usual governance routes for service change have been paused.
“Whilst this is appropriate for an immediate response in relation to the pandemic there will be a requirement to address governance processes for any proposed service changes to be considered for permanent implementation.
“The CCG has duties in relation to public involvement and consultation during decision making.
Liaising
“Due to the reactive nature of the current situation, this has not been possible during this time and will need to be retrospectively managed.
“The system should consider liaising with Healthwatch and the joint health overview and scrutiny board [sic] to develop a streamlined process for engaging patients in relation to these changes.”
The joint health overview and scrutiny committee includes elected members of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin councils.
Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin is an independent organisation representing local health and care service users, and is supported by Healthwatch England.
Ms Jones and Ms Parkes add: “There have been some workforce implications in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two members of the commissioning team who are qualified, registered clinicians have been redeployed to support the local health providers responding to the pandemic. This has resulted in a reduced resource to deal with commissioning work.
“A large proportion of the remaining workforce resource available within the commissioning team has been dedicated to responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on services, providers and patients.”
The governance board of the Telford and Wrekin CCG will discuss the report when it meets virtually on Tuesday, May 12.
