Minutes of the meeting held on 20th January 2015 in Manchester

Present:

Alex Winterbone Suffolk

Krys Jarvis Shropshire

Alan MooreManchester

Brian SmithNorthern

Angela CannonStoke on Trent

Samantha SterlingLeeds

Yvonne BaronChorley, South Ribble & West Lancs

Maria SherringtonKnowsley

Lynne PetersBridgewater

Judith Ruddle North Tees & Hartlepool

Julia StellBolton

Sarah SherwoodBedfordshire

Rory DaviesPreston

Sue CobbyEast Sussex

Francis BeavisGloucestershire

Julie CroysdaleLeicester

Amanda BallWirral

Janine EagleManchester

Liz TurnerManchester

Apologies

Zena WisbeySurrey

Henry LumleyBristol

Caroline DesjardinsLeicester

Christine RiceSurrey

Elaine CoopeAiredale

Diane McIntoshDoncaster

Louise LloydBerkshire

Emma WakelingRoehampton

Lesley Papworth

George BrysonStockport

Carol KaracaWhizz Kidz

Kathryn BourneMilton Keynes

Joanne O’NeillLiverpool

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Introductions

CECOPS Presentation - Brian Connelly

The code of practice for disability equipment wheelchair services and seating services will be out in about 3 weeks and is a published book it applies to commissioners, providers and clinical professionals.

It is a quality framework that is outcome focussed and covers

  • Commissioning and Governance
  • Service Provision
  • Clinical & professional responsibilities

Some of it doesn’t apply to wheelchair services but most of it does.

CECOPS was set up by Brian Donnelly & Sir Bert Massey as a social interest company and offers an accreditation scheme for providers.

By following the code you will be meeting the legislative requirements the team have liaised with the HSE, MHRA and CQC.

There is no obligation to sign up it is a voluntary code, accreditation costs £795 in the first year and about 50% of this in subsequent years to sign up, and the external assessment will cost £1500 per year. The software licence costs £1900 per year. Free 1 month trial available

There is an on-line software tool to allow you to evaluate your service which can include patient and commissioner feedback

It is a lot of work to work your way through the whole code using the on line tool, it is something that might take a year to get through. Some of the improvements required may be outside your control but it will give a case for asking commissioners for resources. It can hold all your evidence within the tool so that anyone you send it too can see the evidence. Self assess progress which gives evidence of continuous improvement.

Reports can be generated in the areas you select and for the time period you select.

Separate section for commissioners to complete about their involvement i.e. service specifications, eligibility criteria, funding, performance management etc.

It is anticipated that commissioners may request accreditation or to see the evidence in which case encourage commissioners to purchase it for you because they want you to use it. General use would also provide benchmarking information.

System is ready to go but has not been piloted yet.

Website will be available in a couple of weeks which will have all the security information on it.

Minutes of the meeting on 14th October 2014were agreed

Matters Arising

Naidex

Krys has contacted Kate El Bizanti who wanted to publish some work she was doing on ventilation on wheelchairs – she is happy to prepare a poster for the event.

Krys has contacted Naidex but with no response. What are they expecting of us?

Agreed to have a sub meeting after the main meeting to gather some ideas about what we might do.

The AGM was not a success last year with a very poor turnout.

Krys did an interview for Tradepoint –

.

Guidelines for equipment which has been abused or lost – draft.

Alex to add comment about charging for equipment lost or abused and review date (in 12 months) and version number; then re-circulate

National Standards

Discussion regarding where this fits with CECOPS – agreed that our standards are more of an overview and CECOPS have expanded on them.

Discussion around the title; agreed to leave it as it is, it is now so well known changing it risks it being used much less.

Sue agreed to update policy documents

Updates received from Regional Groups, Krys has collated but there are a few more to be added in

Service Specification – Krys has seen an updated version of the NHS England service specification but has not yet been given permission to circulate.

Discussion around different priority levels in different documents and how they map across or don’t. Agreed to leave this alone for the time being, as this may be dependent on the tariff work etc.?

Response times – the last draft was written in order to meet the 18 week RTT. Wheelchair Summit looks like moving to the Transforming Community Equipment standard which is 5 days for standard stock and 6 weeks for complex equipment which we agreed was unachievable. Agreed to leave it as it is as a guide to good but achievable practice

Agreed to launch the updated version of the standards at the AGM, Naidex – April

Any comments to Krys as soon as possible and at the latest by 13th February Krys will put together a draft with whatever she has – All to comment on appendices,

Specialist Commissioning / Reference Costs

There is nothing in place for special seating reference costs pending the return of services to CCG’s – others had heard that it has not been sorted and there will be a delay of 6 months.

Alan has had meetings with Henry & NHS England they are trying to run pilot schemes to collect the data required over the next 9 months to come up with realistic reference costs. Specialised equipment had been missed because of the confusion around who the commissioners would be, but has now been added. Pilots to include Leeds & Manchester

Definitions have not been agreed and they underpin everything

Krys to write to Ros Roughton asking what is going on

Military Veterans

No further information available: Julie Croysdale is meeting with Alison Treadgold regarding amputees and will raise the wheelchair side at that meeting and will feedback.

Web Site:

  • The subscription to Website hosting has been renewed for another year. £215.28 inc. VAT
  • Steady flow of requests for information re membership
  • Updates continue to come through, 50 services have not updated the directory in the last 3 years
  • Assisted PMG staff with a list of centre addresses for mailshot, extracted details from Directory o Services database.

Bank Account – almost sorted out; the relevant people need to provide their signatures today. This has delayed the sending out of bills for 2014 – 2015 which Sarah hopes to send out at the beginning of March and then again in May for 2015 – 2016.

From April 1st you will get a new password if you have paid your subs.

Competencies and Training

Krys is a co-opted member of the PMG training committee; they are trying to look at mapping competencies to available training. The last meeting stalled on who is signing off competencies and are they competent to do so?

Should PMG become a training provider with courses which measurer the participant’s competency.

PMG could put the courses out to other providers who can demonstrate competency.

The 1st focus may be to develop an entry level 2 course the meeting also discussed accrediting those who deliver accredited therapists courses locally.

The Competencies are due for review in April.

The Therapy Assistant ones need to be approved; agreed that if they are formatted in the same way as the others they can be approved and reviewed in April.

Spinal Injuries Centres

Dot Tussler – chair of Physio’s involved in spinal injury contacted Krys prior to our last meeting and Krys put together a paper for the all party parliamentary group based on what we told her at the last meeting, (this was previously circulated). She has been asked to speak at the House of Commons on 10th February to explore the evidence she submitted in this paper and possibly identify areas for improvement and take questions.

If anyone has any evidence of the difficulties encountered with spinal injuries centres please let Krys have it. Krys will email what she has already done again so please add to it if you can.

We wondered if there was a need to produce a national framework or protocol for dealing with these patients.

Wheelchair Summit

Krys applied to join the Wheelchair Alliance and has been accepted; she read out the list of members and the terms of reference. The first meeting is on 26th January, it follows from the November summit meeting and it is a task and finish group not expected to last for too long. The group queried where all these work streams were going and how they were all going to be brought together and how could they be implemented when everything is down to local determination.

Krys has been contacted by ClaireHelm from NHS England Improving Wheelchair Services Group who is creating a bank of good practice case studies.

ResMag update

The last meeting was mainly taken up with discussing the training of RE’s

The Voluntary Register of Clinical Scientists is now the Register of Clinical Scientists

The ResMag website has been a problem recently and is not really accessible, they are looking for an alternative host

The meeting heard from a representative from BHTA who are looking at coming up with a set of competencies which amount to a qualification for use in the private sector.

General Roundup

Alan Moore is retiring shortly his post is currently advertised. The meeting thanked Alan for his work for the Forum and presented him with a card to mark his retirement.

Friends and Family tests – I Want Great Care web site there is now a separate category for wheelchair services

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign – campaign for standing wheelchairs

Powered Wheelchair User Survey Report RICA.

Restrictive Intervention – straw poll who issues for behavioural difficulties.

Offer from TGA to host a meeting – declined because of train travel difficulties

Any Other Business

  • If people ask a question around the forum please could they feedback responses in a brief format which Ian can put on the members area of the website.
  • How do people record the risk assessments for modifications to wheelchairs – general consensus standard risk assessments.

Date of next meetings:

29th April 2015Naidex

30th June 2015Bedford

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