Minutes of the Meeting Held on 3Rd July 2012 Inleeds

Minutes of the meeting held on 3rd July 2012 inLeeds

Present:

Alex Winterbone Suffolk

Krys Jarvis Shropshire

Alan MooreManchester

Samantha SterlingLeeds

Barbara HattonWigan

Hazel DerbyshirePreston

Julia CunninghamWhizz Kidz

Jane CoatesManchester

Carol BartleySalford

Cathy RyanWest Pennine

Jan Smith Newcastle

Brian SmithNorthern

Sue CobbyEast Sussex

Yvonne BaronChorley, South Ribble & West Lancs

Jane ThurlowYork

Rory DaviesPreston

Louise BibbyLincolnshire

Frances BeavisGloucestershire

Apologies

Julia Mannering Gloucester

Claire WattHorsham

Caroline DesjardinsLeicester

Kath GriffithsCrewe

Kirsty SimpsonDevon

Julie CroysdaleLeicester

Elaine CoopeAiredale

Angela CannonStoke on Trent

Henry LumleyBristol

Sarah SherwoodBedfordshire

Peter Gage Essex

Tanya Burman

Jane StroudGloucestershire

Julia KinsellaDorset

Introductions

Minutes of the meeting on 18th April 2012were agreed

Child in a Chair in a day the attachment in the last minutes wouldn’t open Krys to forward as an e mail

Matters Arising

Web Site:

Ian has e mailed NHS Choices regarding a link but progress is slow.

Competencies

Sue Cobby reported back as Claire was unable to come to the meeting. This work has not really progressed far because of pressure of work.

Talking about banding:

• Introductory
• Intermediate
• Advanced

As these would make a distinction between competency bands and Agenda for Change bandings which vary across the country

Clare is asking forum members to write a précis of job descriptions in use ( Band 5-8) to highlight clinical, leadership, and management components of the job. Discussed including Band 4 Assistant Practitioners but agreed to concentrate on qualified Therapists Band 5-8 because this is where the difficulty is rather than with Assistant Practitioners at Band 4. Specification says suitably qualified practitioners which would exclude Band 4.

Please send these through to Claire

Claire has contacted Alex Kamadu regarding getting competencies included in the AQP specification but Sue did not know what the outcome was.

Terms of Reference – still applicable, Membership requests to join, Director of Business Development at AJ Mobility wants to join us. – Query does he actually have a contract to provide services – no. Krys will respond no.

Regional Reps – this is off the terms of reference but we will need to find a way of limiting the numbers at meetings if they grow beyond a reasonable level. This has not been an issue up to now but if we were to get a lot of private providers then numbers could increase dramatically.

There is a difference between AQP providers and tendered out services, tendered out services are likely to remain with the same person and the same patch, whereas there could be many AQP providers in the same area.

Specialist Commissioning – Henry at the meeting today,

AQP

Discussion around AQP seems like several commissioners have withdrawn for now but probably only a pause, West Midlands still going ahead collaboratively they have agreed a specification and are working on a tariff, as original figure offered was viewed as too low

Who decides who is complex and who is not, if a complex patient is triaged into an AQP route wrongly will there be a gate keeping function on AQP providers or will they think it doesn’t matter and go ahead anyway.

Some PCT’s are going ahead for children only.

Discussion re services only dealing with the most complex but it was pointed out that there is a critical mass that makes the service financially viable if only the most complex remain then it may be seen as a very expensive service. If you lose money to the bottom end then you may lose skills as well, as therapists go with that. If you lose the lower end you need to get sufficient money in to make the service viable. The lower end subsidises the rest.

Agreed that everything seems far more in the air than it was a few months ago.

Krys happy to share the West Midlands specification 1A which rumour has it that DoH is interested in. Discussions in West Midlands around some sort of procurement framework which also includes user choice. Still lots of questions around procurement, who owns the chair and who repairs it.

AGM

Chairs Report attached

Treasurers Report attached

There were no comments or questions on the reports

Election of Officers

Treasurer JanNominated Krys

Seconded Alan

Voted in

Chair ElectRoryNominated Krys

Seconded Brian

Voted in

ResMag update

Modernising Scientific Careers – competency booklets printed and available Brian to put latest version on website.

Undergraduates at Coventry are in their 4th year and looking for placements. Try before you buy – looking to get placements particularly in smaller services. Contact Dave Harrison at Birmingham. No obligations after the year but they would need to receive your trusts induction and mandatory training.

AQP – discussed it should be recognised within the membership

MHRA – no adverse incidents so far this year Catriona Blake and John Ward presented changes in MHRA – Brian to contact to come and update Forum.

Consultation on Regulation of Healthcare Professionals, querying accountability when people are on a voluntary register.

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Any Other Business

• Discussion with Whiz Kidz regarding provision of information and engagement with the forum at higher level. Requested to share pre assessment form with the group, Julia will ask permission, also requested to give an update of where Whiz Kidz are heading at every meeting – will ask.

• Royal Society of Medicine Course in October Krys will e mail out again.
• Templates from Krys regarding Special Seating sent out ages ago, please can people still fill them in. Krys to send out again

• There are 152 services how many managers are there, several services we know are managed by one person? Could Iansend out an e mail to everyone on the directory asking who their manager is and who employs them? Whether they cover more than one type of service and what there title is?

• Veterans funding – Sam has heard that some of the funding announced by the government for prosthetics can be used for topping up wheelchairs, but the injury has to be directly related to military service rather than just ex militaryThe service would apply to a panel based on prescription who would check eligibility etc. the funding is £15 million over 3 years. What happens about repairing top of the range kit under this scheme and when it needs replacement when this money has all been used up?

• Brian has had an incident where someone has been charged for being drunk in charge of a powered wheelchair. He is asking if the chair is withdrawn by other services in these circumstances. Answers varied

• Krys contacted by Geraldine Miller wheelchair manager in Northern Ireland who wanted to know if we were experiencing poor performance by Sunrise Medical;

• Has anyone got a limit of the numbers of repairs they allow? No - but several people have visited or written to serial abusers. Preston have brought people in every 6 months to review them where theyhave had a number of repairs.

• Behavioural control Manchester trying to implement a policy similar to Krys’s policy but is encountering difficulties with getting co-operation from the MDT. Best Interests Policy from Salford sounds good Carol will share.

• NHS Supply Chain disappointed we did not want them to come and talk to us, wanted to meet Krys anyway. Krys to ask him to outline what benefits the forum would gain from a presentation.

• Andrew Frank – asked about EPIOC numbers nationally, asking for EPIOC users per 1000 population – figures collected from those who knew them

• Alex Kamadu query, has anyone done any work on tariffs for cost and volume – sent Krys a spreadsheet which is the one that we commented on as rubbish. Does anyone have any information they can share – no. Henry and Elaine have done some work Krys will point him in that direction.

• Does anyone have an approved repairer contract specification they would be able to share?

• Does anyone have any experience of using the Whizzy Bug?

• Gloucester getting involved with 24 hour posture management, they lead the assessment in conjunction with paediatric colleagues who provide the sleep system or static seating.

• Nursing Homes – has anyone got any documents they would be willing to share regarding what you supply in Nursing Homes? Alex will collate and send round anything you are willing to share.

• Communication aids – attaching them to wheelchairs. Who attaches it to the wheelchair?

.Date of next meeting:

9th October Cheltenham

22nd January 2013Rotherham

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