Minutes of the SLPC Meeting – 10:00am - 4pm, Wednesday 14th September 2016. Held at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, SR5 1SU.
Present
Umesh Patel (Chair)
Gillian Cucchi (Vice Chair)
Tim Dobbin (Treasurer)
Karen Ayton
Kathryn Brown
Mark Burdon (PSNC regional member)
Andrea Dickinson
Cliff Gaines
Nigel Herdman
MukarramHussain
In Attendance
Gemma Donovan (Item 15 - Academic Practitioner)
Sandie Hall (Item 14 – Tees LPC Chief Officer)
Mark Stephenson (SLPC appointed Chief Officer)
Apologies
Sailesh Patel
RaminderSihota
Barrie Tudberry
Item 1 – Welcome
Umesh welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that he hoped we could utilise the full day meeting to achieve the many actions outlined in the agenda. After lunch Umesh welcomed Gemma, Sandie and Mark Stephenson to the afternoon session.
Item 2 – Apologies for Absence
These were received from Sailesh Patel, RaminderSihota and Barrie Tudberry.
Item 3 – Minutes of the last meeting
The committee agreed that the minutes of the previous meeting (14th July 2016) were accurate with no amendments.
Item 4 – Matters arising not on the agenda
Umesh confirmed that there would be no Secretary Report for today's meeting as Jim Smith stepped down following the last meeting in July and his replacement was not yet in post.
Discussions are still to take place regarding the Provider Company for Sunderland. It was agreed in July's meeting that these were to take place following the appointment of the SDO. It was agreed by the committee that this would be followed up on once Mark Stephenson was in post.
Summary Care Records are still a focus with the deadline for training due on 31st December 2016. It is noted that a number of sessions have already taken place across the region and further mop up sessions taking place in the coming months.
Item 5 – LPC Officers Reports
Chair Report
Umesh began by reading Jim Smith's letter of resignation to the committee which he had received two weeks previous. Jim cited personal reasons for his resignation and acknowledged that with the changing face of pharmacy a new SDO and Secretary would be best placed to lead SLPC forward. Jim stated he would be delighted to carry out any further work required by SLPC on a consultant basis and was willing to help with any handover required with the new SDO. Umesh emphasised that the committee should recognise Jim's services and honour this with a dinner. Gillian nominated Mark Burdon to organise a leaving meal in Lanchester as he is most familiar with the area. At present all Secretary work remains with Jim as was due to hand this over to Natalie but this meeting was cancelled following the last SLPC meeting where there were concerns expressed over Natalie's appointment.
He expressed a disappointment in the committee questioning the appointment of Natalie stating that a chairman is responsible to lead the committee and as such should be trusted to make decisions, understanding also that not all decisions need to be passed to the committee for ratification. The panel appointment for recruiting the SDO were put together for that sole purpose. Umesh reinforced an urgency for Karen to complete the job specification for an administrative assistant to allow an appointment to be made asap (to be discussed in item 7). Umesh also expressed a concern about the commitment of some members which will need to be addressed during today's agenda.
Action points: Andrea to meet with Mark Stephenson and Jim as soon as possible for transfer of secretary email and files.
Umesh explained the decision to invite Gemma Donovan along to LPC meetings to serve as a good link to the CCG and the university but that she will remain an observer rather than a member of the committee. Kathryn Brown asked for clarification of the role of an observer and what Gemma could be involved with and which information should remain confidential. Umesh agreed to define Gemma's role. Mark Burdon supported the inclusion of observers as they can often provide information there and then when discussing their specialities and stated that South Tyneside also have regular observers. Mark Burdon suggested going forward that SLPC have both an open/closed agenda and open/closed minutes for better governance of SLPC business. Umesh agreed that observers will be able to attend meeting but a section should remain at the end of the agenda to allow confidential information to be discussed in private.
Action points: Umesh instructed all future meetings to consist of split agenda for observers (1. Matters for general discussion and 2.Confidential Matters). Minutes and information sent to observers and published on the website should also be filtered to ensure governance.
Tim stated that SLPC always invited the Chief Pharmacist from Sunderland Royal Hospital to meetings as an observer. Kathryn Brown suggested that the committee approach Dave Miller to attend future meetings. Mark Burdon informed the committee that SRH was in the process of merging with South Tyneside and that their Chief Pharmacist (Graham Richardson) currently attends Gateshead/South Tyneside LPC meetings so it would be beneficial to invite him along once the merger is complete. Gillian suggested it may may be best to invite a hospital representative along only on an adhoc basis where there are items on the agenda which are beneficial for open discussion between primary and secondary care. Umesh seconded this suggestion and agrees that an invitation should be extended to SRH when Transfer of Care (TOC) is on the agenda.
Umesh finished by stating how pleased he was with the appointment of the SDO and looking forward to the progression of SLPC.
Treasurer's Report:
Tim informed the committee that he was working on the provisional accounts for the AGM. He reported that the accounts were healthy with approximately £97,000; PSNC payments are due plus payments pending for Jim Smith in the region of £12-15,000. In view of this Tim suggested leaving the levies as they are for now as the income generated is sufficient for the work required by SLPC and ensures that there are sufficient funds available for payment of SDO and admin assistant for two years, however, these may need to be addressed at a later date as having an SDO in place may generate more income. It was agreed by the committee that this would be the most appropriate action as reducing levies now would only pose a more difficult position in the future should an increase be required. Tim and Gillian recognised that the proposed cuts are going to have a larger impact on the more efficient pharmacies who look to engage in advanced services and therefore we need a levy system that is fair across all contractors.
Tim addressed the LPC budget during his report (due to be discussed in item 10). Kathryn Brown asked the impact that daytime meetings had on the budget and Tim clarified that these cost in the region of £5000. As such if these were to continue the overall financial impact would need to be reviewed, and potentially the annual honorarium payment should be reviewed as this was intended to compensate for evening meetings. Nigel queried whether the honorarium was also intended to reflect other works carried out by committee members beyond attendance of SLPC meetings; Karen agreed that the honorarium should remain at the current universal rate of £500. A review of the day rate was suggested with Mukkaram suggesting that this could be reduced. Karen queried with Tim where the £420 rate had originated and whether this figure was in keeping with other LPCs; it was believed that this was to cover each members time plus the costs of locum back fill. The committee had a long discussion regarding potential solutions including submitting invoices for hourly rates; this was deemed inappropriate by Umesh as this may not be a fair summary of the work involved and Gillian who reiterated that some members cannot simply leave their pharmacy for a couple of hours therefore it must reflect either half day or full day. The final decision was to reduce future payments to £350 for a full day and 60% for a half day.
Tim addressed the statistical data available from the PPD; he reported that the average item cost and discount is going down, and the number of items submitted are increasing at the same rate of drug cost. Nigel was keen for more information about the accuracy of the PPD; Tim commented that he was satisfied that the current information was correct and reassured the committee that the PPD regularly select pharmacies at random and re-check the entire month submitted to check accuracy. It was also reported that the PSNC selects approximately 20 batches per month to audit by repricing the entire batch and statistically highlighting any errors.
Item 6 – SDO update
Umesh confirmed that the committee had engaged with the new SDO Mark Stephenson; he has accepted the offer of the position and will be in attendance at today's meeting as an observer after lunch. Umesh expressed a need to meet with Gillian and Kathryn Brown to discuss the role and requirements of the SDO and to provide a full report to the committee with view to setting up a meeting at a later date with Mark Stephenson to discuss further. Although Mark Stephenson is committed to start on November 1st 2016 at this point in time there is need for clarification over when he will be employed by SLPC rather than working on a consultant level. The committee also needs to clarify any mileage or travel allowances; it was agreed that this would be arranged directly with Tim. Umesh also suggested that Mark's job title be changed from SDO to Chief Officer to encompass all that will required within the role. The committee agreed it would be best to discuss this with Mark in the afternoon session prior to any contract of employment being issued.
Action points: Gillian to contact employment lawyer to clarify position on salary, holidays, pensions etc. Umesh, Kathryn and Gillian to meet to discuss and agree expectations of Chief Officer.
Item 7 – Secretary appointment
Karen presented a proposed job description for the new secretary role. It was agreed by the committee that the position should be advertised as an administrative assistant rather than secretary/PA to reflect the works required. The position will be advertised on a basis of 16 hours per week variable upon SLPC requirements with wage rates reflecting the average for administrative roles and previous experience requested from prospective applicants. Cliff also suggested adding the attendance of evening meetings to the job description ensuring any applicants fully understand the requirements of the role. The committee agreed that the advertisement should be amended to include a requirement for a full UK driving license to facilitate attendance at meetings (with mileage to be paid at 45p/mile) and also the clause of 'any other relevant duties' to cover any future requirements of the committee/SDO. The committee also agreed to remove website upkeep from the job description with view to transfer this responsibility to the Chief Officer. Mark Burdon suggested it may be beneficial for Karen to liaise with Ann Gunning as North of Tyne LPC also employ an administrative assistant. Karen originally suggested advertising the position at the job centre for two weeks although this was reduced to one week only following advice from Mukkaram as it is believed there will be a large amount of interest for the role.
Action points: Karen to take lead with Gillian and Nigel to interview no more than three or four applicants. Mark Stephenson to be involved in recruitment process as he will act as line manager.
Item 8 – Clarification of roles of Kathryn Featherstone and Ann Gunning now that SDO has been appointed
Karen queried the continued payments to Ann Gunning and Kathryn Featherstone. Umesh and Tim confirmed that both parties are not employed by SLPC and are only paid for adhoc work carried out.
It was recognised that the uptake of TOC from the hospital was relatively low based on the reports produced by Ann raising the query of cost-effectiveness. Currently she is only spending time visiting pharmacies who are having issues with the TOC project and where she cannot resolve their issues over the phone. Umesh acknowledged that Ann provides a good link with the hospital and suggested retaining her services until the Chief Officer was in place.
Kathryn Featherstone charges SLPC £250 per month for adding content to the website. Umesh highlighted the benefits of her continued work as she understands pharmacy and she has proven to be a good website manager. Umesh also acknowledged that once the Chief Officer is settled into his role the committee can look at transferring the upkeep of the website to him. Karen queried whether the upkeep of the website should be added to the proposed job description for the admin assistant, Gillian and Umesh agreed that this would not be appropriate. Umesh re-enforced that anyone from the committee can email Kathryn Featherstone to add information to the website. Gillian provided updated contact details (). Kathryn Brown suggested utilising the SLPC stand at the upcoming CCG event in October to find what information the contractors would find useful on the website to make it more interactive.
Action points: Karen and Andrea manning stand at CCG event
Whilst addressing the website Umesh noted that Becki had been asked to look into setting up a facebook page but she had now left the committee for maternity leave. Agreed that SPLC needs to engage more with social media to highlight the services that we can provide as a profession. Mark Burdon believed that Twitter may be a more suitable option for professionals although recognising that pharmacy staff as a whole are more likely to engage with facebook.
Action points: Andrea to change facebook group to open and look at updating its content
Item 9 – Gemma Donovan Role and Meeting Attendance
Previously discussed – see minute's above in Item 5 – Chair's Report
Item 10 – LPC Budget
Previously discussed – see minute's above in Item 5 – Treasurer's Report
Item 11 – PSNC Self Assessment
Kathryn and Karen took lead, refer to appendix 1 for full assessment. Karen suggested to the committee that the outcomes from the assessment should be passed to Mark for follow up; Umesh felt that this should be tied in with the agenda for the AGM.
Part 1 – Business and strategic planning
The committee agreed that now Mark was in place he would play a key role in implementing a strategic plan.
Part 2 – Governance
Kathryn and Karen both suggested it may best going forward to appoint a governance officer in SLPC. Umesh confirmed that there is a governance policy in place however this was due for review in 2014. It was agreed that 'written governance arrangements' would remain classified as amber until the policy had been re-read and reviewed. Declarations of interest have not been completed by all SLPC members and so need reviewing. SLPC is in process of appointing a Chief Officer and as such will meet green rating in the near future.
Part 3 – LPC management and structure
Operational capacity of SLPC is moving towards green rating with appointment of Mark and many of the areas will be looked into during the afternoon session. The whole committee agreed that member's competence must be looked into further depth as there are a number of new members who have not received any form of LPC training. Umesh is to contact NPA for guidance and Mark Burdon agreed to contact Mike King at PSNC to discuss possibility of holding a new members training day in York. Kathryn suggested that although new members need training the entire SLPC could benefit from development to ensure that the contractors in Sunderland are getting the best from their representatives. Umesh agreed that this would be beneficial for the team as a whole and supported the suggestion from Kathryn for a team building event.
Part 4 – Financial Management
Tim offered adding the budget to the AGM, Karen agreed this would be beneficial for transparency to contractors.
Part 5 – Communication
The committee recognised that at present all communication for contractors is sent via Sami at Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC. Once Mark is in place he has expressed a desire to meet all contractors in person (and update database). which will in turn improve communication links. Prior to this Mark/Andrea will need to meet with Jim (as detailed in item 5). It was recognised that Mark will require Press training once in post to comply with press relations requirement. The committee also discussed why there was poor contractor engagement. There is an open invite on the SLPC website for contractors to attend meetings as observers although this is rarely used. Nigel suggested that pharmacist engagement is required and Cliff stated it may be beneficial to alter the website accordingly to address community pharmacists rather than contractors (as many contractors are aware of SLPC or have indeed served on the committee in the past). Umesh felt that there was a need for a contractor evening ran separately to the AGM to increase engagement.