POOLE HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS – PUBLIC MEETING
The minutes of the Part 1 meeting of the Council of Governors of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust held on 27 April 2017 at 4.30pm, within the Boardrooms.
Present: Mrs Angela Schofield Chairman
AVM G Carleton Purbeck, East Dorset and Christchurch
Mr Paul Chappell Poole
Mrs Christine Cooney Poole
Mr John Daniels Poole
Mrs Sarah Holmes Poole
Mrs Carol Morgan Poole
Mr James Myles North & West Dorset, Weymouth, Portland and the rest of England
Mr Richard Negus Poole
Mr Brian Newman Bournemouth
Mrs Linda Nother Poole
Mrs Marilyn Osner Purbeck, East Dorset and Christchurch
Mrs Lucy Parker Clinical Staff
Mr John Payne Clinical Staff
Dr David Richardson Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group
Cllr Ann Stribley Borough of Poole
Dr Subrata Sen Purbeck, East Dorset and Christchurch
Mr Graham Whittaker Non- Clinical Staff
Mrs Sandra Yeoman Poole
In attendance: Ms Marie Cleary Staff Experience Lead (for item 20)
Mr Steve Erskine Chairman Designate
Mrs Debbie Fleming Chief Executive
Miss Nicola Gray Committee & Member Admin (minute taker)
Mr Mark Orchard Director of Finance
Mrs Patricia Reid Director of Nursing
Mrs Carrie Stone Company Secretary
Mr Nick Ziebland Senior Independent Director
COG 38/17 Apologies for Absence
Apologies were noted from Cllr B Dove, Appointed Governor (Bournemouth Borough Council), Mr D Jones, Appointed Governor (Dorset County Council), Dr Sonal Minocha (Bournemouth University), Mrs Jan Hanlon (Bournemouth), Mrs Frances Rye (Clinical Staff)
COG 39/17 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest pertaining to the agenda.
COG 40/17 Patient Story
The governors received a presentation highlighting the experience of a mother whose child was a patient with Learning Disabilities. Mrs Nother requested that the student nurse who had assisted the mother throughout her experience at the hospital be commended for her excellent work.
COG 41/17 Draft Minutes of Meeting held on 19 January 2017 (Paper A)
The minutes were APPROVED.
COG 42/17 Matters Arising/Action List (Paper B)
122/16 The benchmarking exercise in respect of the formal of the annual members’ meeting is still underway and will come back to the next council meeting in July 2017
ACTION:CS/RM
It was NOTED and AGREED that all matters arising unless subject to this or future agendas had been executed.
COG 43/17 Chairman’s Comments
The chairman welcomed Mr Erskine as the incoming Chairman and Mrs Reid as the new Director of Nursing. The chairman reported that:
· The Board was intending to reschedule to alternate monthly meetings to accommodate the Joint Programme Board with the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. There would be no effect on the Council of Governor’s meetings or informal briefings.
· The Staff awards had been a great success with a real celebration of staff.
· This would be Mr Chappell’s last meeting and Mrs Morgan was seeking re-election. Mrs Schofield thanked them both for their support.
· Mr Ziebland’s tenure as a Non-Executive Director was due to end in August 2017. Mrs Schofield noted that there is an item in part 2 of the meeting regarding this. Mrs Schofield thanked Mr Ziebland for his role as Senior Independent Director and for working closely with the Council of Governors on the appointment of the new chairman.
· The Council of Governors at their last Part 2 meeting approved the appointment of the new Chairman and the CSR Consultation response.
The report was NOTED.
COG 44/17 Council of Governor’s Governance Cycle (Paper C)
Mrs Stone presented the report providing the governors with the Council of Governors’ governance cycle.
Mrs Stone noted the highlighted amendments to the cycle.
The Council APPROVED the 2017/18 governance cycle.
COG 45/17 Council of Governor’s Meeting Schedule 2018 (Paper D)
Mrs Stone presented the report providing the governors with the Council of Governors’ meeting schedule for 2018.
Mrs Stone reported she was awaiting confirmation on the dates for the governors’ reference groups and would liaise with the chair of each group accordingly. ACTION: CS
The Council APPROVED the meeting schedule for 2018.
COG 46/17 Public Governor Representation for NREC (Paper E)
The chairman presented the report which asked the governors to nominate a public governor to sit on the Nominations, Remuneration and Evaluation Committee.
The chairman noted that Mrs Yeoman, who currently sits on NREC, had indicated her willingness to continue for a further term of office.
The Council APPROVED the nomination of Mrs Yeoman as a public governor to sit on NREC.
COG 47/17 Well-Led Review Report and Action Plan (Paper F)
The chairman presented the report noting the main findings as outlined in the report. She reported that the action plan follows three key themes of quality improvement, leadership culture and strategy as areas for further development.
Mr Newman asked what the National Maternity Safety Collaborative was on Page 6 within the Action Plan. Mrs Reid advised that it was part of a collaborative to share good practice in maternity services.
The report was NOTED.
COG 48/17 NHS Staff Survey (Paper L)
The chairman welcomed Ms Cleary to the meeting.
Ms Cleary presented the report on behalf of Mrs Cotgrove, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development.
Ms Cleary reported that every Trust is required to carry out a Staff Survey annually and the 32 key findings are scored out of 5. Ms Clearly noted that there had been a 51% response rate over 66 departments, with 1910 staff taking part, some 501 more than last year. The Trust was placed within the top 20% of acute Trusts on staff engagement. Ms Cleary advised there will be a quarterly performance review process to review the actions that have been highlighted from the survey.
Mr Newman noted the below average score on staff satisfaction for the care they are able to provide and asked if the reason behind this was known. Ms Cleary advised the figure was an average across the Trust and further work in this area was being undertaken. Mr Newman noted this could affect staff morale and should be monitored.
Mrs Holmes noted that the Trust was higher than average for harassment and asked if there was a policy on harassment and would staff know where to find it. Ms Cleary confirmed the Trust has a policy, that there is support in place with access to Occupational Health and 24 hour support through Care First which is the Trust’s independent assistance provider. Mr Whittaker reported that the Trust has a robust training system in place.
Mr Carleton noted that there were a number of violent incidents and the comparisons were against national figures. Ms Cleary advised that the comparison is made against other Trusts in the Wessex area.
The report was NOTED.
COG 49/17 Report from the NREC meeting held on 27 April 2017 (oral)
The chairman noted that an NREC meeting had been held earlier that day and the following items had been received and considered:
· The committee received the Annual Report of NREC which had also been included in this meeting’s agenda.
· The committee considered the 2017/18 remuneration and allowances for the chairman and non-executive directors. The recommendation for a 1% pay increase was supported to align with 1% increase in salary for all staff on the Agenda for change pay scheme. A paper will be coming to July’s Council of Governor meeting following additional research in to remuneration for non-executive directors.
· The committee had also received papers to support the extension of a non-executive director’s tenure and the re-appointment of a non-executive director, both of which would be discussed in the Part 2 meeting.
The report was NOTED.
COG 50/17 Annual Report on the Work of the Nominations, Remuneration and Evaluation Committee (Paper G)
The chairman presented the report providing the annual report on the work of the Nominations, Remuneration and Evaluation Committee. The chairman noted that the report had been received and noted at NREC and reported that it summarised the work carried out over the last 12 months.
The report was NOTED.
COG 51/17 Membership Strategy (Paper H)
Mrs Stone presented the report advising that the Membership Strategy had been considered by the Membership and Engagement Group, prior to its approval by the Board on 26 April 2017.
Mrs Stone noted the importance of Board Members being engaged with membership and the maintenance of membership numbers.
The strategy was NOTED.
COG 52/17 Quarterly Strategy Update Report (Paper I)
Mr Miller presented the report which provided governors with an update on progress relating to key strategic developments.
Mr Miller reported that the Trust is planning to bid for the replacement of up to three linear accelerators from the national radiotherapy replacement programme. The likely implementation date would be October 2018.
Mr Miller provided an update on integrated community care, noting that this will be the subject of a Board discussion in the summer. Mr Miller agreed to brief governors on Integrated Community Services at a future meeting. ACTION: PM
Mr Miller reported that the Five Year Forward View had been refreshed with the publication of “Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View”. A key development is the inclusion of the Dorset system as one of 9 first wave Accountable Care System partnerships, which will be a key priority over the next five years. Mr Miller noted that the refreshed strategy would be discussed at the governors’ Future Plans and Priorities Reference Group. Mr Miller and Mrs Stone will also arrange a bespoke governor development event to discuss the Five Year Forward View and next steps. ACTION: PM/CS
The report was NOTED.
COG 53/17 Integrated Quality, Performance and Workforce Report (Paper J)
Mr Orchard presented the report providing an update on key performance issues in March 2017. The following key points were highlighted:
· The organisation had achieved all of its key performance indicators for the year.
· All cancer standards were achieved and the quarter four position for Referral to Treatment was 92.4%..
· Activity within the Trust was growing and despite this standards are continuing to be achieved.
· The view for 2017/18 was that there will be no extra funding and no increase in staffing, both of which would be challenging but there was good joint work being done to alleviate some of this.
· The focus on next year would be improving resilience in the Emergency Department, noting the Trust had secured capital funding of £1m to assist with GP streaming for patients attending the Emergency Department, a redesign of outpatients and the technology used in outpatients to improve the issues with appointments, and Theatre productivity.
Dr Richardson noted that the Emergency Department figures were impressive and had anything been learned from what had changed. Mr Orchard advised that the Emergency Department was susceptible to surges in activity and Mrs Fleming noted that the reduced length of stays may be having an impact and this was being explored.
Mrs Reid presented the Quality and Safety section of the report noting the following key points:
· The range of infections had changed somewhat and work was ongoing to assess the impact.
· The incidence of pressure ulcers and falls remained under scrutiny with a number of measures being implemented to reduce these.
· There was a focus on medication errors. Mrs Reid noted that more patients had been prescribed controlled drugs prior to admission and that nursing staff are reviewing and reinforcing medicines management, including the management of controlled drugs.
· Mortality rates remain within appropriate parameters.
· Patient experience remains positive.
Mrs Reid reported that consideration was being given to ward sisters moving to a more supervisory role.
Mrs Reid provided an update on the workforce element of the report noting that sickness rates were within the expected range. She advised that the areas of focus in relation to staffing levels were recruitment, retention and the role of the HCA.
The report was NOTED.
COG 54/17 Financial Performance Month 12 (K)
Mr Orchard presented the financial performance report, reporting that the Trust is reporting a control total surplus of £954k. Mr Orchard advised that the Trust had qualified for a bonus of £1.2m, having delivered on its control total and Sustainability and Transformation fund (STF) targets.
Mr Orchard noted that the 2016/17 accounts will be received by the Council of Governors at the July 2017 meeting. ACTION: MO
The report was NOTED.
COG 55/17 Operational Plan 2017-19 (Paper M)
Mr Orchard presented the summary of the Operational Plan 2017-19 explaining the bonus that had been received earlier in the week in respect of the STF monies and the overall impact this had on the plan. He reported that the most significant challenge will be closing the Cost Improvement Plan (CIP) gap for 2017/18. Mr Orchard described the embedded schemes, pipeline schemes and the £1.5m gap.
Dr Richardson said that although a welcome bonus, were there any restrictions on the STF monies. Mr Orchard advised that it had to be used as cash and count towards the improved position.
Mrs Morgan noted that the bonus had improved the cash flow, but wanted to know what the real position would be without that bonus. Mr Orchard advised that in real terms the Trust would be operating with a planned deficit.
Mr Newman queried why there were debtors. Mr Orchard advised that there were a number of slow payers who would settle accounts at the last minute.
The report was NOTED.
COG 56/17 Register of Interests
Mrs Stone presented the report providing the Council with the updated Register of Interests. The register is reviewed annually, at the end of the financial year, as part of the annual declaration. Mrs Stone asked that any outstanding annual declarations needed returning as soon as possible.
The report was NOTED.
Reports from Reference Groups
COG 57/17 Membership, Engagement and Recruitment
Mrs Yeoman provided the Council with a verbal update of progress made in membership, engagement and recruitment and noted the following key points:
· The members’ event in Wimborne had been very well received and the clinical presentation had been enjoyed.
· The annual membership recruitment target had not been reached. As a consequence the membership target for 2017/18 had not been increased. Mrs Yeoman noted that efforts to recruit members must be maintained.