To all NHS Alliance Members

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2015

6th May 2015

Dear Colleague

There will be an Annual General Meeting of the NHS Alliance onTuesday16th June 2015at 12.40pm at theArlington Conference Centre, One Housing Group, 100 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH. It is part of a day-long policy event showcasing our work, including the launch of two major initiatives led by NHS Alliance,as well as further developing our support for new models of primary care.

The meeting will cover the business set out in the agenda below. This meeting is open to NHS Alliance members only and those wishing to attend should advise Anouska Cope by email or supporting information.

Yours sincerely

Rick Stern

Chief Executive

AGENDA

  1. Apologies for Absence
  2. To receive report from the National Executive 2013/14Paper AGM 15/01
  3. Tonote categories of membershipPaper AGM 15/02
  4. Toconsider and, if thought appropriate, approve a paper defining rights and benefits of membership. Paper AGM 15/03
  5. Toconfirm the current subscription fees. Paper AGM 15/04
  6. To elect the National Executive Committee. Paper AGM 15/05
  7. To receive a statement from the Treasurer concerning the annual accounts 2014/15.Paper AGM 15/06

Paper AGM 15/01

Report by the Executive Committee 2014/15

A report from the Chairman

2014/2015 was year of consolidation for NHS Alliance, which established us as the leading organisation in the thought development and implementation of primary care provision. Discussions within Alliance and with our partners culminated in a major thought piece ‘Think Big, Act Now: Creating a Community of Care’. It described how general practice and primary care might extend services out of hospital and its health role. Our document was welcomed by the Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England with the latter picking up many of our themes in the autumn’s ‘Five Year Forward View’. Some of our thinking such as future models of provision and social prescribing have entered mainstream thinking and planning, while others such as our idea of a ‘Health Connector’ are being considered seriously by bodies such as Public Health England.

Another area, in which we have had a major impact, is the developing workforce crisis in primary care. We have raised some of the underlying issues for this ranging from reduced investment in general practice and the working day becoming unmanageable to the need to completely revise Payment by Results and undergraduate medical education. We proposed that a qualified workforce of pharmacists might help to fill some of the gaps and these ideas have since been taken up by RCGP and NHS England. Meanwhile, we have been working hard on two projects for NHS England aiming to reduce bureaucracy and increase headroom in general practice, which has involved close working with frontline GPs and practice managers.

NHS Alliance has always taken a wide view of how we improve health services and health. Our work in developing health creating communities gathered pace with the production of our ‘Charter for Community Development in Health’ at Portcullis House, Westminster last summer with the Shadow Health Minister, Liz Kendall and Lord Victor Adebowale as speakers. NHS Alliance continues to lead this work with a wide range of partners and developing interest from NHS England and politicians of all complexion. Meanwhile, our network for patient/public involvement continues to ensure that the patient voice is heard loud and clear in policy and implementation. In 1948, the Department of Health was called the Department of Health and Housing and NHS Alliance has “gone back to the future” with our publication of a guide to housing and health as well as developing a network of housing organisations and contributing to though development in this area at a number of conferences.

Meanwhile, our implementation arm ‘NHS Alliance Catalyst’ has worked in a number of localities to enable primary care to develop and meet its new challenges. Since our document ‘Think Big, Act Now’ we have built on our delivery arm to establish a new partnership, ‘Accelerate’, designed to support the wide range of providers within local health and care systems, as they develop their individual responses to the new models of care - building bridges across practices, partners in primary care, community services and the wider community. With the models described in ‘Think Big, Act Now’ and supported in the ‘Five Year Forward View’ and a virtual support team – ‘Accelerate’ – ready to put these ideas into action, we feel that there is now an opportunity to turn the NHS crisis into an opportunity for radical redesign thorough extended primary care.

In December 2015, our annual ‘Action Summit’ at RIBA enabled us to showcase both our thinking and some of these thoughts in action. Attended by the Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt, there was an opportunity for our wide range of partners, professionals, managers and patients to meet and share ideas, as well as young leaders to talk about their hopes for the future. Our events remain a crucial meeting point for thinkers and doers, where people can talk through the ideas that will make a real difference on the front line as well as recharge their batteries at a time when many feel overwhelmed and despondent. As a result of these conversations we have made talking up primary care, or presenting the positive narrative that encourages our members to maintain their efforts, day in, day out, as a key priority in the year ahead.

My report would not be complete without thanking Sarah Wrixon and her extraordinary effective and hardworking staff at Salix. They have continued to be experts in telling the Alliance story with regular headlines in daily newspapers as well as professional journals. With more than 10,000 twitter followers, we are able to spread our thinking and influence extensively. Nor too could I end without thanking our ever hardworking Chief Executive, Rick Stern, who has successfully redefined our mission and clarified our future direction as a strong independent voice for primary care providers.

Today, primary care faces a time of paralleled threat and opportunity. Our strong voice, founded upon solid frontline experience of the NHS from day to day, is now required more than ever. We are seen as the organisation that comes up with solutions, which is a credit to the original thinking and positivity of our National Executive and National Leads. We are, I believe, an open minded organisation that is always prepared to “think out of the box” but remains strictly practical because we all have working lives at the frontline of the NHS. NHS Alliance is a complex, virtual organisation with multiple networks and numerous partners. Our success is not just the strength of our independent voice but our ability to work with others.

So I want finally to say a big thank you to all those, who have contributed to our work over the past year. Your commitment and dedication, normally “out of hours”, has not only kept NHS Alliance alive but also made a major contribution towards a better NHS.

Proposed by:Michael DixonSeconded by:Rick Stern

Paper AGM 15/02

Tonote categories of membership

The constitution says

3b) Membership of the organisation shall be open to such individuals and organisations as defined in an annual statement prepared by the National Executive and approved by an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting.

For full membership this shall include:

  1. Practices & groups of practices, including General Practitioner based and other organisations broadly equivalent to this type of organisation, including pharmacies, opticians and dental practices.
  1. Organisations involved in the delivery, provision or evaluation of primary healthcare and community health services, including the full range of services enabling health and well being, (for example, housing providers).
  1. Individuals working in, or with a particular interest in primary care and working within the umbrella of the NHS or related health organisation.

Motion:That the statement be noted and approved.

Proposed by:Michael DixonSeconded by:Rick Stern

Paper AGM 15/03

Toconsider and, if thought appropriate, approve a paper defining rights and benefits of membership.

The constitution requires annual statement concerning member rights and benefits to be recommended by the National Executive and approved by the Annual General Meeting.

A statement is set out below.

Rights ►
Category of Membership
▼ / Access to and notification of all National meetings / Speaker rights at National General Meetings / Right to propose motions
To be considered
At
National General Meetings / Right to vote if present at National General Meetings / Full access to website / Right to attend network & campaign meetings / Discount
On conference fees
& publications with a price / Receipt of publications
Primary Care Providers / Y / Y / Y / Y
(maximum of 8 individuals) / Y / Y / Y / Y
Practices / Y / Y / Y / Y
(maximum of 2 individuals ) / Y / Y / Y / Y
Individual Members / Y / Y / Y / Y / Y / Y / Y / Y

Motion:That the statement be approved.

Proposed by:Michael DixonSeconded by:Rick Stern

PAPER AGM 15/04

Subscriptions

The constitution requires annual statement concerning subscriptions to be recommended by the National Executive and approved by the Annual General Meeting.

1. Individual – £75 per annum.

2. Individual practices (e.g., general practice, pharmacies, opticians, dentists) – £155 per annum

3. All practices within a CCG –Membership fees are:

  • £295 – management budget under £5 million
  • £495 – management budget up to £15 million
  • £995 – management budget over £15 million

4. All other front line providers of primary care (including networks or federations of practices, community service providers, independent providers, housing organisations) Membership fees are:

  • £295 – turnover under £5 million
  • £495 – turnover up to £15 million
  • £995 – turnover over £15 million

5. Corporate: £1,950 per annum

Information is kept up to date on our website at

Motion:That the statement be approved.

Proposed by:Michael DixonSeconded by:Rick Stern

PAPER AGM 15/05

To elect the National Executive Committee.

The constitution reads:

There shall be an Executive Committee (EC) consisting of twelve members elected at the AGM. The members of the Executive Committee shall then elect the officers from amongst the number, namely: a Chairperson, Vice-chairperson(s), and Treasurer. The Executive Committee will be responsible for implementing the policies of the Organisation and deciding on policy matters between General Meetings. The Executive Committee shall be able to co-opt additional members to the EC. Co-opted members will not be able to vote at EC meetings.

Motion: To elect twelve members of the National Executive Committee:

  1. Ken Aswani
  2. Amit Bhargava
  3. Georgina Craig
  4. Michael Dixon (chair)
  5. Brian Fisher
  6. Heather Henry (vice-chair)
  7. Donal Hynes (vice-chair)
  8. Caroline Kerby
  9. Niti Pall
  10. Jonathan Serjeant
  11. Merron Simpson (treasurer)
  12. Mark Spencer

Members who have agreed to be co-opted on to the National Executive Committee:

  1. Minoo Irani
  2. Ray Montague
  3. Jaivir Pall
  4. Alan Penton
  5. Yvonne Sawbridge
  6. Dharini Shanmugabavan
  7. John South
  8. Hazel Stuteley

Proposed by:Michael DixonSeconded by:Rick Stern

Short biographical information is available on request. Nominations included individual proposers and seconders. These have been consolidated for ease of presentation.

PAPER AGM 15/06

Statement from the Treasurer concerning the annual accounts 2014/15

The constitution calls for a financial report to be presented and received by the annual general meeting.

Initial accounts have been prepared and examined by a qualified accountant appointed for this purpose. A copy of his summary report will be made available to the meeting and a short presentation will be made as determined by the National Executive.

The Chief Executive will provide such information as members determine appropriate at the meeting.

Motion:That this report be received:

Proposed:Michael DixonSeconded: Heather Henry