Announcements

report by Roger Appleton

A report to the Council’s Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June informed Councillors that the contracts for providers of community support services to adults with learning disabilities are being re-tendered.  These contracts include support services such as help for learning disabled adults with shopping and in taking part in activities or attending appointments together with the travel buddying scheme which trains and support learning disabled adults to travel independently.

Selected service providers will offer rates for providing a range of services which learning disabled adults can purchase using their personal budgets.  Currently, the providers of the travel support schemes have recruited and trained more than 25 adults with mild learning disabilities to act as buddies and this has proved an exciting local development.  Experience of employing learning disabled adults is included as a requirement of the new contract and, under questioning from the LINk representative, the Council gave a clear commitment to ensuring that the providers of services under the new contracts continued with the practice of offering employment to learning disabled adults in these travel support roles.

NEWS RELEASE

Date of issue: 6^th May 2011

David Astley has announced his decision to step down as chief executive of St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust in south west London.

Since he joined St George’s Healthcare in December 2006 the trust has become a major trauma centre, a hyper-acute stroke unit and, in October 2010, successfully integrated with community services Wandsworth. In addition, St George’s Healthcare was named `Large trust of the year` by Dr Foster Intelligence for 2009.

Speaking about his decision David said: “I had always planned to retire from the NHS when I reached the age of 60 which is now just two years away. The board’s recent decision to delay our foundation trust (FT) application to April 2013 has led me to consider my position.  It is important that the trust has a chief executive who can drive the organisation forward to achieving its goals for 2013 and beyond. Therefore I have taken the difficult decision, in the long-term interests of the trust, to step down. I am immensely proud of what has been achieved during my time at St George’s Healthcare although none of this would have been possible without the support, hard work and dedication of colleagues from across the organisation.”

Naaz Coker, chair of St George’s Healthcare, said: “On behalf of the trust board I would like to thank David for the valuable work he has done over the past four years. David has decided to step down now to allow a new leader to take St George’s forward as a foundation trust. David is very well respected by his colleagues and will be missed at the trust and we all wish him well for the future.”

Ruth Carnall, chief executive of NHS London, said: “David’s leadership over the past four years has been instrumental in the transformation of many of St George’s services. The trust is now amongst the best in the country for its care of stroke patients, heart disease and major trauma. With his support, a number of the trust’s leading doctors have also been involved in clinically-led reforms to improve health services across the capital.”

The trust has started the process of appointing a new chief executive and, in the meantime, Patrick Mitchell, chief operating officer, will act up in an interim capacity.

 By: Charlie Masson Smith 
Telephone 020 8871 6173 or Email: cmassons@wandsworth.gov.uk

Wandsworth Council leader Edward Lister is to take over as the Mayor of London’s chief of staff and deputy mayor for planning.

Cllr Lister, who has led Wandsworth since 1992 succeeds Sir Simon Milton who died last week. He is expected to begin work at City Hall next month.

Under Cllr Lister’s leadership Wandsworth became the most successful value for money local authority in the country – combining a four star Audit Commission rating for excellence with the country’s lowest council tax bills and top satisfaction ratings from its residents.

He has been a leading campaigner on environmental, quality of life and transport issues and played a lead role in forming the all-party alliance in south west London that defeated plans to expand Heathrow. He was also a member of the Forensic Audit Team appointed by the Mayor following his election in 2008.

He will manage the Mayor’s budgets, relations with the boroughs and ensure City Hall continues to deliver the Mayor’s priorities.

With specialist knowledge of planning, Cllr Lister is ideally placed to advise the Mayor and ensure the right balance is struck between much needed development and respecting the city’s skyline and character.

He is currently leader of the Conservative Group on London Councils.

Cllr Lister said: “I am incredibly proud to be following in Sir Simon’s footsteps and excited to be joining Boris’s team at City Hall.

“This is a great time to become involved in the running of London. It’s uniquely placed to attract investment in new development that will improve the quality of life for Londoners.

“It’s a huge wrench to be leaving Wandsworth. We have a superb team which is committed to showing how a local council can deliver modern, effective services at a price people can afford.” 

The Mayor said: “Edward has the perfect combination of experience, character and expertise to help me lead this city out of recession and harness the unique opportunity of the 2012 Games to secure London for another generation as the best big city in the world.”

Cllr Lister is currently chairman of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Strategy Board where he worked alongside Sir Simon. The board comprises major landowners and developers, the GLA and Wandsworth and Lambeth councils.

The board is driving investment throughout the VNEB area which includes the new US Embassy and the proposed Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station. The area has potential for 16,000 new homes and 25,000 jobs and is the biggest regeneration opportunity in central London.

Cllr Lister is also a leading champion for Localism. Before last year’s General Election Cllr Lister co-authored ‘A Magna Carta for Localism’ with the leaders of Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham councils setting out policy options for the new Government.

‘Magna Carta II’, which will be published next month, will develop the case for financial freedoms for local government.

Cllr Lister’s appointment at City Hall means he will stand down as leader of Wandsworth Council.

The Papers for the next LINk Executive meeting are now available here

LINk has been collecting suggestions from members since the end of 2010 for its priorities for 2011. These Suggestions will be discussed and there will be a final decision on what issues LINk focuses its time and resources on and how the projects will work…..come and have your say and find out how you could be part of these projects.

Please read the priorities paper and let us know either before or during the meeting whether you would be interested in working on any particular project.  There will also be an opportunity to express your interest once the priorities have been decided.

Roughly two thirds of England’s population is now covered by ‘pathfinder’ GP consortia following the acceptance of a further 31 groups onto the scheme.

Health minister Andrew Lansley said the varying shapes and sizes of the groups piloting GP commissioning showed there had been a ‘truly bottom-up response’ to his reforms.   A number of consortia from the second wave have now merged, meaning the total number of pathfinder consortia is now 177, according to the DoH.

But  Dr James Kingsland, the DoH’s national clinical network lead, admitted little information had been fed back about the programme so far.

Pathfinders by region

Pathfinders by wave

East of England

Cam Health Integrated Care       

Geographical area:  Cambridge

Number of practices: 8
Population size: 72,564

East and North Herts GPCC

Geographical area:  East and North Hertfordshire

Number of practices: 50

Population size: 463,692

Luton GPCC

Geographical area:  Luton

Number of practices: 32

Population size: 210,447

West Norfolk PBC Consortium 

Geographical area:  West Norfolk

Number of practices: 22

Population size: 156,021

South West Essex Federation of GPs

Geographical area:  Thurrock and Basildon

Number of practices:  34

Population size: 179,170

South Essex Managed Care Consortium LLP

Geographical area:  Wickford and Basildon

Number of practices: 10

Population size: 51,268   

East Midlands

North Derbyshire

Geographical area:  North Derbyshire

Number of practices: 31
Population size: 230,000

Crescent

Geographical area:  South East Leicestershire & Rutland

Number of practices: 33
Population size: 311,000

North and West Leicestershire

Geographical area:  North and West Leicestershire   

Number of practices: 49
Population size: 360,000

Nottingham West Consortium

Geographical area:  12

Number of practices: Broxtowe locality, which encompasses Beeston, Chilwell, Bramcote, Stapleford, Kimberley and Eastwood
Population size: 93,000

Newark and Sherwood Health

Geographical area:  Market town of Newark and surrounding villages extending to Sherwood and A1 border with Lincolnshire

Number of practices: 14
Population size: 115,231

Erewash

Geographical area:  13

Number of practices: The towns of Ilkeston and Long Eaton including surrounding villages
Population size: 102,000

Corby           

Geographical area:  Corby

Number of practices: 6
Population size: 67,124   

Skegness and Coastal    

Geographical area:  Skegness and Coastal

Number of practices: 7
Population size: 72,000

London    

The Federation      

Geographical area:  Sutton & Merton

Number of practices: 32

Population size: 262,557

Wandsworth           

Geographical area: Wandsworth

Number of practices: 46

Population size: 370,366

Lambeth Commissioning Collaborative         

Geographical area:  Lambeth     

Number of practices: 52

Population size: 377,624

Richmond & Twickenham GP Consortium

Geographical area: Richmond & Twickenham

Number of practices: 32

Population size: 197,524

United Medical Consortium (UMC)

Geographical area:  Barking & Dagenham (part of)

Number of practices: 15

Population size: 71,098   

Havering First Consortium         

Geographical area:  Havering (part of)

Number of practices: 27  

Population size: 108,994 

Havering Premier

Geographical area:  Havering (part of)

Number of practices: 22

Population size: 143,416

Camden Commissioning Consortium

Geographical area:  Camden

Number of practices: 39  

Population size: 224,450

Hillingdon

Geographical area:  Hillingdon

Number of practices: 49

Population size: 273,256

Barking & Dagenham Quality Healthcare Commissioning Consortia (BDQHCCC)   

Geographical area:  Barking & Dagenham (part of)

Number of practices: 26

Population size: 123,000 

Newham Commissioning Group (NCG)

Geographical area:  Newham (part of)

Number of practices: 11

Population size: 68,199

North West

Lancaster Morecambe Carnforth Garstang Practice Based Commissioning Consortium   

Geographical area:  North Lancashire

Number of practices: 13  

Population size: 160,000

Wylde Commissioning Consortia

Geographical area:  North Lancashire

Number of practices: 21  

Population size: 157,000

South Cheshire Commissioning Consortia (SCCC)           

Geographical area:  South Cheshire

Number of practices: 16  

Population size: 164,000

Warrington  

Geographical area:  Warrington

Number of practices: 28  

Population size: 208,000

Ashton Wigan and Leigh with 5 consortia: (62 Practices)

ALPF Health Commissioning Consortium     

Geographical area:  Ashton Leigh and Wigan

Number of practices:

Population size: 90,832   

TABA Consortium

Geographical area:  Ashton Leigh and Wigan

Number of practices:

Population size: 45,127   

North Wigan Consortium                        

Geographical area:  Ashton Leigh and Wigan

Number of practices:

Population size: 54,946   

Wigan Commissioning Consortium

Geographical area:  Ashton Leigh and Wigan

Number of practices:

Population size: 75,998

United League Commissioning                        

Geographical area:  Ashton Leigh and Wigan

Number of practices:

Population size: 106,837 

South West

Swindon NHS Consortium: The Transitional Leadership Group

Geographical area:  Swindon

Number of practices: 30

Population size:  250,000

West Cornwall Commissioning Consortium

Geographical area:  West Cornwall

Number of practices:  23

Population size: 160,457 

Newquay Commissioning Consortium

Geographical area: Newquay, Cornwall

Number of practices: 3    

Population size: 28,000   

West Midlands

Nuneaton & Bedworth     

Geographical area: Nuneaton and Bedworth

Number of practices: 11

Population size: 40,000   

South Warwickshire Consortium

Geographical area:  South Warwickshire including Leamington Spa, Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon

Number of practices: 36

Population size: 270,000

HealthWorks Commissioning Consortium

Geographical area: Birmingham and Sandwell

Number of practices: 13

Population size: 124,340

Intelligent Commissioning Federation

Geographical area: Heart of Birmingham (Ladywood, Aston and Sparkbrook areas of

inner city Birmingham)      

Number of practices: 29

Population size: 134,000

Yorkshire and the Humber

North Kirklees Health Alliance (NKHA)

Geographical area:  Kirklees

Number of practices: 31  

Population size: 183,000

Greater Huddersfield Commissioning Consortium (GHCC)

Geographical area:  Huddersfield

Number of practices: 41  

Population size: 237,000 

Rotherham Commissioning Executive                                               

Geographical area:  Rotherham

Number of practices: 41  

Population size: 255,500 

Wandsworth LINk members are urging carer’s to sign the e petition against the cuts to carer’s services in Wandsworth. If councillors cut care and support services the repercussions will be disastrous. Families with caring needs will be pushed to breaking point and their health and life chances will suffer. Many carers in our community could not cope with the impact of services being cut or reduced. Carers rely on support services that help them with everyday tasks that most people take for granted.

If you yourself are a carer please sign this petition and encourage others to show their support either on the paper petition which you will need to print out from the carersUK toolkit,(attached) or online at the link below, both paper and electronic versions can be counted as one petition. Please return any completed paper versions to Nadeene Morris at WCEN, by 9^th March. (Address below)

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/moderngov/mgePetitionlistDisplay.aspx

Unit 44

Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network

Charlotte Despard Avenue

SW11 5HD

At this weeks Overview and Scrutiny Committee Wandsworth Council annouced proposals to re-allocate existing resources for a new approach to day services for elderly people by using a flat-rate per capita allocation based on the number of elderly people in each of four areas of the borough. 

This flat rate will be used as a basis for negotiating new contracts with the voluntary sector clubs which provide these services.  The flat rate will not be modified according to the relative deprivation of the elderly populations in any of the four areas even though it is known that a far higher proportion of more deprived people use these day services. 

This is out of line with Wandsworth Council’s normal approaches which do take account of the significant differences in relative levels of wealth among different groups of elderly people and attempt to overcome the disadvantage this causes. 

The Wandsworth LINk representative attending the meeting argued strongly for an approach which took account of deprivation but this was not agreed.

12:11pm Thursday 17th February 2011

• By Ian Mason »

Bosses at St George’s Hospital have refused to confirm how many jobs will be axed as they attempt to cut costs by £55m this year.

Unison members claim 500 posts, including frontline doctors and nurses, are under threat along with wards, the number of beds available and a cap on the number of births in its midwifery unit.

The sweeping changes at the Tooting hospital are being blamed on the Government’s £20bn NHS cuts programme.

A spokeswoman for St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “St George’s Healthcare is not immune from the financial challenges currently facing the wider NHS and we have been open with staff and Unions about the need to achieve £55m savings during 2011/12.

“The trust is a major trauma centre, hyper-acute stroke unit and centre of excellence for cancer, cardiac and women’s and children’s services and we are committed to providing quality care to our patients.

“We cannot speculate at this stage on the exact number, or nature, of posts that will need to go but we aim to protect frontline staff and hope to avoid the need for compulsory redundancies.

“Our main focus is to reduce our temporary staffing bill, which is currently £30m per year, and we are also reviewing non-clinical services.”

The spokeswoman added no further comment would be made at this time.

By Hannah Baker

Sister Act Leaders Team aims to raise awareness of disability and encourage people to get more involved in the Wandsworth community. We run small groups and advise the council, PCT and local organisations. We all have learning disabilities. We would like to run a drop in support centre for people who have any kind of learning difficulty or disability. We can give face-to-face advice, information and training that is easy to understand.  The drop in centre will be a welcome place where people can have a cup of tea, talk to a friendly person and learn how to be more independent.

So instead of shopping at Tesco, Asda or Sainsbury’s this month, why not go to Waitrose Balham? Drop your green token for Sister Act and help them earn money toward their dream: To provide a face to face advice support and training service for people with learning disabilities by people with learning disabilities.

Date of issue: Thursday 27^th January 2011

Thursday 27^th January 2011 saw the unveiling of the newly refurbished central health unit at Wandsworth Prison. The unit has been completely overhauled, with what was formerly considered a grey, soulless, drab and depressing environment replaced by a vibrant and comfortable setting which has helped to encourage inmates to access health education, support and treatment. Services at the prison are provided by a St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust multi-disciplinary nurse-led team that also includes GPs, dentists, sexual health specialists and pharmacists.

The overhaul of the health unit is part of the King’s Fund Enhancing the Healing Environment project, a grants and development programme run by the King’s Fund in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison Service and Offender Health (a partnership between the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health).

A team of healthcare staff at Wandsworth Prison successfully won a £30,000 grant from the project, with NHS Wandsworth and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) contributing a further £10,000 each. The nurse-led team behind the overhaul included service users, estates staff, arts co-ordinators and Julie Thompson, HMP Wandsworth Residential Governor.

The money has been spent on improving the reception area and treatment rooms, converting the healthcare areas of the prison so that they are welcoming and relaxing.

Bernadette McGreevy, Sister at Wandsworth Prison, said:

“There is a wealth of research evidence to show the positive impact that the environment can have on health so we were really keen to take advantage of the King’s Fund expertise in this area, and we are already seeing the benefits of this programme. There has been a really noticeable effect on patients’ self esteem as they feel like they are being treated in an environment that they would be happy to be treated in if they were in the community. We are also starting to see improved health outcomes and more inmates willing to access health education and support as well as treatment”

Jim O’Gorman, Head of Healthcare at Wandsworth Prison, said:

“It is important to recognise that prisoners are normal people like you and I. Their needs are the same and they want to be treated with dignity and respect, the basic things that we would demand, and being treated in areas like, that are comparable to facilities in the community, can be a catalyst for change. It was important that staff worked with the inmates in every aspect of designing the new environment, increasing engagement with our service users and helping but it has helped us to establish new ways of consulting them.”

Emma Leegood, Lead Nurse at Wandsworth Prison, said:

“Prisoners access health services 77 more times a year than an average person in the community, and we have a responsibility to make sure that those services are provided in the best possible environment with the best possible facilities.”

Sarah Waller, King’s Fund programme director for the Enhancing the Healing Environment, said:

“For many prisoners real opportunities exist to access healthcare services, sometimes for the first time in many years, whilst they are in prison. It is therefore very important that healthcare and health promotion activities are delivered in an environment that encourages people to attend clinics and supports therapeutic interventions. The project at Wandsworth has been planned in consultation with prisoners and staff and has greatly improved facilities for the delivery of healthcare in the prison. We hope it will encourage more prisoners to access and benefit from the range of healthcare services available.” 

-Ends-

Notes to editors

Wandsworth Prison is the largest prison in the UK with a capacity of 1,665 and an annual turnover of 5,000 inmates a year.

For more information, please contact the communications team at St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust on 020 8725 5151 or email communications@stgeorges.nhs.uk. Outside working hours, please page the team by calling 0844 822 2888, leaving a short message and contact details for pager SG548. High res photos available on request.