Agenda item - Brighton & Sussex University Hospital Trust (BSUH) Bid for ICT Projects

Introduction

14a.1  The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health which explained that Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals Trust (BSUH) was currently submitting two ICT related bids for funding to NHS England.  Bid 1, for enhancing video and audio conferencing infrastructure in order to improve collaboration across NHS organisations was a joint bid with East Sussex Hospital Trust and West Sussex Hospital Trust.  Bid 2, an initiative to check and where necessary update the records of patients presenting for hospital treatment, was made by BSUH alone.  BSUH stated that in order for bids to progress, NHS England would require the trust to demonstrate that it has the support of the relevant Health and Wellbeing Board(s)  including the Brighton and Hove HWB.  The report was presented by the Health & Wellbeing Board Business Manager.

14a.2  Iain Kelly, Senior IT Training Manager, BSUH attended the meeting to answer questions. 

          Questions and Discussion

14a.3  George Mack stated that he was encouraged to see the proposals, which aligned to the Board’s priorities and objectives.

14a.4  Geraldine Hoban stated that she would support the bid in principle but would need to ensure that the proposals were submitted to partnership groups for discussion.  She commented that it was unfortunate that the information had been received at such short notice.  Ms Hoban would provide feedback through the CCG and the Health and Wellbeing Business Manager.

14a.5  Iain Kelly explained that there was a tight bid timeframe and it was necessary to have the Board’s support.  He agreed that the BSUH had failed to spot the necessity of dealing with certain bids in a timely manner. 

14a.6  Pinaki Ghoshal referred to the section on the Child Protection Register Benefits.  This related to Bid 2 (BSUH Local Bid).  Mr Ghoshal stated that he was not aware of a national register.  He asked how the implementation of an Electronic Patient Record was linked into internal arrangements for people in Brighton and Hove.   

14a.7  Mr Kelly replied that he was not the lead on the second bid but would provide an answer to Mr Ghoshal’s question after the meeting. 

14a.8  The Chair suggested that it would be helpful if approval of similar bids were delegated to officers after consultation with the Chair of the HWB.  He suggested that a report on delegations be submitted to a future meeting. 

14a.9  RESOLVED – (1) That the two Brighton & Sussex University Hospital Trust bids for funding be supported in principle.