Agenda item - "A Good Send Off"- Healthwatch Brighton and Hove Report on End of Life Care

Report of the Chief Officer, Healthwatch, Brighton and Hove (copy attached)

RESOLVED – (1) That the Board request that the recommendations of the report are delivered through the Brighton and Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, by all the relevant partners to the strategy. Particularly Dying Well and Ageing Well.

(2) That the Board request partners to the JHWS to devise and implement an action plan to address the recommendations of the report. That action plan should include service users and their families as equal partners in service re-design and co-production of improved end of life care services; and

(3)That there be a report back to the HWB on progress in 12 months time.

35.1    The Board considered a report prepared by Healthwatch Brighton entitled “A good Send Off”, which was presented to advise Board Members of the experiences of 15 people with an end of life prognosis who had been discharged from the Oncology Ward of the Royal Susses County Hospital between November 2019 and January 2020. At the request of Healthwatch England and the NHS this report had been withheld from public release over the period of the initial response to Covid 19 at the time the case studies were gathered. The individuals referred to had all now passed away but were survived by their families and friends who had been impacted by the end of life care process.

35.2    Mr Liley, the Chief Executive Officer of Brighton Healthwatch explained that the aim of the report was to inform the Health and Wellbeing Strategies, “ Dying Well” and “Aging Well”, to advise service providers across the health and care system about ways in which the patient experience might be improved in hospital discharge and end of life care and to provide a basis for a city wide and system wide action plan in order to improve people’s experience of end of life care. The report’s recommendations most affected people undergoing end of life care, their families and friends.

35.3    Councillor Moonan welcomed the report and considered that the recommendations be amended that scrutiny of this going forward should remain with this Committee in order that it could continue to be informed and to have an overarch in respect of this issue. Councillor Bagaeen concurred in that view and seconded the proposed amendment. Mr Liley confirmed that he was happy to accept the amended wording, the Board indicated that they were happy to accept this suggestion and it was then voted on as the substantive recommendation.

35.4    RESOLVED – (1) That the Board request that the recommendations of the report are delivered through the Brighton and Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, by all the relevant partners to the strategy. Particularly Dying Well and Ageing Well.

(2) That the Board request partners to the JHWS to devise and implement an action plan to address the recommendations of the report. That action plan should include service users and their families as equal partners in service re-design and co-production of improved end of life care services; and

(3) That there be a report back to the HWB on progress in 12 months time.