COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING...2020/07/23 · COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING (open to Trust members,...

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING (open to Trust members, members of the public, and the media)

DATE: Thursday 23 July 2020

TIME: 18.30h to 21.00h (est.) VENUE: Microsoft Teams

STATUS: Meeting in public CHAIR OF MEETING: Lena Samuels, Chair GOVERNORS: See Members of the Council of Governors (overleaf) IN ATTENDANCE: Mike Hawker, NED

Priya Singh, NED Ian Green, NED (observing)

Will Hancock, Chief Executive Paul Kempster, Chief Operating Officer

Jane Campbell, Acting Director of Patient Care and Service Transformation Mike Murphy, Director of Strategy & Business Development Melanie Saunders, Director of HR and OD

Steve Garside, Company Secretary Nick Smith, Marketing and Communications Manager Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator APOLOGIES: Les Broude, NED

Margaret Eaglestone, Membership and Engagement Manager Keith House – Partner Governor (Local Authority) FUTURE MEETING DATES: 6 October 2020 (meeting in public) 15 October 2020 (meeting in private – CoG / Board workshop) 11 January 2021 (meeting in public) 9 February 2021 (meeting in private – CoG / Board workshop)

Current Members of the Council of Governors (26/27):

Constituency Name Current term Public Governors Berkshire Mark Davis - Deputy Lead Governor (2) To 28/02/2023 Berkshire Frank Epstein (2) To 28/02/2023 Berkshire Colin Godbold (2) To 28/02/2021 Buckinghamshire Bernadette Devine (1) To 28/02/2021 Buckinghamshire Bob Duggan – Lead Governor (3) To 28/02/2021 Buckinghamshire Ken Roberts (1) To 28/02/2023 Hampshire Andy Bartlett (2) To 28/02/2021 Hampshire Laurence Chacksfield (1) To 28/02/2023 Hampshire Richard Coates (3) To 28/02/2023 Hampshire Hilary Foley (1) To 28/02/2023 Hampshire Charles McGill MBE (1) To 28/02/2021 Hampshire Tony Nicholson (1) To 28/02/2021 Oxfordshire Steve Haynes (1) To 28/02/2021 Oxfordshire Loretta Light (1) To 28/02/2021 Oxfordshire Helen Ramsay (1) To 28/02/2023 CFR Governor CFR David Ross (1) To 28/02/2023 Partner Governors Air Ambulance Charities David Drew (1) To 30/09/2020 CCGs - North Sabrina Chetcuti (3) To 30/06/2022 CCGs – South Vacancy Local Authority Anne Crampton (1) To 31/03/2021 Local Authority Keith House (3) To 28/02/2021 Local Authority Barry Wood (1) To 30/06/2022 Staff Governors Contact Centres inc.111 & EOC

Jim Dunderdale (1) To 28/02/2021

Corporate/support/other Lynn Dove-Dixon (1) To 28/02/2021 NEPTS and Logistics Field Emma Crozier (1) To 28/02/2021 999 Operations (North) Kate Moss (1) To 28/02/2021 999 Operations (South) David Palmer (3) To 28/02/2021

AGENDA – COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS – 23 JULY 2020 18.30h – 21.00h (est.)

***PLEASE DIRECT QUESTIONS / COMMENTS THROUGH THE CHAIR USING EITHER THE ’RAISE YOUR HAND’ OR CHAT FACILITY ON TEAMS***

*** PAPERS TO BE TAKEN AS READ ***

No. Item Time Method 1 - OPENING BUSINESS 1.1 Chair’s Introduction, including Apologies for Absence

and Meeting Priorities (Lena Samuels)

(Verbal)

1.2 Declaration of Interests (Lena Samuels)

• to note any new interests, including those relevant to the meeting - a copy is available to view on the SCAS website

(Verbal)

1.3

Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2020 (Lena Samuels)

• to approve the minutes of the last formal CoG meeting in public

Enc. A

1.4 CoG Action Log (Steve Garside)

• to note progress with the actions agreed at previous meetings

Enc. B

2 - HOLDING THE NEDS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BOARD

2.1

Chief Executive’s Report including Performance (Will Hancock; Paul Kempster; Mike Murphy; Melanie Saunders and Jane Campbell)

• to receive a report on key current issues, followed by questions from governors, primarily to the NEDs

* Enc. C

2.2 2019/2020 Chair and NED Appraisals (Lena Samuels)

• to receive the high-level outcomes of the 2019/20 Chair and NED appraisal process

* Enc. D

3 - REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TRUST AS A WHOLE AND THE INTERESTS OF THE PUBLIC 3.1 Report from the Membership and Engagement

Committee (MEC) (Mark Davis; Loretta Light)

• to receive an update from the sub-committee and the meeting held on 1 June 2020

Enc. E

3.2 Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy (Loretta Light; Nick Smith; Mike Murphy; Members of the MEC)

* Enc. F

No. Item Time Method to agree the Interim Foundation Trust Membership and

Engagement Strategy to receive feedback from governors on public and member

engagement activity

4 - DECISIONS REQUIRED FROM THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS 4.1 CoG Development Action Plan

(Steve Garside; Members of the CoG Development Working Group)

to agree the CoG development action plan which takes forward the recommendations from the CoG development programme

* Enc. G

5 - OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION/DISCUSSION BY EXCEPTION 5.1 Company Secretary’s Report

(Steve Garside) to note a report from the Company Secretary, and consider

a proposed amendment to the Trust’s Constitution (Staff Governor constituencies)

Enc. H

5.2 Annual Accounts and Annual Report 2019/2020 including Auditors’ Reports (Mike Hawker)

to receive the Annual Accounts and Report, including Auditor’s reports

Enc. I

5.3 Non-Executive Director Activities (Steve Garside)

to receive an overview of activities undertaken

Enc. J

5.4 Lead Governor’s Report (Bob Duggan)

to receive an update from the Lead Governor

Verbal

6 - CLOSING BUSINESS 6.1 Any Other Business including Questions from

Members/Observers (Lena Samuels)

to note any items of additional business, including those notified to the Company Secretary no less than two working days prior to the meeting.

Overview of the NHS Providers virtual Governor workshop (Helen Ramsay; Ken Roberts; David Ross)

(Verbal)

6.2 Review of Meeting and Agenda Planning for Next Meeting (Lena Samuels; All Governors)

to review the meeting and identify any requirements for the next meeting

(Verbal)

6.3 Date and Time of Next Meeting (Lena Samuels)

to note that the next formal meeting in public will be held on Tuesday 6 October 2020 at Shaw House, Newbury or via Microsoft Teams (depending on the latest Government advice on COVID-19)

(Verbal)

*suggested priority items

GOVERNOR FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

Governor general functions This meeting

Hold the Non-Executive Directors individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors (see below)

Represent the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public

Governor specific duties

Receive annual accounts, auditor’s report and annual report Appoint and, if appropriate, remove the external auditor Contribute to the development of the annual plan Appoint and, if appropriate, remove the Chair Appoint and, if appropriate, remove the other Non-Executive Directors Decide remuneration and terms of conditions for Chair / other Non-Executive Directors Approve appointment of Chief Executive Approve significant transactions (as defined in the Trust Constitution) Approve an application to enter into a merger, acquisition, separation or dissolution Decide whether the Trust’s non-NHS work would significantly interfere with its ‘principle purpose’ Approve amendments to the Constitution

ENCLOSURE A

Minutes of the CoG meeting held on 13 January 2020

Enclosure A

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS Meeting: Council of Governors

Date of Meeting: 23 July 2020

Title of Paper: Minutes of the Council of Governors meeting held on 13 January 2020

Presented by: Lena Samuels, Chair

Paper for Debate, Decision or Information:

Approval

Main Aim: To ensure good governance practice in confirming that the minutes of the 13 January 2020 meeting represent an accurate record of business undertaken

Summary of key points for consideration:

These minutes, in draft form, were initially circulated to governors on 13 February 2020. They are produced by the Company Secretariat and issued directly to the Council of Governors without any separate, prior review. They will be presented at the next CoG meeting in public.

Recommendations or Outcome Required :

Approval

Previous Forum: N/A

Statutory Requirements Met:

N/A

Contact in case of query concerning this paper:

Steve Garside, Company Secretary

of 8

Unapproved minutes of the thirty fourth meeting in public of the South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) NHS Foundation Trust Council of Governors (CoG) held on Monday 13 January 2020 at Shaw House, Newbury Governors present (16/22) Andy Bartlett (Public Governor – Hampshire); Richard Coates (Public Governor – Hampshire); Bernadette Devine (Public Governor – Buckinghamshire); Lynn Dove-Dixon (Staff Governor); David Drew (Partner Governor – Air Ambulance); Bob Duggan (Lead Governor and Public Governor – Buckinghamshire); Jim Dunderdale (Staff Governor); Frank Epstein (Public Governor – Berkshire); Colin Godbold (Public Governor – Berkshire); Loretta Light (Public Governor – Oxfordshire); David Luckett (Public Governor – Hampshire) - part; Charles McGill (Public Governor – Hampshire); Tony Nicholson (Public Governor – Hampshire); David Palmer (Staff Governor); Sabrina Chetcuti (Partner Governor – CCGs); Barry Wood (Partner Governor – LA) Governors apologies received (4/22) Anne Crampton (Partner Governor - LA); Mark Davis (Deputy Lead Governor and Public Governor – Berkshire); Keith House (Partner Governor – LA); Barry Lipscomb (Public Governor – Hampshire) Governors not in attendance (2/22) Emma Crozier (Staff Governor); Kate Moss (Staff Governor) Directors / Executives in attendance (12) Lena Samuels (Chair); Les Broude (Senior Independent Director/NED); Anne Stebbing (NED); Nigel Chapman (NED); Will Hancock (Chief Executive); Mike Murphy (Director of Strategy and Business Development); Professor Helen Young (Director of Patient Care and Service Transformation) – part; Mark Ainsworth (Director of Operations); Debbie Marrs (Assistant Director of Quality) – Part; Steve Garside (Company Secretary); Nick Smith (Marketing and Communications Manager); Louisa Humphrey (Senior Administrator) Governors with designate status present (5/5) Laurence Chacksfield (Public Governor – Hampshire); Hilary Foley (Public Governor – Hampshire); Helen Ramsay (Public Governor – Oxfordshire); Ken Roberts (Public Governor – Buckinghamshire); David Ross (CFR Governor) OPENING BUSINESS

19/48 – Chair’s introduction, including apologies for absence and meeting priorities The Chair welcomed all to the meeting, including the new designate Governors and asked everyone in the room to briefly introduce themselves. Apologies were noted as recorded in the minutes and the Chair passed on her thanks to Barry Lipscomb for his service as a Governor over the past nine years. The Chair commented that this would have been Barry Lipscomb’s final meeting with the CoG, although subject to health, he might possibly attend the Strategy Workshop in February. 19/49 – Declarations of interest No new declarations of interest were declared. 19/50 – Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2019 The minutes were approved without amendment.

of 8

19/51 – CoG action log A verbal update was given on the following outstanding actions: • Action 19/31/1 (South Central Ambulance charity website) – Steve Garside noted that it is hoped

the new website for the charity will be completed by the end of January.

• Action 19/37/2 (public defibrillators) – Steve Garside explained that further to conversations at the last two CoG meetings, a briefing had been sent to Governors with no further comments received. Steve Garside suggested holding a briefing session if Governors felt that they would like more information about public defibrillators. It was agreed to close the action and that a briefing session was not required at present.

• Action 19/38 (dates for stakeholder Annual General Meetings) – Steve Garside explained that

the dates for stakeholder Annual General Meetings will be circulated as the meeting dates become available.

• Action 19/21 (use of microphones for meetings) - the Chair highlighted that a microphone was

available for use during the meeting if needed. REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TRUST AS A WHOLE AND INTERESTS OF THE PUBLIC

19/52 – Report from the Membership and Engagement Committee Nick Smith, Marketing and Communications Manager, presented the paper on behalf of Mark Davis, Committee Chair and Margaret Eaglestone, Membership and Engagement Manager who were both not present at the meeting, with support from members of the Membership and Engagement Committee (MEC). The CoG reviewed the presentation, noting: • the presentation should be available on the Governor’s portal as a PowerPoint and not a PDF as

this would allow Governors to customise the presentation for their audience

• the presentation should have a version control applied. Tony Nicholson commented that it would be beneficial for the event planner to also be available on the Governor’s portal. The CoG discussed the challenges of being able to successfully measure engagement and it was noted that the MEC had further work to do around measuring engagement and having relevant KPI’s and metrics in place. The Chair suggested holding a workshop at a future date to consider how the Trust can be more innovative with its engagement and whether there was scope to use technology. The Chair thanked Nick Smith for his time and for representing the MEC at the meeting. Action 19/52/1 a) Margaret Eaglestone to add a version control to the Governors engagement presentation and

ensure that a PowerPoint version is available on the Governors portal. b) Margaret Eaglestone to upload the event planner to the Governors portal.

Action 19/52/2 Margaret Eaglestone and the MEC to continue to scope out how successful engagement can be measured and what metrics and KPI’s can be implemented.

of 8

Action 19/52/3 Steve Garside to consider a suitable date in the future for holding a Governor workshop on engagement.

19/53 – Member and public engagement The Chair invited comments from Governors on recent engagement not recorded as part of the paper. • several Governors who had attended a ‘Restart a Heart’ day commented that they had found it

to be thoroughly worthwhile and highly recommended it

• Tony Nicholson commented that the communication around Restart a Heart Day and the various events was not particularly effective but that he had discussed with Margaret Eaglestone

• David Drew commented that he had attended a Restart a Heart day at John Hanson School in

Andover

• David Luckett highlighted that he also had attended a Restart a Heart day at Purbrook Park School, near Portsmouth

• Lynn Dove Dixon commented that in addition to attending the MEC meeting on 24 October, she

had also attended the SCAS Health and Wellbeing Forum where she had represented the Governors

• Saby Chetcuti commented that she attended a Restart a Heart day at The Big Green School in

Thatcham • Frank Epstein, commented that he too had attended a Restart a Heart day and had also attended

‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ which he highly recommended • David Palmer explained that he has been liaising with staff to resolve two issues:

o one relating to staff inoculations – which he has been working with Professor Helen Young to resolve

o one relating to a rota issue for Paramedics attending university one day per week as part of a SCAS funded initiative – Lynn Dove-Dixon explained that the issue has been caused by a lack of communication but that it was being resolved. The Chair expressed her thanks to David Palmer and Lynn-Dove Dixon and asked David Palmer to confirm at the next meeting that both issues had been satisfactorily resolved.

• David Luckett commented on his recent ride out with a crew from North Harbour station, praising the crew for the excellent care and use of alternative pathways. The Chair commented that it was good to hear feedback from Governors ride outs. The Chair also highlighted to Governors that there is support available for anyone who witnesses a traumatic incident, irrespective of whether it is part of an event organised by SCAS or a different organisation. Lynn Dove-Dixon explained that one of the reasons why all observer shifts are booked through the scheduling team, is so that they can follow up with observers when necessary.

• The Chair commented that she thoroughly enjoyed her ride out on New Year’s Eve and asked

Lynn Dove-Dixon to send her the crew’s names so she could say thank you. • Barry Wood commented on a conversation he had had with a volunteer patient driver, explaining

that he was not aware of the use of volunteer drivers within SCAS and that it could be better publicised. The Chair commented that the Trust uses volunteer car drivers and is always looking to further promote the use of volunteers within SCAS.

of 8

• Loretta Light commented that at the Restart a Heart day she met with a new Community First Responder (CFR) who stated that they would have become a CFR sooner had they been aware of the scheme.

Action 19/53/1 David Palmer to confirm whether both staff issues (relating to staff inoculations and a rota issue) have been satisfactorily resolved.

Action 19/53/2 Lynn Dove-Dixon to send the Chair the crew’s names from her ride out on 31 December so that she can say thank you

Action 19/53/3 Mike Murphy to explore ways of promoting volunteer car drivers and Community First Responders

The Chair thanked the Governors stating that it was both interesting and fantastic to learn more about the varied activities which had been undertaken. HOLDING THE NEDs TO ACCOUNT FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BOARD

19/54 – Chief Executive’s report including performance The Chief Executive reflected that after being under huge pressure in early December, SCAS had its strongest performance ever over a Christmas and New Year period, noting that SCAS had achieved its targets for 999, and that 111 had performed extremely well. This was partly due to lighter demand which had continued into early January. The Chief Executive explained that predicting demand continued to be a challenge but that a high level of planning and resourcing was in place. The Chief Executive provided an update on the following: • hospital handovers: The Chief Executive explained that there had been some improvement in

the handover times at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and that the focus remained on managing escalation within the NHS.

• acts of kindness to staff: The Chief Executive thanked all of the Governors who had visited

stations over Christmas, commenting that acts of kindness are much appreciated by staff, citing the six bouquets of flowers delivered to SCAS on Christmas Eve as an example.

• new double crewed ambulances: The Chief Executive highlighted that the new vehicles are now

on the road and that feedback for the new specification so far had been positive, stating that he welcomed any feedback from Governors. The Chief Executive noted that the Board had approved the purchase of another 55 double crewed ambulances in December 2019.

• CQC inspection: The Chief Executive explained that the CQC inspection is expected to take

place towards the end of January / early February, and is anticipated to focus on the non-emergency services provided by SCAS. This will be followed by a well-led inspection in March.

• filming for ‘Inside the Ambulance’ has commenced in Oxford and Portsmouth. The past ten series

have been filmed with West Midland Ambulances Service and attracts an audience of three million viewers per series. David Palmer asked whether it will focus on emergency response or whether there is scope to look at other areas within the Trust, such as 111 or Community First Responders (CFRs). It was agreed that there was a potential opportunity to showcase more than just an emergency response to 999 calls. Nigel Chapman also suggested that there was also a possibility for highlighting areas of the Trust through a series of short programmes on regional television stations.

of 8

• recruitment – the Chief Executive commented on the recent recruitment day held at Bicester, acknowledging that it was a pleasure to see how much SCAS has evolved and the diversity of roles being showcased. The Chief Executive encouraged Governors to attend future recruitment days, highlighting the upcoming event at Otterbourne on 25 January.

Colin Godbold commented that he had attended meetings with his local CCG, and explained that when discussing strategy and primary care networks, there seemed to be uncertainty as to how 111 fitted into the overall system. The Chair commented that the SCAS Board is working hard to get involved with all local systems and to work collectively to try and change perceptions of 111. Saby Chetcuti asked whether the 111 team were able to book direct appointments with GPs and pharmacists. The Chief Executive commented that the Trust was making progress and he would circulate the figures to Governors. Further to a comment made by Richard Coates on the use of technology to be able to re-categorise calls, Mark Ainsworth, Director of Operations, explained that the Trust is looking at secure systems and exploring the options for utilising smart phone technology. The Chief Executive explained that one of the Global Digital Exemplar projects is to use vehicles as a hub, which will utilise 5G so that vehicles and smartphones can be connected via a reliable internet signal to the contact centres. David Palmer enquired about the smartphone app ‘What Three Words’ which led to a discussion about the advantages and availability of it. The Chair commented that further investigation into the app was required outside of the meeting. David Drew asked whether, in relation to improving the uptake of flu vaccination, it could be made a contractual requirement. Professor Helen Young explained that it cannot be mandated at present, but highlighted that over 70% of frontline staff have been vaccinated, against a target of 80%. David Drew, acknowledging the performance tables on page 4 of the Chief Executive’s report, commented that it would be useful to have a percentage figure to show the variance between the target and actual figures. The Chief Executive explained that the table is part of the Integrated Performance Report and part of a bigger set of KPIs, which are signed off by the Board and subsequently dictates whether it is classed as red, green or amber. Nigel Chapman commented that that performance targets are set by the Ambulance Response Programme and the targets are either achieved or not achieved. Anne Stebbing explained that amber is only ever used for projection data, which David Drew commented was helpful to know. Tony Nicholson asked for an update on the UK leaving the EU on the 31 January and the implications. Professor Helen Young explained that the work for leaving the EU without a deal had been stood down as the government is expected to take through a deal. Professor Helen Young explained that the preparation work still stands and that operational risks are still being assessed but that the Trust did not anticipate any new risks emerging as of 31 January. The Chair commented that leaving the EU was being passed through the House of Lords and that the Trust would be advised by NHSE/I accordingly, but that the preparation work carried out by SCAS meant that the Trust is as prepared as it can be. Anne Stebbing commented that having met with the Head of Resilience and Specialist Operations, local resilience forums are regularly looking at issues which may arise between now and the end of the year. David Ross asked, what contribution the CFRs made to the overall success of SCAS hitting their targets for 999 response times over Christmas and New Year. Mark Ainsworth confirmed that CFRs contributed 27 seconds to category 1 calls but due to having an increased number of frontline

of 8

resources available, the crews were able to respond quickly. Mark Ainsworth commented that it was invaluable to have the CFRs available over the Christmas period. Action 19/54/01 Will Hancock to circulate the figures for 111 bookings with GPs and Pharmacists.

Action 19/54/02 Steve Garside to investigate the use of ‘What Three Words’ within the Trust and provide an update at the next meeting.

DECISIONS REQUIRED FROM THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS

19/55 – Update on Quality Accounts priorities including selection of 2019/20 clinical quality indicator Professor Helen Young provided an overview of the paper explaining the rationale for choosing an indicator based on staff experience over patient safety or clinical effectiveness. The CoG discussed at length the proposed quality indicator, and a variety of opinions were expressed. Concerns were raised as to whether SCAS Leader is “too new” to be a quality indicator and how its impact on patient care could be measured. Debbie Marrs clarified that Grant Thornton will audit the data (numbers) and would find it difficult to measure a qualitative indicator. Debbie Marrs explained that there are mandated indicators set by NHSI, such as stroke and category 1, which Grant Thornton will audit. Saby Chetcuti commented that she felt it was very timely to have a quality indicator which focused on staff given that the pre-meeting briefing was about Freedom to Speak Up. Jim Dunderdale enquired whether staff recruitment and attrition figures could be audited. Professor Helen Young commented that it could possibly be audited internally and offered to have a conversation with Melanie Saunders, Director of HR and OD outside of the meeting. The CoG approved the recommended quality indicator. Action 19/55 Professor Helen Young to discuss with colleagues (e.g. Melanie Saunders, Audit Committee members etc.) the possibility of conducting an internal audit around staff recruitment and attrition.

19/56 – External audit contract extension Les Broude explained the purpose for the paper and the reasoning of the Audit Committee for suggesting a one-year extension to Grant Thornton’s current contract as External Auditors for the Trust. There were no questions or comments raised by Governors. The Council of Governors approved the recommendation to extend the appointment of Grant Thornton for a further year to cover the financial reporting period 2020/21. OTHER ITEMS FOR INFORMATION / DISCUSSION BY EXCEPTION

19/57 – Report from the Nominations Committee The Chair began by thanking Bob Duggan and Colin Godbold for assisting with the interviews for the NED vacancy. The Chair explained the reasons for not appointing any of the candidates and the reasoning for extending the brief and re-advertising the role. The CoG discussed the timescales for filling the vacancy and it was noted that six months should be sufficient, with a view to recommending a candidate to the CoG at the meeting in July.

of 8

The Council of Governors agreed with the proposal to re-advertise and the rationale for broadening the candidate requirements. 19/58 – Non-Executive Director Activities Anne Stebbing explained that her activities in quarter 3 were less than usual due to being on holiday, and taking the presentation as read, asked Governors for any questions. David Drew enquired into Anne Stebbing’s NED portfolio role for emergency preparedness and asked what her top concerns were. Anne Stebbing explained that since her meeting with the Head of Resilience and Specialist Operations, she perceives one of the biggest challenges facing the Trust to be the ability to be able to respond at a high level for a sustained period of time, using the fire at the Ocado warehouse in Andover or a period of extreme weather as examples. Anne Stebbing commented that the business continuity plans have been thoroughly reviewed and extended to include the PTS service throughout Surrey and Sussex. Anne Stebbing concluded by stating that the Trust’s resilience is greater than ever. There were no other questions or observations. 19/59 - Company Secretary’s report Steve Garside provided a brief update on the following: • 2020 elections (public and staff) - the timetable and further details would be provided at the CoG

meeting in April.

• Further to John Bonney presenting the final report and recommendations from the Governors Development Programme at the last CoG meeting, the CoG development working group has been established and is meeting on 16 January. The group intends to present an action plan to the CoG at the next meeting in April which provides a detailed proposal for taking forward the recommendations.

• Steve Haynes: Steve Garside explained that Steve Haynes had accepted a short-term role in

Hampshire which should finish at the end of March. It was agreed that Steve Garside would provide the CoG with an update on Steve Haynes’ position at the end of March with a view to him potentially returning to his Governor role.

With regards to the 2019 public governor elections, Tony Nicholson queried the turnout of voters and asked whether there was any learning which the Trust could take from it. Steve Garside reassured the Governors that the turnout rates of 5% and 6% were in-line with other Trusts. David Palmer queried the membership database and the quality of the data. Nick Smith explained that one of the issues is not having an email address for every member and the expense of writing to members. Nick Smith also explained that the database is checked against national registers (for example for deaths) and updated accordingly. 19/60 – Lead Governors Report Bob Duggan explained that in his role as Lead Governor he attended the ‘Ambies’ (staff awards ceremony) which he thought was very well run and was a testament to the quality of the staff and volunteers at SCAS. Bob Duggan enquired when Governors could expect to receive the final report from Carnall Farrar. Steve Garside commented that it should be presented at January’s Board meeting in public.

of 8

CLOSING BUSINESS

19/61 - Any other business Steve Garside highlighted that the pre-meeting briefing sessions currently planned are: • Serious Incidents Requiring Investigation (SIRI) in April • Fleet in July Steve Garside asked the CoG whether they would like to change either session for an alternative topic. The CoG confirmed their contentment with both planned sessions. The Chief Executive provided an update on the Governors and Trust Board challenge stating the current total was 4,393 miles but that the target was 11,420 miles. The Chief Executive recognised two high achievers from the CoG, commenting that there would be further awards in due course: • Lynn Dove-Dixon for highest mileage contribution • Loretta Light for overcoming challenges in adversity The Chief Executive explained that the initial plan was to finish on 1 March but that the date would be extended until April or May and would culminate in a 5 – 10 mile group walk. Action 19/61 Louisa Humphrey to circulate potential dates for the group walk which will mark the end of the challenge.

The Chair thanked everyone for taking part and embracing the challenge. 19/62 – Review of meeting and agenda planning the next meeting The Chair asked for observations from Governors as to whether it was felt agenda items were covered at the right level. A further extensive discussion was held regarding the clinical quality indicator, whether it would be possible for Governors to be given a choice of more than one indicator and if it should be discussed earlier in the year. Anne Stebbing advised Governors to review the proposed quality indicators and priorities listed in the Quality Accounts Priorities paper (enclosure F), which she noted would become more fulsome at the Quality and Safety Committee meeting in March before being published in May. The Chair advised Governors to email Anne Stebbing with their views on the proposed quality priorities so that it could be relayed to the Quality and Safety Committee. The Chair commented that she was grateful for the input from colleagues and had enjoyed the comprehensive discussions, urging Governors to not feel like they asked too many questions. Action 19/62 Governors to email Anne Stebbing with their views on the suggested quality priorities for 2020/2021.

19/63 – Date and time of next meeting It was noted that the next formal meeting in public would be held on 8 April 2020 at Shaw House in Newbury, and that there is a joint Board and CoG strategy workshop on 6 February.

ENCLOSURE B

CoG Action Log

Enclosure B

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS

Meeting: Council of Governors


Title of Paper: Council of Governors Action Log

Presented by: Steve Garside, Company Secretary


Information

Main Aim: To ensure good governance practice in confirming that the action points from previous Council of Governors meetings are in hand / have been completed


Of the nine actions listed on the Action Log, five have been completed/closed and four are in-hand.


To note progress with the actions from previous Council of Governors meetings

Previous Forum: An update is presented at each Council of Governors meeting


N/A



Enclosure B Page 1 of 3 Author: LH

Council of Governors Meeting 23 July 2020

Enclosure B – Council of Governors Action Log

Ref No Summary of Action Required Lead Date

Raised Due Date Status

Action 19/38 Member and Public Engagement Feedback

Steve Garside to ascertain the dates for stakeholder Annual General Meetings and circulate to Governors.

SG 03/10/19 08/04/2020 Action in-hand Due to COVID-19 having an impact on these meetings, the dates for stakeholder Annual General Meetings are still to be released. The Company Secretariat office will continue to monitor stakeholder websites, and will update Governors accordingly.

Action 19/52/1a Report from the Membership and Engagement Committee

Margaret Eaglestone to upload the event planner to the Governors portal.

ME 13/01/2020 14/02/2020 Action in-hand Due to COVID-19 all planned events are currently cancelled or on-hold. An Interim Engagement Strategy was discussed at the MEC meeting on 1 June 2020 and will be presented at the CoG meeting in July.

Action 19/52/3 Report from the Membership and Engagement Committee

Steve Garside to consider a suitable date in the future for holding a Governor workshop on engagement.

SG 13/01/2020 08/04/2020 Action in-hand Governor workshops/briefing sessions will be discussed as part of the Company Secretary’s update at July’s meeting.

Action 19/53/1 Member and public engagement

David Palmer to confirm whether both staff issues (relating to staff inoculations and a rota issue) have been satisfactorily resolved.

DP 13/01/2020 08/04/2020 Action completed / closed This action has been superseded by Action C20/11.

Action 19/53/3 Member and public engagement

Mike Murphy to explore ways of promoting volunteer car drivers and Community First Responders

MM 13/01/2020 08/04/2020 Action completed / closed Ways to promote volunteer car drivers and Community First Responders is being explored with the relevant Leads

KEY

Completed In-Hand Overdue


across the Trust. The use of volunteers and initiatives to support them continues to be reviewed throughout COVID-19 and as lockdown eases.

Action 19/54/1 Chief Executive’s Report

Will Hancock to circulate the figures for 111 bookings with GPs and Pharmacists.

WH 13/01/2020 08/04/2020 Action completed closed The table below shows the number of GP and dental bookings for the week commencing 6 July. There are Pharmacists working with the Trust to provide telephone assessments but not bookable appointments. Week commencing 6 July 2020 GPs 369 Dental 241

Action C20/11 CoG Action Log

Professor Helen Young and Melanie Saunders to liaise with David Palmer in order to resolve the issue regarding staff inoculations.

HY / MS

10/06/2020 23/07/2020 A verbal update will be provided at the meeting

Action C20/13 Chief Executive’s Report

Steve Garside to ensure Governors receive the ‘Adopt, Adapt, Abandon, And’ survey.

SG 10/06/2020 23/07/2020 Action completed / closed This was circulated to Governors on 29 June by Louisa Humphrey. The feedback and key themes will be presented at a future CoG meeting.

Action C20/14 Company Secretary’s Report

Margaret Eaglestone to consider ways for the Trust to proactively reach out to the different groups within SCAS’ population and ensure that the Governor election campaigns are enticing to a diverse range of candidates.

ME 10/06/2020 23/07/2020 Action completed / closed Margaret Eaglestone is ensuring that the Trust proactively reaches out to different groups within SCAS’ population. Some of the initiatives for promoting the elections include: working with our Equality and

Diversity (E&D) staff network, E&D Manager and local Healthwatch to connect with community groups


contacting colleges, universities and student unions

the Chair was interviewed on Unity 101 radio on 8 July

Key for action leads

SG Steve Garside, Company Secretary

LH Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator

ME Margaret Eaglestone, Membership and Engagement Manager

DP David Palmer (Staff Governor) WH Will Hancock MM Mike Murphy, Director of Strategy and Business Development

* Governor briefing sessions forward programme April 2020 SIRI (process and learnings) - CANCELLED July 2020 Fleet (vehicle strategy and overview of the work of South Central Fleet Services Limited) - CANCELLED TBC Indirect Resources National Pandemic Flu Service Other suggestions Digital/Global Digital Exemplar An overview of our approach to (public) defibrillators plus a practical CPR demo Urgent Care Pathways Programme

ENCLOSURE C

Chief Executive’s Report

Enclosure C




Title of Paper: Chief Executive’s Report

Presented by: Will Hancock, Chief Executive (supported by relevant Executive Directors as appropriate)


Information

Main Aim: To update the Council of Governors on a range of issues and developments affecting the Trust. The report is shaped around the Trust’s Organisational Development priorities:

• To be a provider of choice• To be a partner of choice• To be an employer of choice• To be a sustainable and dynamic organisation


Governors are generally encouraged to direct questions on any issues raised by the report to the Non-Executive Directors present; however given the fast-moving nature of our response to COVID-19 some questions on this subject may need to be answered by an Executive Director.


Note

Previous Forum: A Chief Executive’s Report is presented at every Council of Governors meeting as a standing agenda item


N/A



of 6

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING 23 JULY 2020

ENCLOSURE C

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT INCLUDING PERFORMANCE UPDATE

PURPOSE

1 The purpose of my report is to keep the Council of Governors (CoG) abreast of key matters for the Trust.

2 The report also aims to support Governors with their roles of representing the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public (i.e. by providing some key information that can be used by Governors during their engagement activity) and holding the Non-Executive Directors individually and collectively to account for the performance of the Board of Directors (i.e. by providing an update on performance and other associated matters).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / TOP THREE ISSUES FOR BOARD ATTENTION

3 For context, three areas of my current focus that I would particularly like to bring to the CoG’s attention are:

• COVID-19 (the present) – clearly the Trust and wider NHS has experienced a verychallenging last few months but, thanks to the incredible work of our staff and volunteers,we have made an excellent response to the challenges which we have been facing acrossall of our core services - 999, NHS111/Integrated Urgent Care and Patient TransportServices (PTS)

• COVID-19 (the future) – much of our attention is now turning to how we can maximisethe opportunities arising from COVID-19, including service delivery and more effectiveways of working. The Board has also held some productive discussions about ourstrategic recovery and how COVID-19 can positively influence our strategy as we goforward, and we would like to gain the views of the Governors on this in due course. Ofcourse, from an operational perspective, we also need to be prepared for further wavesand spikes in COVID-19 activity

• supporting our staff – there has never been a more crucial time in terms of supporting thephysical and mental health and well-being of our staff, which includes those who arerecovering personally from illness or grieving for family members, friends and workcolleagues. We also need to support staff, led by our leadership team, to recover fromthe effects of dealing with significantly challenging and stressful situations over asustained period of time

TO BE A PROVIDER OF CHOICE

Operational and financial performance

4 Since the June CoG meeting we have experienced a further reduction in COVID-19 related activity and, with volumes of ‘normal’ emergency activity yet to return to typical levels for this time of year, we have been able to operate at Resource Escalation Action Plan (REAP) level ‘1’ (‘steady state’).

of 6

5 I would like to point out that, despite the Trust moving to REAP level 1, there remains considerable work for us to complete around COVID-19 and particularly our workforce; these workstreams include risk assessments, home working policies and guidance, track and trace, and antibody testing. This work needs to be progressed as we transition back to more business as usual type activities in other areas.

6 As noted in the Integrated Performance Report that was circulated to Governors as part of

the July Board meeting in public papers, our recent performance has been particularly strong – including successfully delivering all of the emergency Ambulance Response Programme response time standards – although we have seen a shift in demand for our NHS111 services with much greater call volumes now coming through in the daytime Monday to Friday. This has required some adjustment to our scheduling.

7 Performance on the Ambulance Response Programme response time standards in May is

shown below, and we will be able to update on June/July to date performance at the CoG meeting:

Overall SCAS

Thames Valley contract

Cat 1 Mean - 7 Minute Target 00:06:18 00:07:00 G 00:06:22 00:07:00 G 00:07:00 00:07:00 G

Cat 1 90th Percentile - 15 Minute Target 00:11:16 00:15:00 G 00:11:44 00:15:00 G 00:15:00 00:15:00 G

Cat 2 Mean - 18 Minute Target 00:11:31 00:18:00 G 00:11:51 00:18:00 G 00:18:00 00:18:00 G

Cat 2 90th Percentile - 40 Minute Target 00:21:39 00:40:00 G 00:22:27 00:40:00 G 00:40:00 00:40:00 G

Cat 3 90th Percentile - 2 Hours 01:03:29 02:00:00 G 01:07:04 02:00:00 G 02:00:00 02:00:00 G

Cat 4 90th Percentile - 3 Hours 01:47:28 03:00:00 G 01:46:52 03:00:00 G 03:00:00 03:00:00 G

May-20Performance Measure Year to date Full year

Plan RAGForecastActual Plan RAG Actual Plan RAG

Cat 1 Mean - 7 Minute Target North 00:06:17 00:07:00 G 00:06:26 00:07:00 G 00:07:00 00:07:00 G

Cat 1 90th Percentile - 15 Minute Target North

00:11:07 00:15:00 G 00:11:29 00:15:00 G 00:15:00 00:15:00 G

Cat 2 Mean - 18 Minute Target North 00:11:21 00:18:00 G 00:11:56 00:18:00 G 00:18:00 00:18:00 G

Cat 2 90th Percentile - 40 Minute Target North

00:21:18 00:40:00 G 00:22:41 00:40:00 G 00:40:00 00:40:00 G

Cat 3 90th Percentile - 2 Hours North 01:06:22 02:00:00 G 01:13:39 02:00:00 G 02:00:00 02:00:00 G

Cat 4 90th Percentile - 3 Hours North 01:47:13 03:00:00 G 01:48:01 03:00:00 G 03:00:00 03:00:00 G

of 6

Hampshire contract

8 Financially, we are operating in a designated ‘COVID period’ until the end of July, with all

reasonable COVID-19 related expenditure centrally funded. We are on track to deliver a break-even financial performance over this period, in line with our Board approved control total.

Quality 9 As Governors will be aware, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a two-day core

service inspection of our Patient Transport Services (PTS) in early February. Following a factual accuracy process, the CQCs final report was published on 11 June and can be accessed through the link below:

https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAJ9446.pdf

10 The Trust has retained a ‘good’ rating for PTS, and there are many aspects of the report that

are particularly pleasing, including in relation to leadership, governance and other elements of outstanding practice. This is tribute to the staff and volunteers who deliver our PTS across the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex.

11 We have one ‘must do’ action (infection control) and five ‘should do’ actions to address, and

the Trust is currently developing an action plan to take this work forward. TO BE A PARTNER OF CHOICE

New NHS111 initiative with partners in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 12 As reported to the CoG previously, I am proud to report that SCAS has been successful in a

bid to NHS England to implement a new initiative enhancing the NHS111 service for our patients. We have been identified as an ‘early mover’ in an important new development of the service with health care partners in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire.

13 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the services we provide and on the

behaviours of our communities in terms of how they access healthcare. Working with our partners, we rapidly introduced measures to ensure patients diagnosed with Covid-19 receive the treatment they need, while protecting those most at risk.

14 This new NHS111 initiative is being implemented to prevent overcrowding in Emergency

Department (ED) waiting rooms by booking patients in to be seen, if necessary, in accordance with their needs. This will help to minimise the risk of infection from COVID-19, while ensuring that our patients continue to receive the best possible care safely, in a timely way and in the most appropriate setting for their needs. We continue to actively encourage anyone with a minor injury or illness to seek alternatives to attending ED, and especially to contact NHS111 in the first instance before attending ED.

Cat 1 Mean - 7 Minute Target South 00:06:18 00:07:00 G 00:06:17 00:07:00 G 00:07:00 00:07:00 G

Cat 1 90th Percentile - 15 Minute Target South

00:11:33 00:15:00 G 00:11:11 00:15:00 G 00:15:00 00:15:00 G

Cat 2 Mean - 18 Minute Target South 00:11:43 00:18:00 G 00:11:43 00:18:00 G 00:18:00 00:18:00 G

Cat 2 90th Percentile - 40 Minute Target South

00:22:00 00:40:00 G 00:22:10 00:40:00 G 00:40:00 00:40:00 G

Cat 3 90th Percentile - 2 Hours South 01:00:43 02:00:00 G 01:01:19 02:00:00 G 02:00:00 02:00:00 G

Cat 4 90th Percentile - 3 Hours South 01:47:43 03:00:00 G 01:46:18 03:00:00 G 03:00:00 03:00:00 G

https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAJ9446.pdf

of 6

15 Working in partnership with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (PHT) and local CCGs, we are providing an additional, more effective way for patients in the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire area to access urgent NHS care, via an enhanced NHS111 service. From the end of last month patients in the area who call NHS111 will be assessed by a clinician (local GPs) and, if they have a clinical need to attend ED, will be given a booked time slot. This will result in a better patient experience as waiting times to be seen in ED will be greatly reduced. Booking allocated time slots will also reduce the risk of nosocomial spread (hospital acquired COVID-19) by removing time spent in waiting areas.

16 SCAS is delighted to have been given permission from NHS England to be an early mover

for this initiative which, if successful, is expected to be rolled out across the SCAS patch and across the rest of England.

Partnership in India 17 I am pleased to report that, on 1 July, a partnership was launched between SCAS and the

Aurobindo Pharma Foundation (APF) which saw 108 Emergency Response Services (our equivalent of 999 service) and 104 Mobile Medical Unit Services (our equivalent of an NHS 111 response service) delivered to the 66 million people living in the Indian region of Andhra Pradesh.

18 As part of a not for profit consortium, we are working to improve the clinical outcomes of

patients responded to by the ‘free at point of contact’ ambulance services aiming to develop the services to become the equivalent of services provided here in the UK. Throughout the duration of the contract we will be providing technical advice and support to our operational charitable partner, APF. We hope that this relationship will evolve into an international exchange programme offering opportunities for both our SCAS staff and the APF staff to have unique experiences and development prospects. The service is now deploying over 1,000 ambulances across the region working in rural and urban areas, attempting to deliver parity of care to patients from deprived and rural areas. We are already making a difference and saving lives as we form part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

TO BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE

Communication to staff regarding ‘Black Lives Matter’ 19 I share below, with the CoG, a recent communication issued to our SCAS workforce, and

would like to thank Bob Duggan, Lead Governor, for his own personal contribution to this.

Black Lives Matter at SCAS “We want to reach out to all those of you who have been affected by the inhumane death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests globally. At SCAS black lives matter. SCAS aims to care for our black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, according dignity and respect to everyone and challenging those behaviours that are racist. We care about your welfare and your wellbeing lies at the heart of our values. We may not always get it right and when we do not, we want to know. The leadership each and everyone one of us shows has a direct impact on the quality of care we deliver not just to each other but to the people we look after. We have an important role to play in driving out health inequalities. We’re keen to learn how we can improve. To this end, please get in touch if there is anything that you need by way of support or if you want to share your experience so that together, we can create and sustain an inclusive, psychologically safe environment for all that work for and with us and a great service for all those who need us. We would like to use this moment in history to learn and shape a better future and can only do this with your support and insight.

of 6

We would like this learning to be inclusive as we all have different experiences and opportunities to understand more from one another. The diversity of our patients constantly increases and we must develop with them. For all of you we would ask that you reflect and challenge yourself, as we are, on your assumptions, thoughts, words and deeds. Seek out information and call out racism and discrimination of any sort that you observe. Please send any thoughts and questions to [email protected] or as ever you can contact your line manager or our Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. We encourage you to post and learn on the SCAS BAME's - (All Welcome) group on Yammer”. Will Hancock - CEO, Lena Samuels - Chair, Bob Duggan - Lead Governor

National Volunteers Week 20 We recently celebrated National Volunteers Week and in this section of my report I would

like to pay tribute to the great contribution that our many volunteers make to SCAS, whether that is as a Community First Responder, Volunteer Car Driver, Governor or in any other capacity. This contribution is greatly valued and has been typified in recent times by those volunteers who have shown great passion and dedication to support us in our response to COVID-19.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rqRLhS1dnI&feature=youtu.be

TO BE A SUSTAINABLE AND DYNAMIC ORGANISATION

Ian Green, Non-Executive Director 21 I would like to welcome Ian Green, our new Non-Executive Director, to the Trust following his

recent appointment by the Trust’s Council of Governors. Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) 22 The GDE programme is proceeding well. There are now 375 vehicles with ‘vehicle as a hub’

installed and the roll out remains on track to deliver in full by the beginning of September. Soft launches of video technology are taking place on both the Clinical Support and Urgent Care Desks which will enable clinicians to both see as well as hear patients via a mobile phone link. Work on providing a more automated forecasting process is in progress and this will enable a more accurate forecasting of our needs. The telephony project is now refocused with an alternative supplier for the integrated front end for the Clinical Co-ordination Centres having been agreed and the development and implementation plans are being produced. Templates are being developed for the electronic patient record to help front line staff to record information more quickly and reduce cycle time. The first template for falls has been rolled out and this will be followed by chest pain, head injuries and respiratory templates.

23 Agreement with NHS Digital has been reached to move the final funding milestone to the end of September (from May); this was driven by a variety of changes in business requirements along with COVID-19 pressures across a number of the GDE workstreams.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CoG

24 I would like to pay tribute to the ongoing hard work, commitment and dedication shown by

our staff and volunteers, and also to the Governors for their invaluable support. 25 I would also like to highlight a suite of important documents and briefings that have been

issued in recent times and which may be of interest to Governors:

• NHS Providers ‘Recovery Position: What Next for the NHS’ briefing: https://nhsproviders.org/media/689775/recovery-position-what-next-for-the-nhs.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rqRLhS1dnI&feature=youtu.be

https://nhsproviders.org/media/689775/recovery-position-what-next-for-the-nhs.pdf

of 6

• Public Health England ‘Beyond the Data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME Groups’ report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892376/COVID_stakeholder_engagement_synthesis_beyond_the_data.pdf

• NHS Providers’ ‘Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Mental Health’ briefing:

https://nhsproviders.org/media/689776/nhs-providers-briefing-impact-of-covid-19-on-mental-health.pdf

• NHS Providers’ ‘A New Era of Digital Leadership’ briefing: https://nhsproviders.org/a-new-era-of-digital-leadership

Lead Director: Will Hancock, Chief Executive Author: Steve Garside, Company Secretary Date: 10 July 2020

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892376/COVID_stakeholder_engagement_synthesis_beyond_the_data.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/892376/COVID_stakeholder_engagement_synthesis_beyond_the_data.pdf



https://nhsproviders.org/a-new-era-of-digital-leadership

ENCLOSURE D

2019/2020 Chair and NED Appraisals

Enclosure D



Title of Paper: 2019/2020 Chair and NED Appraisals



Information

Main Aim: The CoG is asked to note the high-level outcomes of the 2019/2020 appraisal of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs)


The report outlines: • The process for the appraisals and results from the online

Governor surveys • The key themes emerging from the appraisals • The key objectives for the Chair for 2020/21


Note

Previous Forum: The outcomes of the Chair and NED appraisals are presented annually at the CoG meeting in July.


Yes


Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator

of 3

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS 23 JULY 2020

ENCLOSURE D

2019/2020 CHAIR AND NED APPRAISALS

BACKGROUND 1 The purpose of this report is to review the outcomes of the 2019/2020 Chair and NED

appraisals which were carried out between March and July 2020. 2 As part of the Nomination Committee’s remit to “receive reports on the process and make

recommendations to the Board and the Council of Governors for the appraisal of the performance of the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors” the Committee had an involvement in agreeing the questions for the Governor surveys and also received, for consideration, the high-level outcomes of the appraisals prior to the CoG meeting on 23 July.

ITEM 1: FOR NOTING - OUTCOMES OF THE 2019/2020 CHAIR APPRAISAL

3 The 2019/2020 appraisal process was based on feedback collated by the Company

Secretary and Senior Independent Director (SID), which was used to inform the Chair’s appraisal led by the SID (Les Broude) on 2 April 2020. The feedback from Governors was collected using an online survey, feedback from the Executive Directors was provided by the Company Secretary, and the SID secured feedback from the other NEDs through one-to-one conversations with each NED.

4 A total of 18 Governors completed the online survey (78% of those in post at the time). This

provides confidence that the responses reflect the views of the majority of Governors. The table below sets out for this year, and the previous year, the proportion of respondents who responded with either ‘fully agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’ to the various statements. This summary data provides a broad indication of overall effectiveness and presents even more positive feedback than the previous year.

The Chair………. 2019/2020 2018/2019

Understands Governor role and supports its delivery 89% 86% Supports Governors in their particular representative role 100% 86% Presides effectively over CoG meetings 89% 86% Inspires respect, confidence and co-operation of Governors 89% 82% Leads the Board in a way that promotes teamwork/inclusivity, and by articulating a vision & purpose

94% 82%

Leads the Board such that it has a strong focus on performance, continuous improvement, & delivering the best possible outcomes for patients

89% 86%

Presides effectively over Board meetings 94% 73% Promotes the core values of SCAS and exhibits behaviours in accordance with these

94% 86%

Actively/effectively engages with key stakeholders 100% 82% 5 In addition to ‘fully agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’, the other options available to Governors

were ‘neither agree or disagree’, ‘somewhat disagree’ and ‘wholly disagree’. By way of

of 3

context, the average score for these three options across the nine statements was 7.4%, 5.6% and 0% respectively.

6 The key themes that emerged from the appraisal process are that:

this has been an excellent year for Lena, with support from across the Council of Governors, NEDs, Executive Directors and external stakeholders

Lena’s inclusive and open style and approach, ensures there are good opportunities for Governors and NEDs to contribute at meetings

Lena has shown an understanding of the needs and importance of the Governors by introducing and implementing new ways of working between the Governors and the Board

Lena’s relationship with all staff has been seen to be very positive, she has a strong

emotional intelligence that works both at Board and with the staff on the front line. Her focus on patients and staff at Board meetings demonstrates and promotes the values of SCAS

Lena introduced the independent ‘well-led’ review carried out by Carnall Farrar and has

taken the final report and promptly begun to implement the recommendations Lena has continued to be a very effective ambassador for SCAS externally. Her roles

within the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) continue to add insight and benefit to the way SCAS operates both in its own right as well as being an integral part of the system developments. She is very forward thinking on the best way to bring “Systems” together and drive them forward in a positive and aligned way

several key objectives and areas for development were identified and agreed (see below)

7 The current SCAS Chair/NED appraisal process includes five levels in relation to

performance: ‘exceeds expectations’, ‘exceeds expectations in some elements of the role’, ‘meets expectations of the role’, ‘partially meets expectations’, and ‘does not meet expectations’. For 2019/2020 the SID, taking into account the views of the other NEDs, has assessed the Chair’s performance as ‘exceeds expectations’.

8 Key objectives for the Chair for 2020/21 have been agreed as follows:

I. Ensure leading SCAS into key position within systems

II. Manage the commitments and priorities between SCAS and other roles III. Continue to be involved and understand where the NHS and ambulance services are

heading as the future and challenges for the NHS change and Integrated Care Systems continue to develop.

Recommendation 1 The CoG is asked to note the high-level outcomes of the 2019/2020 appraisal of the Chair, as produced by the Senior Independent Director.

ITEM 2: FOR NOTING - OUTCOMES OF THE 2019/2020 NED APPRAISALS

9 The appraisal process was based on feedback collated by the Company Secretary and Chair

which was used to inform the Chair’s appraisal with each of the six NEDs between March and July 2020.

10 The feedback from Governors was collected using an online survey. Feedback from the

Executive Directors was collated by the Company Secretary and the Chair also held a discussion with the Chief Executive.

of 3

11 The online Governor survey had a response rate of just over 74% and a summary of the average scores (a combination of ‘fully agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’ to the various statements), covering all six NEDs, is as follows:

The NED………. 2019/20 2018/19 Makes an effective contribution at CoG meetings 85% 80% Makes an effective contribution at Board meetings 82% 71% Demonstrates a good understanding of SCAS and its environment

87% 79%

Communicates and engages effectively with Governors and key stakeholders

83% 73%

Promotes the core values of SCAS and exhibits behaviours in accordance with these

86% 77%

12 The current SCAS NED appraisal process includes five levels in relation to performance:

‘exceeds expectations’, ‘exceeds expectations in some elements of the role’, ‘meets expectations of the role’, ‘partially meets expectations’, and ‘does not meet expectations’. All NEDs appraised received an assessment rating of a minimum of exceeds expectations in some elements of the role, and key development objectives for 2020/2021 have been agreed with each NED, with some common themes:

• the requirement for NEDs to continue to keep abreast of sector developments and its

relevance to SCAS’ strategy

• to continue to actively engage with stakeholders in the local health economy, reflecting the significant current focus on integrated care systems and collaboration

• the need for each NED to take forward their particular portfolio area of responsibility (these are currently being reviewed and updated and will be shared with the Governors for information in due course)

• continue to ensure that effective NED/Governor buddying arrangements are developed and maintained.

Recommendation 2 The CoG is asked to note the high-level outcomes of the 2019/2020 appraisal of the NEDs, as produced by the Chair.

CONCLUSION

13 There are two recommendations for consideration by the full CoG as outlined above. Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator 14 July 2020

ENCLOSURE E

Report from the Membership and Engagement Committee

Enclosure E



Title of Paper: Report from the Membership and Engagement Committee

Presented by: Mark Davis, Chair of the Membership and Engagement Committee Loretta Light, Deputy Chair of the Membership and Engagement Committee


Information

Main Aim: To present an update from one of the two formal sub-committees of the Council of Governors; in this case the Membership and Engagement Committee.


A report is presented from the Membership and Engagement Committee and a verbal commentary will be provided by Loretta Light. The report includes the minutes of the last meeting held on 1 June 2020.


To note the report from the Membership and Engagement Committee

Previous Forum: January 2020


N/A



of 7


ENCLOSURE E

REPORT FROM THE MEMBERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

BACKGROUND 1 The Membership and Engagement Committee (MEC) is one of two committees of the Council

of Governors (CoG). Given that one of the two main general statutory duties of ALL Governors is to represent the interests of Trust members (public and staff) and the public, this is a vitally important committee that “makes recommendations and reports to the Council of Governors about membership recruitment, engagement, communications, involvement and representation”.

2 The current membership of the committee is as follows:

• Mark Davis, Public Governor (Berkshire) (Committee Chair) • Bernadette Devine, Public Governor (Buckinghamshire) • Lynn Dove-Dixon, Public Governor (Oxfordshire) • Bob Duggan, Lead and Public Governor (Buckinghamshire) • David Drew, Appointed Partner Governor (Air Ambulance Charity) • Frank Epstein, Public Governor (Berkshire) • Loretta Light, Public Governor (Oxfordshire) • Chas McGill, Public Governor (Hampshire) • Tony Nicholson, Public Governor (Hampshire) • David Ross, CFR Governor

3 The committee is supported by the Trust’s Membership and Engagement Manager, Margaret Eaglestone.

4 The committee would like to strongly encourage all Governors, as part of their statutory

duties, to actively contribute to the Governor engagement programme. This is important in demonstrating that questions asked at CoG and Board meetings in public arise from engagement with members and members of the public.

REPORT FROM MEETING HELD ON 1 JUNE 2020

4 The MEC last met on 1 June 2020, and the minutes of the meeting are now presented at

Appendix A. These are unconfirmed minutes and will be considered/approved at the next MEC meeting on 1 October 2020.

In receiving the minutes, the CoG is asked to note that:

• a digital toolkit for assisting Governors with engagement has now be circulated by Margaret Eaglestone.

• promoting the upcoming Public and Staff Governor elections has commenced. At the time of writing this report, videos to promote the elections have been made by Emma Crozier, Helen Ramsay and Ken Roberts.

• the Interim Engagement strategy which will be reviewed in further detail as part of Enc F.

https://www.scas.nhs.uk/elections/

of 7

CONCLUSION

5 The MEC continues to review Governor engagement activity and consider the most effective

strategies for engagement. Mark Davis, MEC Chair and Berkshire Public Governor Loretta Light, Deputy MEC Chair and Oxfordshire Public Governor 15 July 2020

of 7

APPENDIX A - MEMBERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES 01/06/2020 Minutes of the 32nd meeting of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Committee held on 01 June 2020 via Microsoft Teams (due to

Coronavirus/COVID-19) Present: Loretta Light, Public Governor (Oxfordshire) – Acting Committee Chair

David Drew, Appointed Partner Governor (Air Ambulance Charity) Bob Duggan, Lead Governor / Public Governor (Buckinghamshire) Frank Epstein, Public Governor (Berkshire) Chas McGill, Public Governor (Hampshire) Tony Nicholson, Public Governor (Hampshire)

In Attendance: Margaret Eaglestone, Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement

Manager Jessica Ellis, Communications and PR Administrator Steve Garside, Company Secretary Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator Lena Samuels, Trust Chair Nick Smith, Marketing & Communications Manager

Apologies: Mark Davis, Public Governor (Berkshire) (Committee Chair)

Bernadette Devine, Public Governor (Buckinghamshire) Lynn Dove-Dixon, Staff Governor (Corporate / Support / Other)

Not in Attendance: David Ross, CFR Governor MEC 20/001 – Chair’s welcome, apologies for absence and declarations of interest Loretta Light, acting Committee Chair welcomed all to the meeting and apologies were noted from Mark Davis, Bernadette Devine and Lynn Dove-Dixon. No new interests were declared. MEC 20/002 – Minutes from the meeting held on 10 February 2020 The minutes were approved with no amendments. MEC 20/003 – Action Log The Committee reviewed the action log, with discussions held around the following actions:

• Action 1 / Action 19/012-02 (trauma leaflets) – Margaret Eaglestone explained that the leaflets have been printed but the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in a delay in the leaflets being placed on vehicles. She noted that Mark Ainsworth-Smith had agreed to follow up with the Make Ready Team to ensure the leaflets were now on vehicles. It was agreed to keep the action open.

• Action 5 (‘how to’ guide for Governor engagement) – Margaret Eaglestone provided a comprehensive update commenting she will be able to start working on a ‘how to’ guide including a toolkit for Governors once the KPI’s have been agreed.

• Action 19/012-01 (attending Equality and Diversity steering group meetings) – Loretta Light

commented that she had attended the Equality and Diversity steering group meeting on 28 May 2020 and had found it very interesting and insightful. Both Loretta Light and Bob Duggan encouraged Governors to attend a future meeting.

• Action 19/012-03 (CFR membership) – Margaret Eaglestone is working with David Hamer, Operations Manager for Community Engagement and Training, to improve communication with CFRs and to notify them of future events. Tony Nicholson asked if, further to the mailshot by Nicola Dunbar, Head of Operations for Community Engagement and Training, on 12

of 7

February, any CFR’s had applied to become a Trust member. Margaret Eaglestone commented that she did not know but would look into it and let the Committee know.

• Action 19/014 (stakeholder engagement) – the definition of a stakeholder was discussed and

agreed as: members of the public or any organisation which provides a lead to the public. It was agreed that this would include parish councils but not MP’s or other governing bodies.

• Action 19/015 (leaflet) – Margaret Eaglestone explained that the draft digital copy of the

leaflet would be circulated to the MEC when ready and will also be available as a hardcopy at a later date.

• Action 19/016 (membership data) – it was noted that the current public goodwill towards the

NHS could be utilised as an opportunity to increase membership through social media platforms. Steve Garside suggested contacting members of the public who offered support to SCAS through the ‘offers of help’ email address to promote Trust membership and the upcoming Governor elections.

Lena Samuels commented that now would be an appropriate time to write to existing Trust members to ask for their email address. Margaret Eaglestone explained that herself and Nick Smith have put forward a business case for using ‘email updater’ which will allow members to update their email address on the Trust’s database.

Action 20/003-01 Margaret Eaglestone to find out how many CFR’s have become Trust members since 12 February 2020

Action 20/003-02 Louisa Humphrey to ascertain if it is possible to utilise the ‘offers of help’ database to promote Trust membership and the elections.

MEC 20/004 – Communications and Engagement during COVID-19 Margaret Eaglestone provided an overview of the paper and encouraged Governors to share ideas, themes and feedback from their engagement which could then be used to create short films. Tony Nicholson enquired about the nature of questions which have been asked at the monthly Q&A sessions. Margaret Eaglestone explained she had received a few questions relating to mental health which had been passed on to the Trust’s Mental Health Lead. Margaret Eaglestone offered to share the analytics from the ‘Supporting Mental Health at Home’ film, which the Committee agreed would be useful. David Drew asked if SCAS had received any feedback from schools who had been sent links to resources. Margaret Eaglestone shared details about a competition which is being launched this week, commenting that she would provide the Committee with a competition update at the next meeting. The Committee discussed the possible rewards for the competition, noting the winners will receive a visit from ‘Ted on Tour’ and it was agreed to promote the winners via local press and also via SCAS social media. Action 20/004-01 Margaret Eaglestone to share the analytics from the ‘Supporting Mental Health at Home’ film with the MEC.

Action 20/004-02 Margaret Eaglestone to provide the MEC with an update on the school competitions at the next MEC meeting.

Lena Samuels commended Margaret Eaglestone for her work and comprehensive strategy and suggested that some of the thank you collage pictures could be included in the next edition of the Foundation Times. She urged Governors to generate ideas from conversations with stakeholders, noting that Governors were key ambassadors for SCAS being able to communicate with the public, and that the Governors had the opportunity to bring Margaret Eaglestone’s strategy paper to life.

of 7

MEC 20/005 – Interim Strategy Margaret Eaglestone provided a brief overview of the objectives, commenting that the aim of the paper was to find alternative ways for communicating and engaging with stakeholders and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee discussed whether there should be a KPI for Governors to make short films which could be used to promote membership and assist with election campaigns. It was noted that the films would need to be diverse and appealing to a range of different audiences as well as having a clear message. Further to a query raised by Tony Nicholson, it was noted that due to the impending Governor elections, consideration would need to be given when making the films as to which Governors were used and the messages being communicated. It was agreed that Margaret Eaglestone could help with writing the scripts and that the films could be produced using a mobile phone but edited in-house by Andrew Humphries, Web and Social Media Manager for SCAS. Nick Smith commented that Andrew Humphries had produced a video guide providing tips on how to film yourself on a mobile phone. Lena Samuels commented that there could be an opportunity for both Governors standing for re-election and new candidates to make a short film about why they are standing for election. Steve Garside suggested that Bob Duggan should be heavily involved with the election films due to his extensive experience as a Governor. David Drew stated his support for school visits and Margaret Eaglestone commented that Jessica Ellis had some great initiatives for engaging with young people. She suggested that David Drew make contact with Jessica Ellis and herself outside of the meeting if he would like to discuss further. Bob Duggan explained that he is involved with an Enterprise Advisor Network, that liaises with careers advisors in schools, noting that they are always looking for new members in Buckinghamshire. The Committee discussed the targets for membership. It was noted that the targets were originally set by Monitor and were linked to SCAS obtaining Foundation Trust status. Margaret Eaglestone explained that NHSE/I is encouraging Trusts to focus on the quality of engagement. It was noted that it was important for the Trust’s members to reflect the population and communities served by SCAS, with a focus on BAME and young people. Lena Samuels highlighted the importance of membership reflecting SCAS’ communities and population, and ensuring that engagement is fairly represented. She commented that in the future, as SCAS’ services and strategy evolves, there could be an opportunity for intelligent engagement with members. Margaret Eaglestone explained that she is working with the Head of Patient Experience and the Assistant Director of Quality to scope out a patient experience panel and agreed that there is the chance to utilise members more effectively to aid with system delivery. It was agreed that Margaret Eaglestone would include more membership analysis within the interim strategy. Margaret Eaglestone asked the Committee to email her any thoughts on the interim strategy by the end of the day for her consideration. It was agreed that the Interim Strategy would be presented at the CoG meeting on 23 July. The Committee discussed the paper presented in Appendix 1 of Item 5 ‘What Does Successful Engagement Look Like’. Louisa Humphrey confirmed that the ‘Governor engagement activities’ data was taken from Governor feedback presented at CoG meetings between 9 April 2019 and 13 January 2020. Margaret Eaglestone explained the challenges of comparing Governor engagement data with other Trusts and advised Governors to visit the Governwell portal which would allow them to see case studies and to learn more about what Governors from other Trusts are doing.

https://nhsproviders.org/training-events/governor-support/support-and-guidance/helpful-documents

of 7

Further to a comment by David Drew, Margaret Eaglestone explained she is sharing best practice with other Trust’s and agreed to share engagement ideas from other Trust’s at an appropriate future MEC meeting. Lena Samuels suggested having themes for engagement which provide a reason for engaging but that could also help to shape the services and future strategic direction of the Trust. She commented that the themes would not necessarily have to be about SCAS and could be about the Trust as a player in the wider health sector. Lena Samuels suggested that the themes could be shaped by the MEC further to items and issues emerging from CoG and Board meetings in public. Lena Samuels explained that there could be some cross over with the Patient Experience sub-group, although they would consider themes from an operational perspective whereas Governors had the opportunity to look at themes more strategically. Lena Samuels commented that the Foundation Times could be used to engage with members but also noted that the challenge was engaging with the wider public. Margaret Eaglestone commented that a task and finish group to review the members survey had been discussed at the MEC meeting in June 2019. Margaret Eaglestone agreed to resend her original email with the revised members survey to Bernadette Devine and Bob Duggan for them to review. It was agreed to add themes to the next MEC meeting agenda for the Committee to review a suitable theme. Loretta Light asked whether the fifth KPI on page two of Appendix 1 ‘outcome of feedback to SCAS’ was too vague and should be replaced with a KPI for Governors to produce a monthly film for YouTube. It was agreed to replace the initial KPI and that Governors should aim for two films per month. MEC 20/005-01 Margaret Eaglestone to include membership analysis/data in the interim strategy and present it to the CoG on 23 July 2020.

MEC 20/005-02 Margaret Eaglestone to share engagement ideas from other Trust’s at an appropriate future MEC meeting

MEC 20/005-03 Margaret Eaglestone to resend her original email with the revised member survey to Bernadette Devine and Bob Duggan for them to review.

MEC 20/005-04 Louisa Humphrey to add themes to the next MEC meeting agenda for the Committee to review a suitable theme.

MEC 20/005-05 Margaret Eaglestone to replace the original fifth KPI with ‘Governors to produce two films for the SCAS YouTube Channel each month.

MEC 20/005-06 Margaret Eaglestone to circulate to Governors a best practice guide for creating the films.

MEC 20/006 – Governor Elections Steve Garside explained that a paper detailing the timeline and process for the autumn elections as well as the rationale for proceeding with the elections, would be presented at the CoG meeting on 10 June. He explained the importance of promoting the elections and encouraging participation amongst members in standing for election and voting. Margaret Eaglestone suggested that the theme for engagement over the summer is the elections and urged Governors to provide her with some resources which she could utilise. Margaret

of 7

Eaglestone explained that a digital toolkit will be available to assist Governors with promoting the elections. It was noted that the Aspiring Governors’ workshops could be held virtually. Action 20/006 Governors to provide Margaret Eaglestone with content and resources she can use to help promote the elections.

MEC 20/007 – Governor Toolkit The paper was noted and no further discussion was held. MEC 20/008 – Any Other Business Loretta Light asked whether the Committee should have a Deputy Chair. It was unanimously agreed that Loretta Light had done a brilliant job of chairing the meeting and was approved as the Committee’s Deputy Chair. Action 20/008 Louisa Humphrey to update the Terms of Reference for the Committee for review at the next MEC meeting.

MEC 20/009 - Review of the Meeting Bob Duggan commented he thought it had been an excellent meeting. Several Committee members expressed their thanks to Loretta Light for chairing the meeting so well. Frank Epstein commented he was pleased to learn that Margaret Eaglestone is working closely with David Hamer to communicate events to the CFRs. Chas McGill commented that the organisers at Beaulieu were keen to re-arrange the postponed event for the first weekend in September and agreed to discuss further with Margaret Eaglestone outside of the meeting.

ENCLOSURE F

Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy

Enclosure F



Title of Paper: Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy

Presented by: Loretta Light, Deputy Chair of the Membership and Engagement Committee; Nick Smith, Marketing and Communications Manager, Mike Murphy, Director of Strategy and Business Development and Members of the MEC


Information

Main Aim: To present the Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy which has been reviewed by the MEC at their last meeting on 1 June 2020


The strategy, written by Margaret Eaglestone, Membership and Engagement Manager, identifies three main objectives: 1. To maintain a substantial, engaged and representative

membership

2. To explore and implement alternative communication and engagement channels to continue to effectively engage and communicate with members during Covid-19

3. Identify and mitigate risks and evaluate and highlight successes It then outlines the actions required and highlights the expectations of Governors to support membership engagement. Recommendations or

Outcome Required : To agree the Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy

Previous Forum: N/A


N/A


Margaret Eaglestone, Membership and Engagement Manager

Interim FT membership communication and engagement strategy

Purpose

SCAS NHS FT provides traditional 999 emergency services, as well as non-emergency patient transport services, NHS 111 services and logistics, commercial and training services across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and non-emergency patient transport services across Surrey and Sussex, serving a population of 7 million people. Demand for our services is increasing every year and in the last 12 months we attended 565,000 incidents for 999, over 1.2 million calls to NHS 111 and undertook over 800,000 patient transport journeys. NHS foundation trusts (FTs) were created in 2004 with the objective of working more closely with their local communities to ensure services are best suited to the current and future needs of patients. SCAS NHS FT was established in 2008 and we now have 13,481 public members and 3,924 staff members (valid on 02.06.20). Therefore, in this strategy, the use of the term members refers to both public and staff members.

The governance structure that supports this objective is built on our membership. Our membership elects Governors to represent them in a number of different important areas which include providing a view on the strategic direction of the trust, gaining assurance about the performance of the Board and performing various statutory functions including the appointment and remuneration of the Chair and non-executive directors.

Although foundation trusts are no longer required or expected to grow their membership, the existing membership can be hugely beneficial to the Trust in a number of ways. In particular, members:

• can be advocates for the Trust in their engagement with the wider health system, other organisations and the public.

• provide a pool of committed individuals who can offer feedback and advice to the Trust on how well it is doing and how it could improve

• strengthen the legitimacy of governors through competitive elections and by holding them to account for their responsibilities and actions

This strategy outlines what SCAS will do to ensure that the Trust continues to communicate and engage with our members during Covid-19. We need to innovate our communication and engagement to ensure that we can continue to work with our membership when some of our usual methods are no longer possible due to social distancing. Objectives The objectives of our interim communications and membership strategy are:

1. To maintain a substantial, engaged and representative membership

2. To explore and implement alternative communication and engagement channels to continue to effectively engage and communicate with members during Covid-19

3. Identify and mitigate risks and evaluate and highlight successes

Delivering these objectives is intended to support SCAS NHS Foundation Trust in meeting its objectives, not least through being a responsive organisation with a good understanding of the needs of its patients and the communities it serves, in line with the objectives set out in the SCAS Communications Strategy. The SCAS Communications Strategy is oriented in the world we live in, outlines the role of the governor and the importance of public engagement. This interim strategy is intended to support the management and delivery of effective communications and engagement at the current time and highlight innovation to ensure that we continue to meet our objectives. Objective 1: To maintain a substantial, engaged and representative membership

Objectives

• To innovate communication and engagement with our membership during Covid-19 • To successfully recruit members as necessary • To retain our current membership • To take steps to ensure that our membership is representative of the diversity of the population that we serve, with

planned targeted membership drives if necessary • To establish a connection and a relationship between our Trust and the membership by communicating our

strategic objectives clearly • To develop and support potential Governors

Membership targets were set in the first instance between Monitor (now NHS Improvement and NHS England) and the Trust to achieve Foundation Trust status. We can also compare the Trust membership numbers to the base population numbers which results in an index score to show if the membership is representative in that area. Please view population profile report for the most recent membership analysis data. We work currently with two customer relationship management systems (CRM)* provided by Civica. ENGAGE contains membership data and enables the Trust to analyse our membership and to send out communications to our membership. CONNECT contains stakeholder contacts.

Actions

Objective Action Owner Due date Target To maintain an accurate membership Update Engage CRM* ME

JE Ongoing Staff

Public To ensure we have as many email contacts as possible to improve communication and reduce cost

Email Updater ME Civica

TBC Public

To maintain an accurate stakeholder database

Update Connect CRM* ME TBC Staff Public

To develop and support potential Governors

Respond to enquiries and provide information

ME Ongoing Staff Public

Objective 2: To explore and implement alternative communication and engagement channels to continue to effectively engage and communicate with members during C-19

Objectives

• To promote the work of the Trust and the Governors • To identify opportunities for two-way communication between members and Governors • Encourage Governors to speak to their local contacts regarding membership of the Trust and to recruit people in

their local networks

• Invite Governors to support Trust membership events when possible

• Enable Governors (via the MEC) to undertake periodic surveys to gauge members’ views

• To ensure that the views of the members are heard, understood and acted upon as appropriate • Provide information to members and take account of members views on how best to do so • To ensure that a wide range of communication media and methods are explored to aid effectiveness to ensure

that members are kept informed through communications and invitations to events and public talks • To promote nominations and elections effectively using resources available during Covid-19

Aim Action Owner Due date Target Promote work Trust and Governor E-Bulletin has been set up with a

dedicated page on internet to be sent out monthly from May.

ME Monthly Public

Features can be linked so Staff Matters for internal communications

MA Weekly Staff

Foundation Times ME On hold Public and Staff Working Together DG TBC Staff Encourage Governors to speak to their local contacts

2 x month Governors Monthly Public Staff

Member survey Governors TBC To ensure that a wide range of communication media and methods are explored to aid effectiveness to ensure that public members are kept informed through communications and invitations to events and public talks

Website Facebook Twitter Instagram e-Bulletin Engage CRM Connect CRM

ME Ongoing Public

Yammer Staff

Intranet Message sent out to members

and stakeholders via Engage and Connect CRM on C-19

ME Public

PHE messaging on Covid-19 for young people posted on social media

ME Public

School visits Information packs for pre-schools and schools with resources including a presentation, film (e.g. inside the ambulance), link to SCAS kids or SCAS youth, colouring in packs

ME JE

Public Staff

Scope a competition for under and over 13

ME JE

Public Staff

Scope virtual school visit ME Public Events Information packs developed

and sent out to events which have been cancelled

ME JE

Public

Scoping bespoke events e.g. Safer Gosport

ME Ongoing Public

Public talk Short films made by members of staff with an opportunity to ask questions posted on social media and sent out to members via Engage CRM

1. Your mental health matters – Terry Simpson responds to questions on how to support your mental health in lockdown.

2. SCAS’s response to C-19 and how the public can help – Mark Begley responds to questions.

ME monthly Public Staff

Elections Ask Governors to get in touch with 2 x contacts a month to promote elections. Use website and film

ME/MD Public Staff

Ask ALL Governors to make a film on why they became a Governor

ME Public Staff

Please note that the above items apply to staff and public Governors not standing for election.

Update pages on SCAS website ME Public Create microsite on intranet ME Staff Post film on elections ME Public Aspiring governor workshops TBC Public

Staff

Objective 3: Identify and mitigate risks and evaluate and highlight successes

Risks

Due to the ongoing pressure of Covid-19 we have a lack of staff capacity to support initiatives which needs to be taken into consideration but this does not mean that the provision of information or storytelling should be compromised.

Social distancing means that many of our usual engagement initiatives are on hold. We need to innovate our communication and engagement to ensure that we can find effective ways to reach out. We will analyse the outreach and impact of initiatives so that we can continue to review and improve them.

Accessibility might be limited to public and members’ availability and access to internet and devices. In addition, we need to ensure that digital innovations are as accessible as possible to any public or members with protected characteristics.

The ultimate measure of success will be determined by the level of engagement and membership data.

We would expect Governors to deliver the following actions to support membership engagement:

Item Frequency Stakeholder organisation contacted by a Governor 2 Case study of a good conversation with an identified stakeholder where one or more of SCAS’s key messages has been communicated

TBC

Stakeholder presentation given by Governor NA at this moment unless virtual Events attended NA at this moment unless virtual Short film 1 per Governor

The Membership and Engagement Committee will monitor success through the following outcomes:

• Total number of members will indicate retention of members to fulfil a representative and fully engaged membership base with increases seen in the identified areas

• Analysis of membership to ensure that it is representative • Analysis of the level of engagement of members and public in initiatives proposed and delivered • Total number of nominations • Election turnout

ENCLOSURE G

CoG Development Action Plan

Enclosure G



Title of Paper: CoG Development Action Plan

Presented by: Steve Garside, Company Secretary; Members of the CoG Development Working Group


Approval

Main Aim: To present the CoG Development Action Plan which takes forward the actions outlined in the final report of the CoG Development Programme.


The CoG Development Action Plan splits the recommendations into several areas of the CoG including performance, buddying, meetings, skills and development, and suggests actions for improving each area.


The CoG is asked to approve the action plan

Previous Forum: N/A


N/A




ENCLOSURE G

COG DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN

BACKGROUND

1 The CoG participated in an externally facilitated development programme which began in June 2018 and concluded in June 2019. Its aim was to increase the effectiveness of the CoG and align the culture more closely with that of the SCAS Board of Directors and the Trust more generally.

2 At the CoG meeting held on 3 October 2019, John Bonney from Alendi Consulting presented his final report and recommendations, and it was agreed to create a sub-group consisting of Governors and NEDs to take forward the recommendations.

COG DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP

3 The CoG Development Working Group is comprised of: • Lena Samuels, Chair• Bob Duggan, Lead Governor• Loretta Light, Public Governor• Chas McGill, Public Governor• Emma Crozier, Staff Governor• Councillor Barry Wood, Partner Governor• Les Broude, NED / Senior Independent Director• Anne Stebbing, NED• With support from Steve Garside, Company Secretary and Louisa Humphrey, Senior

Administrator

4 The group reviewed the recommendations at a meeting held on 16 January 2020 and the CoG Development Action Plan (appendix 1) was created and approved by all members. It was due to be presented at the CoG meeting on 8 April 2020, however this was deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 This delay has impacted the proposed timescales for some of the recommendations, and these deadlines have been reviewed and revised to ensure they are both realistic and achievable.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION TO THE COG

6 The CoG is asked to approve the proposed CoG development action plan and the suggested timescales.

Louisa Humphrey Senior Administrator 15 July 2020

Council of Governors Development Working Group – Action Plan APPENDIX 1

Page 1 of 4

PLAN SUMMARY

This first section takes the recommendations from John Bonney’s report and suggests the actions we will take to move forwards. The second table (pages 3 and 4), expand on each action in more detail and include the lead responsible for the action and proposed timescale for completion.

Recommendation Suggested Actions

1 Performance Review Recommendations:

• Use the charter of behaviours as the basis of a collective 360 performance review process to review the adoption and embeddedness with the CoG

• Establish a personal performance process that uses the charter along with other performance measures to assess individual conduct and contribution

• Create a CoG annual development plan and a written process for future reviews and appraisals (embedded in the plan)

• Collective commitment to continuing the cycle of reflection, action and learning

Annual survey End of meeting reviews Annual development plan Governors handbook Part of yearly reflection / review

2 Buddying Recommendations:

• Consistent and structured buddying arrangements: using them as a means of information exchange, enquiry and alignment of priorities for all governors and NEDs

• “WhatsApp” as platform for information exchange between NED’s and Governors • Share pen portraits of NEDs and Governors • Sharing best practise buddying arrangements - who does what?

Creation of ‘A Guide to Buddying’ Governors portal • NED/Governor buddy walkarounds • Encourage more informal NED /

governor buddy conversations at CoG / Board meetings

3 Meetings and Papers Recommendations:

• Continued work to develop papers which: o summarises key points o focuses on material issues and ‘solutions focused issues’ rather than problem

identification o avoids “code” o clarifies actions required from CoG

End of meeting reviews Annual survey • Also supported by:

• Briefing sessions • Forward meeting planner • Governors portal


Page 2 of 4

• Focus meeting with key themes and hot topics, avoid over stuffing agenda - plan coverage over 12 months

• Discipline in keeping contributions concise and relevant whilst avoiding overemphasis on operational matters

• Avoid dismissive parent approach from board • To see more adult dialogue around poor performance/sensitive issues • Consider: providing a clearer explanation of what is required from specific papers

4 Skills, Training and Development Recommendations:

• Collective agreement with Governors on what are key issues they would like/need training on - maybe guide them with a key topics list which also informs future CoG agendas

• Annual refresh and more reference to governor’s skills matrix

Annual survey Briefing sessions Updated matrix on Governors portal

5 Other CoGs Recommendations:

• Exposure to high performers - send out selected working groups • Examine best practise in other CoGs

.

New agenda item focusing on a news

related topic or topic of interest • Visit other high performing CoGs

6 Support Recommendations:

• Supporting governors with engagement, with a wider purview to include recruitment process for Governors, strategic communications of whole of SCAS, training, use existing communications platforms.

• Consider a NED/CoG joint group • Ensure annual NED/CoG event to identify key emerging strategic issues – to assist in CoG

programming of agendas and agreed areas of priority • Off-line or pre-CoG presentations

Engagement workshops Governors handbook Key on-going role for MEC Pre-strategy workshop briefing

session Briefing sessions (available on the

portal)

Primary action • Secondary action / recommendation


Page 3 of 4

DETAILED PLAN - TIMESCALES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Action Timescale Lead

NEDs & Buddying • Creation of ‘A Guide to Buddying’

• best practice for buddying • NED / Governor buddy walkarounds – 1 per year (for information awareness rather than

compliance)

September 2020 SG / LH

New Governors Portal This will be via SharePoint rather than the current website / platform and will include:

• Engagement • governor’s toolkit • event planner

• Meetings – future dates and current/past papers • Briefing sessions – past presentations and planned sessions / topics • Sources of further information / additional reading • Buddying information

• NED rota for CoG meetings • NED / Governor profiles • Governor skills matrix

September 2020 LH

CoG Meetings • New agenda item to discuss news related topic / topic of interest and associated learnings • End of meeting reviews:

• quality and depth of information covered in the papers • were behaviours throughout the meeting in-line with the Charter of Behaviours? • future items for the meeting forward planner or suggestions for briefing sessions

• Feedback forms / survey from briefing sessions and CoG / Board workshops

From October 2020 LS / SG / LH


Page 4 of 4

Annual Survey (sent to Governors, NEDs and Executive Directors) To seek feedback on:

• Individual performance review (self-reflection) • Quality and clarity of meetings and papers • Briefing sessions and workshops • Buddying • Current skills • Additional training requirements

Annual survey in January (to help shape the new financial year)

SG / LH

Governor Handbook A new Governors handbook will be created which includes:

• Best practice • Process for raising concerns and support for individuals • Engagement expectations • Advice from existing governors

January 2021 SG / LH

Continued Support • Pre-strategy workshop briefing session • On-going role for the MEC in providing support with engagement

January 2021

On-going

LS / SG / LH

ME

Annual Development Plan • Will be influenced by the feedback from the annual survey

April 2021 SG / LH

Misc • Visit other high-performing CoGs – what learnings can be taken from other CoGs good

governance (or from poor practice)

On-going

Lead: LS = Lena Samuels SG = Steve Garside LH = Louisa Humphrey ME = Margaret Eaglestone

ENCLOSURE H

Company Secretary’s Report

Enclosure H



Title of Paper: Company Secretary’s Report

Presented by: Steve Garside, Company Secretary


Information

Main Aim: To update the Governors on a range of matters


The report: - provides an update on the 2020 public and staff Governor

elections being held in the autumn

- provides an update on the Lead Governor and Deputy Lead Governor positions and Committees

- provides an update on the appointed partner Governor for the Air

Ambulance

- highlights communications since the last meeting in public Recommendations or

Outcome Required : To note and consider the report

Previous Forum: June 2020


Yes


Steve Garside, Company Secretary, 01869 365032

of 5


ENCLOSURE H

COMPANY SECRETARY’S REPORT

PURPOSE

1 The purpose of the report is to:

• provide a summary in terms of the position with CoG meetings since the outbreak ofCOVID-19

• provide an update on the Public and Staff Governor elections scheduled for Autumn2020

• highlight the vacancies that are likely to exist in early 2021 in respect of the LeadGovernor and Deputy Lead Governor positions, and membership of the Nominationsand Membership and Engagement Committees

• present an update on the Appointed Partner (Air Ambulance Charity) Governor position• make a recommendation regarding an interim arrangement for Governor briefings• highlight communications since the last meeting.

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETINGS SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF COVID-19

2 Since the last formal CoG meeting in public on 13 January, and following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Trust has been applying the guidance issued by NHS England on 28 March in relation to meetings. For CoG meetings this has required that “face-to-face meetings should be stopped at the current time but Trusts should ensure that governors are (i) informed of the reasons for stopping meetings and (ii) included in regular communications on response to COVID-19 e.g. via webinars/emails”.

3 The Trust took a more proactive stance than this and has convened virtual meetings in private with Governors on 8 April and 10 June, as well as also providing weekly electronic briefings to keep the CoG up-to-date on COVID-19 and more general Trust issues.

4 The latest guidance from NHS England, issued on 6 July, is that “face-to-face meetings should continue to be avoided, and meetings should be held virtually where possible. However, NHS organisations should consider which meetings or governance events paused in the 28 March letter can now effectively be held virtually. These should include Councils of Governors, Members’ Meetings, and membership engagement”. We consider that, for the foreseeable future, we can hold CoG meetings virtually and, with effect from today’s meeting, seek to offer the opportunity for any interested members of the public to also participate.

5 For the public record, below is a summary of the two meetings held in private since the last formal meeting in January:

Meeting Present Discussion topics Decisions made

8 April 19/26 • COVID-19• Update on NED recruitment

None

10 June 19/26 • Recommendation re NED Ian Green appointed as new

of 5

recruitment • COVID-19 • Governor elections • Black Lives Matter

SCAS NED from 1 July

PUBLIC AND STAFF GOVERNOR ELECTIONS 2020 - UPDATE

6 Following discussions at the June CoG meeting, work is underway on the campaign to

raise awareness for this year’s Public and Staff Governor elections. The campaign includes good use of social media and is also focusing on promoting diversity (e.g. reaching out to younger people and ethnic minority groups). We will be holding virtual aspiring Governor workshops for those interested in the roles, and all candidates will have an opportunity to produce a short video to support their written statements.

7 It has been timely to undertake a review of the Staff Governor constituencies to ensure that

we have the best possible arrangements in place for representation, notwithstanding that this is constrained by the size of the CoG (ensuring that it does not become unwieldy) and the need to retain a clear majority of Public Governors.

8 Having discussed with colleagues, my suggestion is that we make some refinements, which

would see the number of Staff Governor positions increase from five to six, as follows:

Current Staff Governor constituencies 1 x 999 Operations – North 1 x 999 Operations – South 1 x Contact centres including NHS111 and EOC 1 x Patient Transport Services and logistics field staff 1 x Corporate/support/other

Proposed New Staff Governor constituencies 1 x 999 Operations – North 1 x 999 Operations – South 1 x 999 Emergency Operations Centre 1 x NHS111 1 x Patient Transport Services and logistics (contact centre and field staff) 1 x Corporate/support/other

9 The key proposed change relates to the current ‘Contact centres including NHS111 and

EOC’ position which covers NHS111 staff, 999 call taking/dispatch in the Emergency Operations Centre, and PTS call handling. It therefore means that one Governor has been representing three distinct service areas (i.e. at least two areas in which they will not currently be working). I am proposing that, moving forward, there is one Governor representative for all aspects of PTS (and logistics) and then separate positions for NHS111 and 999 call taking/dispatch. This has the support of relevant Senior Management and arguably will facilitate easier communication and engagement between Governor and staff members.

10 I am seeking the agreement of the Governors to these changes, which will represent an

amendment to the Trust’s Constitution.

11 Finally, and as a reminder, we are working to the following timescales for delivering the Autumn 2020 Public and Staff Governor Elections:

Promotion of elections – written/virtual 1 June – 21 September Nominations period 21 September – 11 October Candidate withdrawal period 12 October – 16 October Ballots (if required) 2 November – 23 November Results announced 24 November

of 5

Induction period (if required) 1 December – 28 February LEAD GOVERNOR AND DEPUTY LEAD GOVERNOR POSITIONS, AND COMMITTEES

12 There will be some implications of the aforementioned elections on the Lead Governor and

Deputy Lead Governor positions, and also the membership of the Nominations and Membership and Engagement Committees. For example:

• Bob Duggan (current Lead Governor) will be concluding his time as a SCAS Governor

on 28 February 2021, and a new Lead Governor appointment will be made

• the current Deputy Lead Governor appointment ends on 31 March 2021

• we will have vacancies on both the Nominations Committee (at least three out of the four Governor positions) and Membership and Engagement Committee (subject to the outcomes of the elections)

13 We will therefore bring some detail on the arrangements and process for filling the various

positions to the CoG meeting in October. In the meantime, any Governor with an interest in the various roles can contact me for further information.

APPOINTED PARTNER GOVERNOR – AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY POSITION

14 The Appointed Partner Governor Air Ambulance Charity position is rotated between

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance and Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance on a three-year appointment basis. The next appointment commences on 1 October 2020 and Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance has indicated that they would like to take up the appointment (either the Chair or a Trustee).

15 I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent contribution made by

David Drew over the last three years as this will be his final formal CoG meeting before his term of office ends on 30 September.

GOVERNOR BRIEFING SESSSIONS

16 As Governors will be aware, briefing sessions on particular topics were, up until the

scheduled April meeting, being held directly prior to formal CoG meetings. The planned session on the Serious Incidents Requiring Investigation (SIRI) process was postponed on 8 April due to COVID-19 and I would like to propose that we hold a virtual session over Microsoft Teams for interested Governors by way of an alternative/interim arrangement. I will look for feedback at the CoG meeting.

COMMUNICATIONS SINCE THE LAST MEETING IN PUBLIC ON 13 JANUARY 2020

17 Since the papers were issued for the last forma meeting in public on 13 January the

Company Secretariat has communicated with the CoG on a range of issues, including the following:

Non-COVID-19 Related Communication Until 15/05/2020

Circulated frequent updates relating to the CoG/Trust Board challenge

15/01/2020 Circulated the National Freedom to Speak Up Report for 2018/2019 31/01/2020 Circulated the link to the national review of PTS 03/02/2020 Circulated details of the CQC PTS and well-led inspections planned for

February and March 06/02/2020 Circulated a document titled ‘What SCAS Does Well’ which provided an

update on some of the work, innovations and projects going on within the Trust 07/02/2020 Circulated a letter on behalf of Debbie Marrs regarding the SCAS Quality

of 5

Accounts and priorities for 2020/21 07/02/2020 Circulated some initial feedback from the CQC inspection of PTS 24/02/2020 Circulated the results of the 2019/2020 staff survey 25/02/2020 Circulated the surveys for the 2019/2020 Chair and NED appraisals (with

reminder emails sent on 3, 9 and 12 March) 26/02/2020 Circulated the CoG section of the 2019/2020 Annual Report 28/02/2020 Circulated the IPR for January 2020 (month 10) 06/03/2020 Confirmed that the CQC well-led inspection had been postponed due to

COVID-19 12/03/2020 Circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled ‘March 2020 Budget’ 20/03/2020 Circulated the ‘Governor News’ newsletter by NHS Providers 31/03/2020 Advised that the new website for the SCAS Charity was live 14/04/2020 Circulated dates for Board Committee meetings being held in April 15/04/2020 Circulated the Board Committee meeting dates for 2020 (confirmation of those

observing a meeting was circulated on 19 May 2020) 01/05/2020 Circulated the IPR for March 2020 (month 12) 08/06/2020 As part of National Volunteer Week, circulated a message of thanks to our

SCAS volunteers 15/06/2020 Circulated the CQC report from the SCAS PTS inspection 19/06/2020 As part of the weekly briefing, circulated the external auditors audit opinion 22/06/2020 Circulated the dates for virtual Governor workshops being run by NHS

Providers 25/06/2020 Circulated a copy of a SCAS statement to staff written by the Chair, Chief

Executive and Lead Governor regarding Black Lives Matter. 26/06/2020 Circulated the IPR for May 2020 (month 2) 01/07/2020 Circulated a SCAS Hot News regarding 111 First in Portsmouth and South

East Hampshire 03/07/2020 Circulated a SCAS Hot News announcing Ian Green as a new NED 10/07/2020 Circulated a link to an article written by Portsmouth News regarding 111 First

and Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth Communication relating to meetings of the Council of Governors or Trust Board 31/01/2020 Circulated the agenda for the CoG/Board workshop held on 6 February 07/02/2020 Circulated a survey to obtain feedback from the CoG/Board workshop held on

6 February 12/02/2020 Circulated the minutes from the CoG meeting held on 13 January 13/02/2020 Circulated the notes from the CoG/Board workshop held on 6 February 21/02/2020 Circulated the minutes from the Board meeting in public held on 30 January 28/02/2020 Circulated 16/03/2020 Communicated revised details for March’s Board meeting in public 16/03/2020 Circulated the agenda for the CoG meeting held on 8 April 20/03/2020 Circulated the papers for March’s Board meeting in public 20/03/2020 Circulated a revised agenda for April’s CoG meeting (due to COVID-19) 30/03/2020 Circulated the minutes from the Board meeting in public held on 26 March 08/04/2020 Circulated a guide for using Microsoft Teams 22/04/2020 Circulated the minutes from the CoG meeting held in private on 8 April 29/04/2020 Circulated a copy of the NED activities presentation by Nigel Chapman 04/05/2020 Communicated the details for May’s Board meeting in public 15/05/2020 Circulated the Board papers for May’s Board meeting in public 19/05/2020 Circulated the agenda for the June CoG/Board workshop highlighting that due

to COVID-19 this would be a meeting in private rather than a workshop 28/05/2020 Circulated the minutes from the Board meeting in public held on 21 May 03/06/2020 Circulated the papers for the CoG meeting in private held on 10 June 24/06/2020 Circulated the draft minutes from the CoG meeting held in private on 10 June

asking for any comments on accuracy 29/06/2020 Circulated the agenda for the CoG meeting held on 23 July 10/07/2020 Circulated the papers for July’s Board meeting in public 13/07/2020 Circulated the confirmed minutes from the CoG meeting held in private on 10

of 5

June COVID-19 Specific Communication Weekly Weekly briefing issued to all SCAS Governors 10/02/2020 Circulated details about a quarantine centre in Milton Keynes being used to

support the return of British citizens from Wuhan in China 08/02/2020 Circulated a SCAS Hot News detailing the CFR process with regards to

COVID-19 17/02/2020 Circulated advice about COVID-19 written by Professor Helen Young which

was circulated to all SCAS staff 09/03/2020 Circulated a message from the Chair 18/03/2020 Circulated a letter detailing the NHS’ latest arrangements for responding to

COVID-19 20/03/2020 As part of the weekly update, circulated the NHS Confederation member

briefing titled ‘The Coronavirus Bill’ 20/03/2020 Advised that BBC Breakfast has conducted an interview with Mark Ainsworth,

Director of Operations 27/03/2020 Confirmed contact details for Steve Garside and Louisa Humphrey during the

COVID-19 pandemic 15/04/2020 Circulated an NHS Providers briefing titled ‘Confronting Coronavirus in the

NHS’ 21/04/2020 Advised that there had been media coverage of SCAS on BBC South Today

and circulated the link to the programme 29/04/2020 Circulated a letter from the NHS Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer

detailing the second phase of the NHS response to COVID-19 01/05/2020 As part of the weekly update, circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled

‘Testing Questions in Testing Times’ 15/05/2020 As part of the weekly update, circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled

‘Spotlight on non-Covid care’ 03/06/2020 Circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled ‘Impact of COVID-19 on people

from BAME groups’ 18/06/2020 Circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled ‘Beyond the Data: Understanding

the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups’ 30/06/2020 Circulated a briefing by NHS Providers titled ‘Recovery Position: What next for

the NHS?’ Steve Garside Company Secretary 13 July 2020

ENCLOSURE I

Annual Accounts and Annual Report 2019-20

Enclosure I



Title of Paper: Annual Accounts and Annual Report 2019/2020 including Auditors’ Reports

Presented by: Mike Hawker (Audit Committee Chair)


Receive and discuss

Main Aim: • To receive the 2019/20 Annual Report and Accounts, and associated auditors report, in accordance with the governors’ statutory duties


A link is provided to the 2019/20 Annual Report, which contains the Annual Accounts https://www.scas.nhs.uk/scas-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-20/


Receive

Previous Forum: Annually, every July


Yes



https://www.scas.nhs.uk/scas-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-20/

https://www.scas.nhs.uk/scas-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-20/

of 2


ENCLOSURE I

ANNUAL ACCOUNTS AND ANNUAL REPORT 2019/20 INCLUDING AUDITORS’ REPORTS

BACKGROUND

1 The statutory duties of the governors include to “receive the Foundation Trust’s annual accounts and annual report, and any report of the auditors on them” at a meeting of the Council of Governors (CoG).

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2018/19

2 Following the external audit process applied by Grant Thornton, and consideration by the Trust’s Audit Committee, the SCAS Board approved the 2019/20 Annual Report and Accounts at a Board meeting on 18 June 2020.

3 The Annual Report submitted to NHS Improvement includes the Annual Accounts. A version can be accessed through the following link (copy and paste into web browser):

https://www.scas.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/SCAS-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2019-20.pdf

REPORTS OF THE AUDITORS

4 The Annual Report also includes the ‘Independent auditor’s report to the Council of Governors of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation’ (page 130, or an appendix to this paper). This is a clean audit report which confirms that the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the financial position of the group and of the Trustas at 31 March 2020 and of the group’s expenditure and income and theTrust’s expenditure and income for the year then ended

• have been properly prepared in accordance with International FinancialReporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union, asinterpreted and adapted by the Department of Health and Social Care GroupAccounting Manual 2019 to 2020

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the NationalHealth Service Act 2006



of 2

RECOMMENDATIONS 5 The CoG is asked to:

• receive the 2019/20 Annual Report, containing the Annual Accounts, and note that further work is currently taking place in terms of the presentation of the report ahead of the Annual General Meeting

• note the report from Grant Thornton, External Auditors, which is addressed to the Council of Governors

Steve Garside Company Secretary 10 July 2019

Independent auditor’s report to the Council of Governors of South

Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements

Opinion

Our opinion on the financial statements is unmodified

We have audited the financial statements of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

(the ‘Trust’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2020 which comprise the

Trust and group Statements of Comprehensive Income, the Trust and group Statements of Financial

Position, the group Statement of Changes in Equity, the Trust Statement of Changes in Equity, the

Trust and group Statements of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a

summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in

their preparation is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as

adopted by the European Union, and as interpreted and adapted by the Accounts Directions issued

under the National Service Act 2006, the NHS foundation trust annual reporting manual 2019/20 and

the Department of Health and Social Care Group Accounting Manual 2019 to 2020.

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the financial position of the group and of the Trust as at 31 March 2020

and of the group’s expenditure and income and the Trust’s expenditure and income for the year

then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards

(IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union, as interpreted and adapted by the Department of

Health and Social Care Group Accounting Manual 2019 to 2020; and

• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Health Service Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and

applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s

responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the

group and the Trust in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the

financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other

ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we

have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

The impact of macro-economic uncertainties on our audit

Our audit of the financial statements requires us to obtain an understanding of all relevant uncertainties,

including those arising as a consequence of the effects of macro-economic uncertainties such as Covid-

19 and Brexit. All audits assess and challenge the reasonableness of estimates made by the Accounting

Officer and the related disclosures and the appropriateness of the going concern basis of preparation of

the financial statements. All of these depend on assessments of the future economic environment and

the Trust’s future operational arrangements.

Covid-19 and Brexit are amongst the most significant economic events currently faced by the UK, and at

the date of this report their effects are subject to unprecedented levels of uncertainty, with the full range

of possible outcomes and their impacts unknown. We applied a standardised firm-wide approach in

response to these uncertainties when assessing the Trust’s future operational arrangements. However,

no audit should be expected to predict the unknowable factors or all possible future implications for an

entity associated with these particular events.

APPENDIX

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require

us to report to you where:

• the Accounting Officer’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the

financial statements is not appropriate; or

• the Accounting Officer has not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material

uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the group’s or the Trust’s ability to continue to

adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date

when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

In our evaluation of the Accounting Officer’ conclusions, and in accordance with the expectation set out

within the Department of Health and Social Care Group Accounting Manual 2019 to 2020 that the

Trust’s financial statements shall be prepared on a going concern basis, we considered the risks

associated with the group and Trust’s operating activities, including effects arising from macro-economic

uncertainties such as Covid-19 and Brexit. We analysed how those risks might affect the Trust’s

financial resources or ability to continue operations over the period of at least twelve months from the

date when the financial statements are authorised for issue. In accordance with the above, we have

nothing to report in these respects.

However, as we cannot predict all future events or conditions and as subsequent events may result in

outcomes that are inconsistent with judgements that were reasonable at the time they were made, the

absence of reference to a material uncertainty in this auditor's report is not a guarantee that the Trust

will continue in operation.

Overview of our audit approach

Financial statements audit

• Overall materiality: £4,458,000, which represents 1.79% of the

group’s gross operating costs (consisting of operating expenses

and finance expenses);

• Key audit matters were identified as:

− Valuation of land and buildings

− Occurrence and accuracy of all income and associated

receivable balances, excluding block contracts for 999

services

− Covid-19

• The group consists of two components – the Trust and its wholly-

owned subsidiary company, South Central Fleet Services Ltd.

• Audit testing was performed on classes of transactions, account

balances, or disclosures relating to the subsidiary which were

material to the group position. There have been no changes in

the scope of the group audit from the prior year.

• 100% of group income, 99% of group expenditure and 95% of

group assets and liabilities were subject to testing during the

audit.

Conclusion on the Trust’s arrangements for securing economy,

efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources

• We identified one significant risk in respect of the Trust’s

arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness

in its use of resources (see Report on other legal and regulatory

requirements section).

Key audit matters

The graph below depicts the financial statement audit risks identified and their relative significance

based on the extent of the financial statement impact and the extent of management judgement.

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our

audit of the financial statements of the current year and include the most significant assessed risks of

material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) that we identified. These matters included those

that had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and

directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit

of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a

separate opinion on these matters.

Key Audit Matter – Trust and Group How the matter was addressed in the audit – Group

Risk 1 – Valuation of land and buildings

The Trust revalues its land and buildings on a five-yearly basis to ensure the carrying value in the Trust and group financial statements is not materially different from current value at the financial statements date.

In the intervening years, such as 2019/20, the Trust requests a desktop valuation from its valuation expert. This valuation represents a significant estimate by management in the financial statements.

The effects of the COVID-19 virus will affect the work carried out by the Trust’s valuer in a variety of ways. Inspecting properties could prove difficult and access to evidential data, such as values of comparable assets may be less freely available. RICS Regulated Members have therefore been considering whether a material uncertainty declaration is now appropriate in their reports. Its purpose is to ensure that any client relying upon the valuation report understands that it has been prepared under extraordinary circumstances.

Our audit work included, but was not restricted to:

• Evaluating management's processes and assumptions for the calculation of the estimate, the instructions issued to the valuation experts and the scope of their work

• Evaluating the competence, capabilities and objectivity of the valuation expert

• Writing to the valuer to confirm the basis on which the valuations were carried out

• Challenging the information and assumptions used by the valuer to assess completeness and consistency with our understanding

• Testing, on a sample basis, revaluations made during the year to ensure they were recorded accurately in the Trust's asset register

The group’s accounting policy on valuation of land and buildings is shown in note 1.8.2 to the

High

Potential financial

statement impact

High Low Extent of management judgement

Management override

Occurrence and accuracy of all income and associated receivable balances, excluding block contracts for 999 services

Valuation of land and buildings

Covid-19


In their 2019/20 valuation report the Trust’s valuer, Bomford Estates, included a material uncertainty and this was disclosed in note 1.24 to the financial statements.

We therefore identified valuation of land and buildings as a significant risk, which was one of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement.

financial statements and related disclosures are included in note 13.1.

Key observations

As, disclosed in note 1.24 to the financial statements, the outbreak of Covid-19 has caused uncertainties in markets. As a result, the Trust’s valuer has declared a ‘material valuation uncertainty’ in their valuation report which was carried out in February 2020 with a valuation date of 31 March 2020.

The Trust has disclosed the estimation uncertainty related to the year-end valuations of land and buildings in note 1.24 to the financial statements. As a result of this uncertainty, the Trust has not updated the financial statements to reflect the results of the desktop valuation exercise undertaken. The net valuation increase arising from the exercise was not material, therefore we are satisfied that this has not led to a material misstatement.

The Trust is planning to commission a further desktop valuation exercise in 2020/21 to keep the valuation of the property under frequent review.

The Trust’s valuer prepared their valuations in accordance with the RICS Valuation – Global Standards using the information that was available to them at the valuation date in deriving their estimates. We obtained sufficient audit assurance to conclude that:

• the basis of the valuation of land and

buildings was appropriate, and

• the assumptions and processes used by

management in determining the estimate of

valuation of property were reasonable;

• the valuation of land and buildings disclosed

in the financial statements is reasonable.

Risk 2 – Occurrence and accuracy of all income and associated receivable balances, excluding block contracts for 999 services

The group’s significant income streams are operating income from patient care activities and other operating income.

Approximately 96% of the Trust income is from patient care activities and contracts with NHS commissioners. These contracts include the rates for and level of patient care activity to be undertaken by the Trust.

The Trust recognises income from patient care activity based on the completion of these activities. This includes the block contract, which is agreed in advance at a fixed price, and contract variations.

Patient care activities provided that are additional to those incorporated in these contracts (contract variations) are subject to verification and agreement by commissioners. As such, there is a risk that income is recognised in the financial statements for these additional services that is not subsequently agreed to by the commissioners.


• Evaluating the Trust’s accounting policies for recognition of income for appropriateness and compliance with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) group accounting manual 2019-20;

• Updating our understanding of the group’s system for accounting for income, and evaluating the design of the associated controls;

In respect of patient care income:

• Using the DHSC mismatch report that details differences in reported income and expenditure and receivables and payables between NHS bodies, investigating unmatched income and receivable balances over £300,000, corroborating the unmatched balances to supporting information;


The Trust also receive other operating income which is not derived from block contract agreements and represents a material class of transactions in the statement of comprehensive income.

Due to the nature of block contracts for 999 calls we have not identified a significant risk of material misstatement in relation to these block contracts.

We therefore identified occurrence and accuracy of all income and associated receivable balances, excluding those related to block contracts for 999 calls as a significant risk, which was one of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement.

• Agreeing, on a sample basis, income from contract variations and year end receivables to signed contract variations, invoices or other supporting evidence such as correspondence from commissioners

• Evaluating the estimates and the judgments made by management with regard to corroborating evidence in order to arrive at the total income from sources other than block contracts for 999 services recorded in the financial statements.

In respect of other operating income:

• Agreeing, on a sample basis, income and year end receivables to invoices and cash receipts, or other supporting evidence

• Agreeing income from the Provider Sustainability Fund to notifications from NHS Improvement and cash receipts.

The group’s accounting policy on income recognition is shown in note 1.4 to the financial statements and related disclosures are included in notes 3 and 4.

Key observations

We obtained sufficient audit evidence to conclude that:

• the Trust’s accounting policies for income recognition are in accordance with the Department of Health and Social Care group accounting manual 2019-20 and have been properly applied; and

• non-block contract patient care income and other operating income and associated receivable balances are not materially misstated.

Risk 3 – Covid-19

The global outbreak of the Covid-19 virus pandemic has led to unprecedented uncertainty for all organisations, requiring urgent business continuity arrangements to be implemented. We expect current circumstances will have an impact on the production and audit of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2020, including and not limited to;

- Remote working arrangements and redeployment of staff to critical front line duties may impact on the quality and timing of the production of the financial statements, and the evidence we can obtain through physical observation

- Volatility of financial and property markets will increase the uncertainty of assumptions applied by management to asset valuation and receivable recovery estimates, and the reliability of evidence we can obtain to corroborate management estimates


• Documenting and understanding the implications that the Covid-19 pandemic has on the Trust’s ability to prepare the financial statements and updates to financial forecasts

• Liaison with other audit suppliers, regulators, and government departments to co-ordinate practical cross sector responses to issues as and when they arise

We have evaluated:

• the adequacy of the disclosures in the financial statements relating to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• whether sufficient audit evidence can be obtained in the absence of physical verification of assets through remote technology

• whether sufficient audit evidence can be obtained to corroborate significant management estimates such as asset


- Financial uncertainty will require management to reconsider financial forecasts supporting their going concern assessment and whether material uncertainties for a period of at least 12 months from the anticipated date of approval of the audited financial statements have arisen; and

- Disclosures within the financial statements will require significant revision to reflect the unprecedented situation and its impact on the preparation of the financial statements as at 31 March 2020 in accordance with IAS1, particularly in relation to material uncertainties.

We therefore identified the global outbreak of the Covid-19 virus as a significant risk, which was one of the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement.

valuations and recovery of receivable balances

• management’s assumptions that underpin the revised financial forecasts and the impact on management’s going concern assessment and

• we have reviewed the Trust’s Corporate Risk Register, for risks identified from COVID-19,

Key observations

We obtained sufficient audit assurance to conclude that:

• The Trust’s disclosures are in line with the DHSC guidance relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

• Financial forecasts and the cashflow analysis of the Trust supports the ability for the Trust to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis and

• The inclusion of a material uncertainty disclosure regarding the valuation of the Trust’s property, plant and equipment has been emphasised in a Key Audit Matter as detailed in risk 1 above.

Our application of materiality

We define materiality as the magnitude of misstatement in the financial statements that makes it

probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable person would be changed or

influenced. We use materiality in determining the nature, timing and extent of our audit work and in

evaluating the results of that work.

Materiality was determined as follows:

Materiality Measure Group Trust

Financial statements as a whole

£4,458,000 which is 1.79% of the group’s gross operating costs. This benchmark is considered the most appropriate because we consider users of the financial statements to be most interested in how the group has expended its revenue and other funding.

Materiality for the current year is at the same percentage level of gross operating costs as we determined for the year ended 31 March 2019 as we did not identify any significant changes in the group or the environment in which it operates.

£4,400,000 which is 1.77% of the Trust’s gross operating costs. This benchmark is considered the most appropriate because we consider users of the financial statements to be most interested in how the Trust has expended its revenue and other funding.

Materiality for the current year is at the same percentage level of gross operating costs as we determined for the year ended 31 March 2019 as we did not identify any significant changes in the Trust or the environment in which it operates.

Performance materiality used to drive the extent of our testing

75% of financial statement materiality 75% of financial statement materiality

Communication of misstatements to the Audit Committee

£220,000 and misstatements below that threshold that, in our view, warrant reporting on qualitative grounds.

£220,000 and misstatements below that threshold that, in our view, warrant reporting on qualitative grounds.

The graph below illustrates how performance materiality interacts with our overall materiality and the

tolerance for potential uncorrected misstatements.

Overall materiality – Group Overall materiality – Trust

An overview of the scope of our audit

Our audit approach was a risk-based approach founded on a thorough understanding of the group’s

business, its environment and risk profile and in particular included:

• Evaluation by the group audit team of identified components to assess the significance of that

component and to determine the planned audit response based on a measure of materiality. For

example, significance as a percentage of the group’s gross costs based on qualitative factors, such

as specific use or concerns over specific components;

• The group audit was undertaken entirely at the premises of the Trust for the planning and interim

phases and remotely for the final audit phase. Audit testing was performed on classes of

transactions, account balances, or disclosures relating to the subsidiary which were material to the

group position to the group financial statements

• We completed a full scope statutory audit of the Trust, including completing audit procedures on

100% of total revenues, 99% of operating costs and 95% of assets and liabilities’;

• The audit fieldwork was conducted in three phases. A planning visit was undertaken during

November 2019 which included an evaluation of the group’s internal controls environment including

its IT systems and controls; an interim audit visit was undertaken during February 2020 which

included testing of transactions recorded in the first nine months of the year; the final audit fieldwork

was undertaken remotely during May and June 2020 and comprised completion of testing of

transactions recorded in the final three months of the year and testing of year-end balances and

disclosures;

• There were no changes in the scope of the current year audit from the scope of the prior year.

Other information

The Accounting Officer is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the

information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report

thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the

extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion

thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information

and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial

statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we

identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine

whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the

other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material

misstatement of the other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

25%

75%

25%

75%

Tolerance for potential uncorrected mis-statements Performance materiality

In this context, we also have nothing to report in regard to our responsibility to specifically address the

following items in the other information and to report as uncorrected material misstatements of the other

information where we conclude that those items meet the following conditions:

• Fair, balanced and understandable set out on page 22 in accordance with provision C.1.1 of the

NHS Foundation Trust Code of Governance – the statement given by the directors that they

consider the Annual Report and financial statements taken as a whole is fair, balanced and

understandable and provides the information necessary for patients, regulators and other

stakeholders to assess the group and Trust’s performance, business model and strategy, is

materially inconsistent with our knowledge of the Trust obtained in the audit; or

• Audit committee reporting set out on page 70 in accordance with provision C.3.9 of the NHS

Foundation Trust Code of Governance – the section describing the work of the Audit Committee

does not appropriately address matters communicated by us to the Audit Committee is materially

inconsistent with our knowledge obtained in the audit.

Other information we are required to report on by exception under the Code of Audit Practice

Under the Code of Audit Practice published by the National Audit Office on behalf of the Comptroller

and Auditor General (the Code of Audit Practice) we are required to consider whether the Annual

Governance Statement does not meet the disclosure requirements set out in the NHS foundation trust

annual reporting manual 2019/20 or is misleading or inconsistent with the information of which we are

aware from our audit. We are not required to consider whether the Annual Governance Statement

addresses all risks and controls or that risks are satisfactorily addressed by internal controls.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Our opinion on other matters required by the Code of Audit Practice is unmodified

In our opinion:

• the parts of the Remuneration Report and the Staff Report to be audited have been properly

prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, as interpreted and

adapted by the NHS foundation trust annual reporting manual 2019/20 and the requirements of

the National Health Service Act 2006; and

• based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit of the financial statements and our

knowledge of the Trust gained through our work in relation to the Trust’s arrangements for

securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources, the other information

published together with the financial statements in the Annual Report for the financial year for

which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Under the Code of Audit Practice, we are required to report to you if:

• we issue a report in the public interest under Schedule 10 (3) of the National Health Service Act

2006 in the course of, or at the conclusion of the audit; or

• we refer a matter to the regulator under Schedule 10 (6) of the National Health Service Act 2006

because we have reason to believe that the Trust, or a director or officer of the Trust, is about to

make, or has made, a decision which involves or would involve the incurring of expenditure that was

unlawful, or is about to take, or has begun to take a course of action which, if followed to its

conclusion, would be unlawful and likely to cause a loss or deficiency.

We have nothing to report in respect of the above matters.

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer and Those Charged with Governance for the financial

statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of the Chief Executive’s responsibilities as the accounting

officer, the Chief Executive, as Accounting Officer, is responsible for the preparation of the financial

statements in the form and on the basis set out in the Accounts Directions included in the NHS

foundation trust annual reporting manual 2019/20, for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view,

and for such internal control as the Accounting Officer determines is necessary to enable the

preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or

error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Accounting Officer is responsible for assessing the group’s

and the Trust’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going

concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Accounting Officer has been

informed by the relevant national body of the intention to dissolve the Trust and the group without the

transfer of the Trust’s services to another public sector entity.

The Audit Committee is Those Charged with Governance. Those charged with governance are

responsible for overseeing the Trust’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole

are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that

includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an

audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the

aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on

the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the

Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms

part of our auditor’s report.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements – Conclusion on the

Trust’s arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and

effectiveness in its use of resources

Matter on which we are required to report by exception - Trust’s arrangements for securing

economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources

Under the Code of Audit Practice, we are required to report to you if, in our opinion, we have not been

able to satisfy ourselves that the Trust has made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency

and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ended 31 March 2020.

We have nothing to report in respect of the above matter.

Significant risks

Under the Code of Audit Practice, we are required to report on how our work addressed the significant

risks we identified in forming our conclusion on the adequacy of the Trust’s arrangements for securing

economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. Significant risks are those risks that in our

view had the potential to cause us to reach an inappropriate conclusion on the audited body’s

arrangements. The table below sets out the significant risks we have identified. These significant risks

were addressed in the context of our conclusion on the Trust’s arrangements as a whole and, in forming

our conclusion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these risks.

Significant risks How the matter was addressed in the audit

Risk 1 – Financial Outturn and Sustainability

Before the start of each financial year the Trust agrees to a control total set by NHS Improvement (NHSI) which determines the target financial performance for the financial year. Achievement of the control total also ensures the Trust receives additional Provider Sustainability Funding (PSF).

Following a number of years of relatively stable financial performance in challenging circumstances, for 2019/20 the Trust was required to meet a break-even budget prior to allocation of PSF monies to meet its control total for the year.

The Trust set ambitious Cost Improvement Programmes to help it to streamline its business and meet required savings targets to be able to service forecast demand over the medium term.


• review of the Trust’s 2019/20 financial outturn

and achievement of cost improvement

programmes;

• review of Audit Committee and Board papers;

• discussions with management around the

Trust’s financial outturn and forward financial

plans; and

• review of the Trust’s financial plans and

scenario planning for 2020/21, 2021/22 and

2022/21, taking into account the suspension

of the usual financial planning process for

NHS providers as a result of the Covid-19

pandemic.

Key findings

We obtained sufficient audit evidence to conclude that:

• the Trust had adequate arrangements in place during the year in respect of sustainable resource deployment to ensure financial sustainability.

Responsibilities of the Accounting Officer

The Accounting Officer is responsible for putting in place proper arrangements for securing economy,

efficiency and effectiveness in the use of the Trust’s resources.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the review of the Trust’s arrangements for securing economy,

efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources

We are required under paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 of the National Health Service Act 2006 to be

satisfied that the Trust has made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and

effectiveness in its use of resources and to report where we have not been able to satisfy ourselves that

it has done so. We are not required to consider, nor have we considered, whether all aspects of the

Trust’s arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources are

operating effectively.

We have undertaken our review in accordance with the Code of Audit Practice, having regard to the

guidance on the specified criterion issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General in April 2020, as to

whether in all significant respects, the Trust had proper arrangements to ensure it took properly

informed decisions and deployed resources to achieve planned and sustainable outcomes for taxpayers

and local people. The Comptroller and Auditor General determined this criterion as that necessary for us

to consider under the Code of Audit Practice in satisfying ourselves whether the Trust put in place

proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the

year ended 31 March 2020, and to report by exception where we are not satisfied.

We planned our work in accordance with the Code of Audit Practice. Based on our risk assessment, we

undertook such work as we considered necessary to be satisfied that the Trust has put in place proper

arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements - Certificate

We certify that we have completed the audit of the financial statements of South Central Ambulance

Service NHS Foundation Trust in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the

National Health Service Act 2006 and the Code of Audit Practice.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the Council of Governors of the Trust, as a body, in accordance with

Schedule 10 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we

might state to the Trust’s Council of Governors those matters we are required to state to them in an

auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or

assume responsibility to anyone other than the Trust and the Trust’s Council of Governors, as a body,

for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Paul Grady

Paul Grady

Key Audit Partner

for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP, Local Auditor

London

18 June 2020

ENCLOSURE J

NED Activities

Enclosure J




Title of Paper: Non-Executive Director Activities



For information

Main Aim: To help governors develop a greater understanding of the activities undertaken by the Non-Executive Directors, and the outcomes that result from this in terms of the NED “holding to account” role


Today’s presentation is written by Les Broude


Note

Previous Forum: January 2020 (standing agenda item)


N/A



Update on NED Activities

Les Broude, Non-Executive DirectorQ1 2020/2021

Council of Governors Meeting – 23 July 2020

Enclosure xx

Purpose of this item

• To highlight some of the activities undertaken by a particular NED in the last 2-3 months

• To explain the outcomes that have resulted from these NED activities, including assurance / added value

• To help develop governors’ understanding of the role of the NED

• To take questions from the governors

Background – Les Broude

• I was originally appointed by the CoG in February 2018• I am the Senior Independent Director• I sit on the Audit and Charitable Funds Committees• I hold the NED portfolio role in relation to whistleblowing /

Freedom to Speak Up process assurance, and Statutory and Mandatory training / education and professional training

• With regards to stakeholder engagement, I cover the geographical area of Buckinghamshire.

• I am the NED buddy for Governors Bob Duggan, Bernadette Devine and Ken Roberts.

Selection of Q1 activities undertaken by Les Broude

Board / Board Committee / CoG Meetings• Attended the CoG meeting on 8 April • Attended the Audit Committee meetings on 16 April, 13 May and 18 June• Attended the Board meetings in public and private on 21 May • Attended the CoG meeting on 10 June• Attended the Extraordinary Board meeting on 18 June• Attended the Board Seminar on 25 June, with a specific focus on strategy

and how the Trust can adjust its strategy in recognition of the impact of COVID-19 and identify opportunities which could potentially be taken now.

Selection of Q1 activities undertaken by Les Broude

Board / Board Committee / CoG Meetings cont’d.• Attended the Charitable Funds Committee meeting on 2 July • Attended the Board meetings in public and private on 16 July

Other activities / meetings• As part of my role as Senior Independent Director, carried out the 2019/2020 annual

appraisal of the Chair, following discussions with NEDs and feedback from Governors and Executive Directors

• Monthly catch-ups with Governor Buddies• Attended fortnightly NED briefing sessions with the Chief Executive • Introductory call with Ian Green

My view on the main current opportunities and challenges

for the TrustOpportunities

1. To learn from our experience in managing the impact of thecoronavirus and implementing the “4As” approach to maximise thebenefits to our patients

2. To take an influential role in the future direction of the Systems (ICSsand ICPs) in our area to strengthen access to care and workingcollaboratively with other organisations

3. To take a leading role in innovation and new developments (eg111First) where appropriate.

My view on the main current opportunities and challenges

for the Trust

Challenges (risks)

1. To manage the financial performance given changes in demand anddemographics and the changing NHS organisational structures

2. To ensure we have the resources required to deliver quality servicesacross all areas of SCAS

3. To manage a second spike of coronavirus as well as the risk of anypotential winter flu outbreak to ensure we deliver effective services toour population.

CoG MEETING FORWARD PLANNER

Author: Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator

July 2020 October 2020 January 2021 April 2021

Opening Business Chair’s introduction including apologies for absence and meeting priorities

Chair’s introduction including apologies for absence and meeting priorities



Declaration of interests Declaration of interests Declaration of interests Declaration of interests Approval of minutes Approval of minutes Approval of minutes Approval of minutes CoG Action Log CoG Action Log CoG Action Log CoG Action Log

Representing the interests of the members of the Trust as a whole and the interests of the public

Interim Foundation Trust Membership and Engagement Strategy

Member and public engagement feedback






Holding the NEDs to account for the performance of the Board

Chief Executive’s report – including performance

Chief Executive’s report – including performance and staff survey action plans

Chief Executive’s report – including performance

Chief Executive’s report – including performance and staff survey results

2019/2020 Chair and NED Appraisals

Decisions required from the Council of Governors

Annual Report & Accounts 2019/20 including audit reports and outcomes of audit of governor selected quality indicator

Quality accounts / priorities, and selection of governor local clinical quality indicator

Report from the Nominations Committee – including NED reappointments (Les Broude, Priya Singh and Anne Stebbing) and remuneration review

Report from the Nominations Committee

CoG development action plan (approval)

CoG development action plan (update)

CoG development action plan (update) External Auditor Procurement Process

CoG development action plan (update)

Other items for information/discussion by exception

Non-Executive Director activities Non-Executive Director activities Non-Executive Director activities Company Secretary’s report (including Governor elections)

Company Secretary’s report (including Lead Governor / Deputy Lead Governor Election Details)

Company Secretary’s report Company Secretary’s report

Lead Governor Election Process Lead Governor’s report Lead Governor’s report Lead Governor’s report

CoG MEETING FORWARD PLANNER

Author: Louisa Humphrey, Senior Administrator

Annual review of the Governors development programme

Governor Briefing Session SIRI (processes and learnings) – delayed due to COVID-19

Fleet (vehicle strategy and an overview of the work of South Central Fleet Services) - delayed due to COVID-19

TBC TBC

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING...2020/07/23 · COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING (open to Trust members,...

Documents

Transcript of COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING...2020/07/23 · COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS MEETING (open to Trust members,...