Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Transcription

1 Northern Health and Social Care Trust Minutes of the Sixty Second meeting of Trust Board held on Thursday 23 August 2012 at 10.30am at Lecture Theatre, Fern House, Antrim Present: Mr J Stewart, CBE Mr S Donaghy Dr C Ackah Dr P Flanagan Mr S Forsythe Ms P Montgomery Mr R McCann Mrs O MacLeod Mr M Rankin Professor D Whittington Mr C Worthington Chairman Chief Executive Non Executive Director Medical Director Non Executive Director Non Executive Director Non Executive Director Director of Nursing and User Experience Non Executive Director Non Executive Director Director of Children s Services/Executive Director Social Work In Attendance: Mrs J Melaugh Mr O Donnelly Mr M Sloan Mrs H Baird Miss M Crilly Mr R Hamill Mrs S Pullins Mrs M Mulholland Mrs M McDowell Director of Human Resources Director Mental Health and Disability Services Director of Planning, Performance Management and Support Services Head of Governance and Patient Safety Assistant Director Finance Acting Assistant Director of Primary and Community Care for Older People s Services Assistant Director Medical Head of Communications Executive Assistant Apologies: Mr J Moore Ms V Jackson Mr L O Neill Mrs U Cunning Non Executive Director Director Acute Services Director Finance Director Primary Care and Community Care Services for Older People The Chairman welcomed Mr Stephen McSherry, RCN, to his first meeting of Trust Board and noted that Mr McSherry had replaced Mr D Lowry as the Royal College of Nursing representative for the Northern Trust area. Mr Stewart also welcomed Mrs J McNeill, Area Manager of the Patient and Client Council, and one member of the public to the meeting. 1

2 TB87/12 Chairman s Business The Chairman firstly advised that he wished to suspend Standing Orders to allow a member of the Ferrard House Carers Association to address members regarding care provided at the home. Mrs Lagan spoke of the excellent services provided for her husband at the unit and paid tribute to the staff for their commitment and dedication shown to all residents. She referred to the recent flooding incident in June when all residents had to be evacuated to alternative accommodation and commended staff for their swift action. In noting the Trust Board would be considering options for the service following the flooding, she requested that particular consideration be given to the staffing impact and how staff would be treated. Both the Chairman and Mr Donnelly thanked Mrs Lagan for her kind comments about the service provided and advised that these would be taken into account when consideration was being given to the options for the unit later at the meeting. Mr Stewart advised that he had visited the unit on 20 August and had seen first hand the serious situation caused by the flooding, due to the low level location of the unit. Mr Donnelly spoke of the Trust s commitment to engage with staff from the home and advised that the Trust s Human Resources Management of Change Framework was being applied. Ms Lagan left the meeting at this stage and Standing Orders were reinstated. The Chairman advised that, in an effort to demonstrate the Trust s commitment to users of Trust services, he would be taking the opportunity at the start of future meetings to read a sample of letters received from patients/clients detailing their experiences. The first letter read by Mr Stewart had been received from a 91 year old patient expressing her appreciation for the care and treatment provided by the staff in a ward at Antrim Area Hospital. The Chairman then reported on his activities since the previous meeting on 22 June: 6 July: he chaired the interview panel for the post of Director of Primary Care and Community Care for Older Peoples Services and he was pleased to advise that Mrs Una Cunning had been successful; 9 July: he visited the minor injuries unit and refurbished wards at Mid Ulster Hospital; 2

3 19 July: with the Chef Executive, he attended a pre meeting with the Permanent Secretary, followed by the Trust s End of Year Accountability and Assurance meeting held between the Senior Management Team and officers from DHSSPS, HSCB and PHA; 23 July: he visited Spring Meadows Children s Home in Antrim and had been impressed by the atmosphere in the unit; 30 July: he chaired a meeting of the Trust s Remuneration Committee; 31 July: he visited Barn Court Children s Home and Barn Halt Supported Living in Carrickfergus and had been most impressed with both units; 3 August: he chaired the shortlisting panel for the Director of Children s Services/Executive Director Social Work, the interviews for which would take place on 30 August; 7 August: he presented certificates to Drivers at Holywell Hospital who had completed their Driver CPC training; 7 August: he visited Ward C3 at Antrim Area Hospital with Mrs MacLeod and had seen the excellent work being done on a range of quality and key performance indicators; 8 August: he visited all offices at Trust Headquarters and met with staff; 14 August: he toured the catering department at Antrim Area Hospital and had discussed proposed changes and other issues which had been raised; 20 August: he visited Ferrard House with Mrs Phil Hughes, <> and had seen first hand the serious damage caused by the recent flooding; 21 August: he visited Tardree wards at Holywell Hospital with Mrs MacLeod and reported on the issues which had been raised; 22 August: he met with the Chief Executive to discuss various issues; and 23 August: he met with Non Executive Directors earlier that morning. The Chairman was pleased to report that the Trust s Recruitment and Selection Team had won the HR Team of the year in the 2012 HPMA 3

4 Excellence in Human Resources Management Awards in London and he congratulated all staff involved for this magnificent achievement. Members noted that Mr Worthington would be leaving the Northern Trust at the end of August to take up his new post with the Belfast Trust. Mr Stewart thanked him for all his help, support and contribution during the three years with Northern Trust and wished him every success in his new post. Mr Worthington suitably replied. The Chairman also advised that Mrs H Baird would be retiring in September and thanked her for all her help and participation at Trust Board meetings. These comments were endorsed by Professor Whittington who paid tribute to Mrs Baird for her knowledge and expertise regarding governance matters. Mrs Baird was wished every happiness in her retirement. TB88/12 Chief Executive s Report The Chief Executive firstly congratulated Mrs Cunning on her recent appointment to the post of Director PCCOPS. He also acknowledged the contribution made by Mr Worthington and Mrs Baird in the Trust. Mr Donaghy updated members regarding a case which had been reported in the media during July. This had related to serious concerns regarding the diagnosis and clinical management of a patient at Causeway Hospital. Mr Donaghy advised of the action being taken by the Trust, including the establishment of an investigation team to review the circumstances and to identify lessons to help improve future practice. Members also noted the media coverage regarding the Holywell Holywell estate, raised by an MLA. Whilst acknowledging the age of the building, they heard of the significant investment and efforts being made to improve patient and non patient environments at the hospital. Mr Donaghy then took the opportunity to update members on progress regarding Transforming Your Care. He advised that, following submission of the Trust s Population Plan to the HSCB as agreed at the previous meeting, quality assurance work was being undertaken to review and refine the plan. It was anticipated that the Department would be leading on the consultation exercise at a regional/strategic level and this was expected to commence in the Autumn. The Trust would be undertaking the necessary consultation at local level and members would be kept informed of progress. Members also noted that the Chief Executive had received correspondence from Mr J Wells, MLA, following the publication of the Rutter and Hinds reports on Unscheduled Care. Mr Wells had been invited to meet with Mr Donaghy that afternoon to discuss the issues raised and to visit facilities on the hospital site. 4

5 TB89/12 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2012 were approved, following the proposal of Mr Rankin and seconded by Dr Ackah. TB90/12 Performance (a) Performance at 31 July 2012 Mr Sloan presented a report of the Trust s Performance against targets at 31 July He highlighted the areas presenting challenges for the Trust. Unscheduled Care Members noted that, at the end of July, performance on the 4 hour target was 67.8% at Antrim and 81.9% at Causeway. The number of 12 hour breaches reported was 66 at Antrim and 50 at Causeway. Mr Stewart said that it was disappointing to see such slow progress being made towards the 4 hour target, despite having a detailed action plan in place for improvements and this would require further discussion when the Improvement Plan was being considered later in the meeting. Elective Care Mr Sloan advised that the Trust was broadly on track to meet the back stop positions on elective access. However, from the number of breaches of the back stop targets, members noted that some of these were transfers to the Independent Sector. Mr Sloan indicated that the key area of concern continued to be general surgery where the Trust was well below SBA levels and actions were continuing to address the position. The significant increase in demand for cardiac investigations continued to contribute to the number of breaches of the 9 week target and Mr Sloan advised that this position was being closely addressed with the Commissioner. With regard to the 414 patients waiting more than 9 weeks for an appointment with an Allied Health Professional, it was noted that the majority of these breaches related to Occupational Therapy and these were being addressed through the recruitment of additional staff. 5

6 Community Services On noting a slight drop below target on delayed discharges, members recognised the importance of maintaining a strong focus on this area due to the impact this had on unscheduled care performance. Children and Families Members noted that the drop in the number of care leavers in education, training or employment to 65% was attributable to some of the courses being suspended during the summer. Whilst breaches of the 9 week target for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services were still being reported, members were pleased to note that this number had reduced to 27 at the current date due to early implementation of some of the measures identified in the external review and assistance from the voluntary sector. Mr Worthington highlighted the challenge to sustain this performance against the high demand for this service. Increased demand had also led to 32 breaches of the 13 week target for psychology therapies and it was noted that discussions were taking place with Health and Social Care Board colleagues on this matter. On highlighting the other areas within children s services which continued to present challenges, Mr Worthington drew members attention to the current difficulties in meeting demand for assessment for autism. He said that this issue was receiving high priority and he expected that additional resources would be required to address the increased demand. In response to Dr Ackah s query regarding the targets shown as grey in the performance report, Mr Sloan explained that the majority of these were new areas where regional definitions were required before an assessment against performance targets could be made. In reviewing the current performance, the Chairman referred to the many areas where there had been increase in demand for services and he acknowledged that these areas had been brought to the attention of the Commissioner. (b) Unscheduled Care Action Plan Mr Sloan referred to the Unscheduled Care Action Plan which had been circulated. He said that this plan updated members on the progress being made against the various key actions to improve performance in unscheduled care, including the recommendations 6

7 contained in the Rutter and Hinds reports. Members noted that meetings were being held on a weekly basis with Ms M Hinds and HSCB officers to review the progress being made and it was intended to bring update reports to Trust Board on a monthly basis. Mr Sloan drew members attention to the action areas where the highest impact was expected. These included the introduction of an Emergency Consultant admission vetting system for all admissions at least 12 hours per day, the scheduling of clinical ward rounds to facilitate twice daily senior decision making and appropriate discharge of patients, nurse led discharges and discharge from triage where deemed clinically appropriate. Mr Forsythe referred to the update at August on the admission vetting system and highlighted the significant difference in the performance figures between Antrim (67%) and Causeway (26%). Mr Sloan indicated that there were data quality issues which required to be resolved in future reports. The Chairman expressed his concern that, despite the significant efforts being made on the action plan, there was limited evidence to demonstrate that performance was improving. It was recognised that the improvement on performance against the 12 hour target was more noticeable, with the July report showing the lowest number of 12 hour breaches over the previous 12 months. Professor Whittington highlighted the importance of joint working with the primary and community sectors and enquired about the action taken to progress this issue. Members heard of the action contained in the plan to implement GP Out of Hours Collocation at Antrim Area Hospital and that it was planned to have this service operational in September Mrs Pullins updated members on the progress being made on the GP unscheduled access hub to implement rapid access to prevent attendance to Emergency Department and allow direct access to the Acute Admissions Units. She indicated that the implementation of the project plan was underway and the expected outcome was a reduction in GP referred patients to the Emergency Department. The Chief Executive indicated that that he also shared the Trust Board s frustration at the pace of progress. He said that, with all the strenuous efforts being made and the very meaningful engagement with primary care colleagues, he hoped that performance would have improved more significantly. He recognised that there was further work needed to progress improvement and expected that the appointment of three additional emergency consultants to commence shortly would have a major impact on the position. The new emergency department build to be completed in Spring 2013 would also have a significant effect on performance against the 4 and 12 hour targets. 7

8 Members noted the steady improvements being made in other Trusts and asked why this rate of improvement had not been reached in the Northern Trust. Mr Donaghy advised that, whilst it was difficult to make a true comparison across the region due to different factors such as local capacity and demand, the opportunity was being taken to learn from action being taken at other hospitals. This included learning visits to the Southern and Western Trusts, and ongoing dialogue and contact with all Trusts. All present recognised that the Trust s priority remained to meet the 4 hour target and eliminate the 12 hour breaches. Mr McCann asked for a clear staged reduction plan to achieve this position. It was agreed that this should form part of the Trust s action plan. On noting Ms Montgomery s comments regarding the lack of clear outcomes and targets on the action plan, Mr Sloan advised that the format of the report had been agreed with HSCB but consideration would be given to a new reporting template for Trust Board. Members also noted the actions to improve engagement with staff, including the engagement of medical staff in service improvement and improved communication and engagement with GPs. At Ms Montgomery s request, it was agreed to review the format for reporting on culture issues and report on a range of actions at a future meeting. In response to a query from Mr Rankin, the Chief Executive advised that, although the Rutter and Hinds reports had not made any reference to bullying or harassment taking place, he had taken the opportunity to write to staff on the various mechanisms in place to raise concerns in this regard. This included direct contact with the Chief Executive. Mr Donaghy advised that he had been contacted by nine members of staff to date and in each case other Trust processes had already been instigated. The Chairman concluded discussion on this item by noting the frustration of members at the pace of improvement and that the Board would return to the action plan at each meeting. TB91/12 Governance and Patient Safety a) Performance Dr Flanagan was pleased to highlight the strong performance on reducing the number of HCAIs, with the numbers of C Difficle and MRSA below the target identified. He indicated that, at the end of July, 17 cases of C Difficile and 4 cases of MRSA had been reported. Dr Flanagan reported that this positive position continued to date during August and that all efforts would continue for this to be maintained in future months. 8

9 b) Annual Infection, Prevention and Control Report Dr Flanagan presented a report which outlined a summary of the key infection prevention and control initiatives and activities of the Trust for the year April 2011 to March Whilst it was disappointing to note that the Trust had not met the PfA Targets in relation to MRSA and C Difficle despite the high focus given to this issue, Dr Flanagan highlighted the significant reductions in the incident of both infections which had been achieved during the year. Members noted some of the challenges reported, most notably the regional outbreak of Pseudomonas in neo natal units and the significant work which had been undertaken in relation to this outbreak, particularly with regard to water supplies. Members recognised the significant progress and commitment made by the members of the Infection and Control Team and that infection, prevention and control remained a high priority for the Trust during the current year. c) Board Assurance Framework Mrs Baird presented the Board Assurance Framework updated at July 2012 which had been considered in detail by the Governance Committee. She highlighted the areas where controls or assurances had been strengthened and actions updated since the previous version of the framework. These included: Objective 1: to provide safe and effective care An action plan was currently being compiled to ensure that the maintenance of community equipment was being provided consistently across the Trust. A stock take of the current implementation status of NICE guidelines was due for completion at the end of August 2012 With regard to HCAIs, phase 2 of the Electronic Dashboard was due to go live and the line champion s work programme was progressing well in relation to MRSA infections. An independent diagnostic review of the Trust s CAMHS services was underway and due for completion by September. 9

10 Objective 3: To use all our resources wisely An engagement Plan on Transforming Your Care had been implemented during June to ensure that there was engagement with stakeholders on corporate issues. A review of agency staff recruitment had been initiated and an action plan developed to address deficits with regard to the engagement of agency staff. Objective 4: to build a professional management culture A staff survey had been completed, staff engagement strategy and plan had been circulated and directors were currently considering the Engagement Plan within their Directorates. Objective 5: engage with services users, carers and other stakeholders to improve and develop services A delay in implementing the community development strategy had been caused due to reduced manpower in the department. Mrs Baird undertook to examine the risks associated with corporate objective 2 and a report would be made when the Framework was being considered again at the October Trust Board meeting. It was noted that this document was considered at the monthly performance meetings held with Health and Social Care Board. TB92/12 Finance (a) Report at 31 July 2012 Miss Crilly presented the Financial Report at 31 July 2012 which showed that, after four months, the current deficit was 1.682m. With the year end deficit projected at 301,000, based on the best estimate forecast, Miss Crilly indicated that this was an improvement over the previous month s reported position of some 945,000. Members noted that the resulting 301,000 deficit was directly related to the introduction of a new tax charge for Carbon Reduction Commitment. Miss Crilly outlined how the forecast outturn had been estimated, based on the underlying month 4 position and taking into account an assessment of all savings targets and plans. She highlighted that the Sensitivity Analysis shown was based on the risk that the Trust might not be able to secure the 3.5m deficit funding from HSCB, as detailed in the Trust Delivery Plan. Members noted that discussion was ongoing with the Commissioner regarding the capacity to support this deficit. 10

11 In referring to the key assumptions used in constructing the Best Estimate forecast, Miss Crilly highlighted the assumptions made that all savings targets would be achieved, including the savings proposals under Transforming Your Care. She indicated that the financial accountability meetings continued each month with each Directorate to discuss overall financial performance in detail. Mr Donaghy advised that the Trust s Delivery Plan had been approved by HSCB, subject to certain conditions, which included a detailed financial plan being presented on the achievement of 3.5m gap. A copy of Mr Compton s letter would be circulated to members. Whilst it was acknowledged that the current best estimate projected a deficit against the statutory break-even requirement, members were encouraged with the progress being made and noted that plans would continue for an end of year break even to be achieved. (b) Bank Mandate Approval was given in respect of a new bank mandate to be completed to the Bank of Ireland relating to the new financial system to be implemented in December (c) Write off of Loss Members approved an amount of 9,803 to be written off. This related to data cleansing of obsolete stock throughout the Trust which had reached expiry date or was no longer required. TB93/12 Ferrard House EMI Unit Mrs Phil Hughes and Mr James Harvey were welcomed to the meeting to discuss this item. Mr Donnelly referred to the paper which had been circulated, outlining the events of 27 June, when flood waters entered the interior of Ferrard House. He said that, given the seriousness of the breach and the risk to residents, the decision had been made to immediately evacuate all 28 residents to alternative accommodation. Members noted that the Trust had been actively considering the future of Ferrard House given its deficit in providing accommodation for dementia care and that it failed to meet contemporary registration standards. A degree of water ingress on several occasions had been experienced in recent years, however the most recent flooding had been the most extensive. It was being recommended that the building should remain closed for the foreseeable future, given the damage caused and the fact that no guarantee could be given that there would be no further flooding, putting residents at risk. 11

12 Mr Harvey reported on the engagement that had taken place with relatives of the 28 residents of the home on their future care. He said that at the current date only six permanent residents remained in Tardree at Holywell/Brooklands Care Home. Agreement had been reached with families of five of these residents on alternative care to a community placement, with agreement being awaited on the sixth resident on their future care. The impact on staff employed at the unit was noted and Mr Harvey advised that staff engagement was being actively progressed in accordance with the Trust s Human Resources Management of Change Framework. Members recognised the distress caused to residents and their families during this incident but acknowledged the serious and immediate implications for the safety and welfare of residents. Particular reference was made to the exceptional manner in which staff had reacted and the communication with families to ensure that appropriate alternative community placements were being secured. The Chairman referred to his recent visit to Ferrard House where he had seen first hand the damage caused to the building and he endorsed the action which had been taken to protect the safety of residents. He also commended the action taken by staff and asked that they be informed of Trust Board s recognition and appreciation of their efforts and dedication to the residents. Trust Board endorsed the decision to transfer remaining Ferrard residents to appropriate alternative community placements. They noted that this option had been screened to assess the impact on the equality categories under Section 75 of the Act and that future service provision would require ongoing consultation. TB94/12 Section 75 Annual Progress Report Mrs Irwin, Head of Equality, was in attendance to present the report on the work carried out by the Trust from April 2011 March 2012, to promote equality of opportunity and good relations, as required under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act and the Trust s Equality Scheme. Mrs Irwin was pleased to highlight that the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland had approved the Trust s new Equality Scheme in July 2011, commending the Trust for meeting a high standard of good practice. Members particularly noted that quarterly screening reports were now public documents and were accessible on the Trust s website. They noted an increase in the provision of interpreting support for service users whose first language was not English and for sign language interpreting support for clients who were deaf or hard of 12

13 hearing. In this connection Mrs Irwin advised that during 2011/2012, the Trust worked in partnership with the British Deaf Association towards a sign language Charter Mark and this included training Trust staff in deaf awareness and British Sign Language skills. Members also noted that no Section 75 complaints had been received during the previous year and that work had begun on remonitoring existing Trust staff. In conclusion, Mrs Irwin thanked Ms Montgomery, Non Executive Director, for her continued support as Chair of the Trust s Equality Group and said that her expertise and interest in equality continued to enhance the Trust s equality agenda. The report was considered to present a comprehensive and detailed account of the very significant work undertaken to promote equality and was approved for submission to the Equality Commission. TB95/12 Consultation Scheme Mrs Baird presented a revised Consultation Scheme which had been updated and this was approved for implementation, subject to one amendment on the reporting structure in the Governance Accountability Framework. It was noted that this scheme was underpinned by the Trust s Personal and Public Involvement Strategy. Whilst the Trust would aim to provide a consultation period of a minimum of 12 weeks, it was noted that there may be exceptional situations where the Trust would be required to act promptly to safeguard public health/safety. In these situations, each case would be considered on its own merits and legal advice would be taken, where appropriate. Mr Rankin referred to regional consultation carried out by the DHSSPS/HSCB and queried whether or not a regional consultation process would allow the Trust to then take forward proposals. It was noted that, whilst a regional consultation process would support the Trust in making recommendations for future services, it did not negate the Trust s legal responsibility to consult with those affected by changes to Trust services. In addition the Trust had an obligation under Personal and Public Involvement to ensure that service users and carers were involved in decision making processes. TB96/12 Proposal for Second MRI Scanner Mr David Wallace, Acting Assistant Director, Clinical and Diagnostic Services, was in attendance to present a Strategic Outline Case for the provision of a second MRI scanner in the Trust. 13

14 Mr Wallace advised of increasing demand for MRI scans of 20% per year since the commissioning of the existing scanner based at Antrim in He said that the demand would further increase significantly with the commencement of breast, general anaesthetic MRI scanning and GP direct access. Members noted the five options presented and approved this Strategic Outline Case to be submitted to HSCB. It was noted that, following receipt of approval, an Outline Business Case would be required. TB97/12 Waste Heat Recovery from Flue Gases Members considered an Outline Business Case for the recovery of waste through the installation of a flue gas condensing waste heat recovery system at Antrim Area Hospital. From the options presented, Mr Sloan advised that the preferred option had a capital cost of 467,000 and this funding had been approved and granted by the Health Estates Investments Group (HEIG) Carbon Initiative Reduction Scheme. In recognising the Trust s commitment to reducing and minimising its energy consumption and carbon footprint, members were pleased to approve this positive development. TB98/12 Palliative Care Services The Chairman welcomed Ms Jackie Elliott, Head of Intermediate, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care Services, to make a presentation on Palliative Care Service Development and Improvement in the Northern Trust. Ms Elliott advised that the Trust s services were developed and delivered in accordance with the DHSSPS Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy for Adults in Northern Ireland. Living Matters, Dying Matters and the Trust s Vision for Palliative Care which had been agreed in Members noted that the MacMillan Unit at Antrim Hospital had been operating since June 2011 and they heard of the various initiatives introduced during this time to demonstrate equality in the service. Ms Elliott advised that, from the 268 patients treated in the unit from June 2011 June 2012, 50% admissions had been directly from home, avoiding hospital admission, and 94% of the admissions had a primary diagnosis of cancer. She advised that the average length of stay within the unit was 13.6 days and the average occupancy rate was well above the target range of 85%. With regard to outcomes of care, members were pleased to note the high number of patients being discharged from the unit and they also 14

15 noted the challenges for the future, including the requirement to fund the staffing posts which had been covered by MacMillan on a temporary basis. Members recognised this very important area of care and thanked Ms Elliott for her informative and encouraging presentation. TB99/12 Code of Conduct and Accountability for Board Members Members acknowledged receipt of the letter dated 18 July 2012 from the Permanent Secretary advising that the Department had updated the Code of Conduct and Accountability for Board members to reflect the considerable changes made to Health and Social Care under the RPA reforms, as well as relevant best practice developments. The Chairman advised that he would be reviewing membership of Trust Board Committees, in light of the direction in the Code that Non Executives could not be members of both the Remuneration and Audit Committees. TB100/12 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 Mr Donnelly drew members attention to correspondence received from DHSSPS advising that the Custody and Detention provisions of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act would come into operation in Northern Ireland with effect from 3 September Mr Donnelly advised that this would be applicable to patients detained under mental health legislation and indicated that the Trust was prepared for this commencement. TB101/12 Supervision of Registered Nurses Mrs MacLeod advised that this annual report covering the period 2011/12 was required by the Chief Nursing Officer. She highlighted that this report recognised the need for robust supervision arrangements and it detailed the 22,434 occasions where the 2625 registered nurses employed in the Trust had engaged in supervision activities. Members noted the challenges during the year and the objectives for the year ahead, including the continued work to ensure full compliance with the standards set by the Chief Nursing Officer. TB102/12 Audit Committee Members noted the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 12 June which were presented by Mr McCann. At this meeting, the annual accounts 2011/12, draft Report to those Charged 15

16 with Governance and the Charitable Trust Fund Accounts 2011/12 had been considered. TB103/12 Contracts Awarded/Renewed Mr Sloan presented the report on the social care contracts awarded or renewed during the period 1 April 30 June It was agreed that a report on quality assurance and monitoring of third party contracts be considered at a future meeting. The Chairman declared an interest in relation to one of the contractors named in the report. He said that he was currently seeking to lease accommodation from Action for Mental Health for his personal business activities. TB104/12 Communications Members noted the updated report on media activity, public affairs and events planned. TB105/12 Property Matters Agreement was given to sign and seal renewal leases for 33 Knocklynn, Coleraine and Diamond Medical Centre, Magherafelt which were required for staff accommodation. Approval for the Trust seal to be used on contract documentation for the Ballymena Health and Care Centre scheme was also given. Mr Sloan requested that approval be given to two general business cases for small expenditure: Proposal to find accommodation for orthodontics and special dentistry on the Antrim Hospital site in a purpose modular building Capital cost: 918,861 Equipment: 415,072 Proposal to find a suitable location for pre assessment services on the Antrim site Capital cost: 376,000 Equipment: 30,000 Both business cases were approved by Trust Board. 16

17 TB107/12 Date of next meeting It was noted that the next meeting would be held on Thursday 27 September in the Lecture Theatre, Fern House, Antrim, commencing at 10.30am. TB108/12 Resolution for Reserved session There was resolution to go into reserved session to consider the minutes of the previous reserved session and remuneration matters. 17

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