January 2012 - Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals

SWBTB (1/12) 286 (a)
service reconfiguration. This Clinical Case for Change draws evidence from a range of
evidence based sources including the stroke strategy, NICE guidelines, WM Quality Review
Service, Right Care Right Here Strategic Model of Care, Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull
Cardiac and Stroke Network Service Specifications, National Intercollegiate Stroke Working
Party Clinical Guidelines and the West Midlands Acute Stroke Steering Group. This has been
enhanced by the use of local evidence including performance data from our Stroke
Dashboard. This evidence has also been used by the project to identify the future model of
acute stroke and TIA services.
The Project Steering Group has multi-disciplinary and multi-speciality representation including
from medicine, nursing, therapy services, imaging, dietetics and community rehabilitation.
There has also been significant engagement with the West Midlands Ambulance Service who
have been represented at the Project Steering Group and are providing ambulance data to
the project.
In addition and as described previously a number of Listening into Action style events have
been held to engage a wider group of clinical staff in identifying, clinical drivers for change,
the long list of options, evaluation criteria and short listing the options.
11. CONSULTATION
All of the short listed options for acute stroke and TIA reconfiguration involve consolidating
acute services on one hospital site. The Joint Health Scrutiny Committee have advised that
this is a significant service change and as such a formal public consultation is required. This
needs to take place over a 12 week period and in line with the project timetable it is proposed
that public consultation starts on 9th February 2012 and finishes on 25 th April 2012.
The Communication and Engagement Sub Group within the project management structure
have developed a consultation framework. This includes identifying and planning to utilise a
number of different methodologies involving a wide cohort of people across the local
economy in order to gain views from a range of diverse ethnic and cultural groups including
those identified in the EqIA screening. This has been shared with the Joint Health Scrutiny
Committee.
Sandwell PCT have commissioned an external consultancy to develop the consultation
document, support implementation of the consultation framework, receive and analyse the
responses to the consultation. A draft consultation document has been developed in liaison
with the project Steering Group and has included comments from the Joint Health Scrutiny
Committee. The final draft of the consultation document can be found in Appendix 3 .
In addition ongoing engagement work with the public and users (in line with the Health Act
2006, Section 242) and front line clinical staff will be essential for the development of more
detailed plans throughout the life of the project.
12. DECISION MAKING PROCESS
The purpose of this section is to set out and clarify the decision making process associated
with different phases of the project.
12.1 Consultation
The final decision to undertake a formal public consultation of the short listed options will be
taken by the Black Country PCT Cluster Board at its meeting on 31 st January 2012. This will
be based upon the case for change presented in this report.
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