Tuesday 3rd December held at 63, Bayswater Rad, London.

→ To download a copy of these minutes click here

Present:
Professor Richard Parish – Chair Jan Sobieraj – Deputy Chair
Ivan Annibal – Director of Operations
Dr Debbie Freake
Dr John Wynn
Jones Professor
Mike Hannay
Dr Rashmi Shukla
Graham Biggs

Observers:
Michael Woods – NHS Confederation
Professor Mark Gussy – University of Lincoln

Apologies:
Professor Libby John
Tony McArdle

1. Welcome

Professor Parish welcomed attendees to the AGM of the National Centre for Rural Health and Care.

2. Annual Report

A discussion was held arising from the Annual Report which covered the following points:

The APPG underpinning the Parliamentary Inquiry has now been disbanded. It is hoped that post the election this will be re-­instituted and that the Inquiry will be resumed – potentially with its next meeting in February 2020.

A new CMO and Deputy CMO – Chris Whitty and Jenny Harries have now been appointed. Both are rural advocates. It was agreed that Rashmi and Professor Parish who have already briefed them on the Centre should discuss how to engage them further. It was also agreed that a follow up meeting to discuss overall connections and progress with Derek Ward (DPH for Lincolnshire should be set up.

Ivan Annibal identified that the emerging relationship with the Rural Coalition is helpful to keep in mind as an area of potential as the role of the Centre evolves

Graham Biggs identified that the membership income target is likely to be undershot but will make up ground next year if the current projections stay on profile. More widely it was acknowledged that there is both scope to grow the number of members and to build alliances in the other three UK countries.

Jan Sobieraj identified a discussion about our emerging “way of doing business” brand. It was agreed that the current reputation for fast moving excellence we have built up should be a core facet of our ongoing offer. Thinking about how we capture the essence of this approach from a brand point of view was agreed as a key theme to be explored going forward.

The Annual Report and associated A5 flier demonstrating the work of the National Centre in 2018/19 were considered and approved.

3. Draft Accounts

These were considered and agreed as a true statement of the financial position of the Centre. Ivan Annibal was delegated to have these accounts prepared for lodging at Companies House with the 2019 CIC return.

 4. Appointment of Accountant

It was proposed by Jan and agreed by the Board as a whole that Glenn Urquhart should be approved as Accountant for 2020/21 and that he be commended for his excellent work.

5. Resolutions Proposed by Members

There being no resolutions Professor Parish closed the AGM.

National Centre for Rural Health and Care Board Meeting

3 December 2019
Soroptomists Club,63 Bayswater RD, London

Present:
Professor Richard Parish – Chair
Jan Sobieraj – Deputy Chair
Ivan Annibal – Director of Operations
Dr Debbie Freake
Dr John Wynn Jones
Professor Mike Hannay
Dr Rashmi Shukla
Graham Biggs

Observers:
Michael Woods – NHS Confederation
Professor Mark Gussy – University of Lincoln

Apologies:
Professor Libby John
Tony McArdle

1. Minutes of the Board and Steering Group Meetings 21 June 2019

These minutes were agreed as a true record.

2. Audit and Risk Committee Meeting 8 October 2019

The minutes and risk register from this meeting were agreed and adopted by the Board.

3. General Progress Report Action Research

Progress with the three current projects was welcomed. It was noted that the Wye Valley initiative on GP accreditation was being linked via Andrew Dickenson from the Steering Group into HEE for an ongoing overview.

Ivan indicated that liaison with members had identified two key themes of significant interest: mental health and older people support in the context of technology. Debbie Freake has agreed to help support the work of the Mental Health group which will subsequently be established by the NCRHC Research Lead Kay Purle. Professor Parish also suggested that links to Poppy Jarman should be explored along with connections to Kayleigh Wainwright of UK Youth who presented at the joint RHCA/NCRHC meeting prior to the NCRHC AGM in the context of the unfolding agenda around this issue. Professor Hannay suggested that Alan Davies of the AHSN network (who lives in Nottinghamshire) should be invited to become involved with the older people and technology group.

Links to PHE – ideally through a dedicated meeting would be desirable and that Professor Parish would liaise with Rashmi Shukla about the scope to set this up – in the context of PHE work on the Every Mind Matters project.

4. Rural Proofing Toolkit

Graham Biggs declared an interest as a Board Director of Rural England.

Progress with this initiative was greeted with positive enthusiasm. It was identified that this could become an influential tool expressing part of the Unique Selling Point of the NCRHC. It was agreed that:

ADASS and ADPH would be good additional organisations to reach out to. There would be benefit in feeding an awareness of this into the emerging work around the ICS “Core Offer” and Jan Sobieraj would advise on how best to achieve this. Links to the Independent Reconfiguration Panel would also be

explored by Jan. Professor Parish will also look to feed the emerging information to Dido Harding in her key roles within the NHS.

5. Membership

The value of building UK wide alliances was further reinforced. Ivan Annibal confirmed that at the recent Royal College of GPs Rural Committee there was real interest in extending the IMD rural analysis to Wales and potentially Scotland. It was agreed that Ivan Annibal would explore this further with Professor Andy Jones at UEA who had led this research. Debbie Freake also requested a copy of the report prepared by Professor Jones.

6. Current Budget Position

It was agreed that the budget situation needed attention. £80,000 is required to run effectively for a year. This is the amount currently available for 2020. New sources of income need to be identified. A Working Group of Board members will be convened in January 2020 to progress further. This should include: Mike Hannay, Jan Sobieraj, Richard Parish, Debbie Freake, Libby John, Graham Biggs and Tony McArdle. A “Doodle Poll” to identify a time for a meeting will be circulated with the invitation extended to the full board.

7. Schedule of Future Meetings

The schedule of future meetings was agreed.

THE NEXT BOARD MEETING AND STEERING GROUP WILL BE HELD IN LINCOLN AT THE LORIC CENTRE FROM 11AM ON 5 FEBRUARY 2020

8. Any Other Business

Agreed that John Wynn Jones be authorized to initiate discussions about an MoU with the National Rural Health Association in the USA.

It was agreed that Sue Pritchard of the RSA should be approached to be a member of the Board.