Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday, 19^th November, 2014 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19^th November 2014 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Representatives from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust have been invited to attend the meeting to provide an update.

It was noted that all Members of Council had been invited to attend the meeting for Minutes 42 and 43.

The Chairman welcomed  Pearse Butler, Chair of UHMB, Aaron Cummins, Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive of UHMB and Dr Alex Gaw, GP and Chair of Lancashire North Clinical Commissioning Group to the meeting.

Members were given an update on the current position regarding the focus on improvements at Lancaster Royal Infirmary following the Care Quality Commission’s report earlier in the year resulting in the hospital being placed in special measures.

It was reported that one area that had been invested in was staffing – an extra £3 million had been allocated to nursing.  The Action Plan that was in place was resulting in better outcomes with more confidence in reporting issues. There were also improvements in harm reduction, patient experience and incident reporting had increased. It was crucial to sustain these improvements long term.

Resolved :-

That a further update be given in the new year.

Representatives from the Lancashire North Clinical Commissioning Group have been invited to attend the meeting to provide an update.

Dr Alex Gaw gave the Committee a brief update on the development plan that had been submitted for the ‘Better Care Together’ project. The plan had been received well by both NHS England and Monitor who would now assess the plan and ask any questions arising from it.

It was reported that there would be more stakeholder events taking place in January to raise awareness of the development plan.

Members were invited to ask questions on both presentations.

A number of questions were raised relating to mental health delivery, pharmacy provision, the whistle blowing policy, nursing numbers new technology, the Trust’s discharge policy, communication between the three Trust hospitals, preventative care, services being put out to tender, a strategy to reduce cases presented at A &E, dermatology services, sustainability, the ambulance service, a travel plan and car park proposals at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Resolved :-

(1)  That Pearse Butler, Aaaron Cummins, Dr Alex Gaw be thanked for their attendance at the meeting.

(2)  That a further update be given in the new year.

Members considered a report of the Chief Officer (Health and Housing) and the Director of Public Health, Lancashire County Council, regarding the Council’s response to the Marmot Review on health inequalities. The report requested Members to consider whether the Committee wished to undertake a joint piece of work with Lancashire County Council on reducing health inequalities with the district.

The Committee was reminded that it had requested that a Member Briefing be provided for Councillors by Dr Mike Grady on the outcomes of the Marmot Review. It had been suggested at the briefing that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could undertake a piece of work on the outcomes of the Marmot Review and how the City Council could influence health inequalities within the district.

It was noted that the six key policy objectives the review recommends action on were:-

•          Give every child the best start in life       

•          Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives

•          Create fair employment and good work for all

•          Ensure a healthy standard of living for all

•          Create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities

•          Strengthen the role and impact of ill-health prevention

It was proposed by Councillor Mace, seconded by Councillor Jackson and unanimously agreed :

“That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee does wish to undertake work on health inequalities and requests officers from the City Council and County Council to scope a piece of work making clear in the scoping document which initiatives affect the separate responsibilities of each of the two Councils in accordance with the diversity of this district.”

Resolved :-

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee does wish to undertake work on health inequalities and requests officers from the City Council and County Council to scope a piece of work making clear in the scoping document which initiatives affect the separate responsibilities of each of the two Councils in accordance with the diversity of this district.

It was noted that there had not been any requests for items to be considered in accordance with the Councillor Call for Action process.

It was noted that there had not been any requests for items to be considered in the accordance with the Consideration of Petitions process. 

It was reported that the Three Tier Forum had not met since the last meeting. 

Report of Chief Officer (Governance). 

The Democratic Support Officer presented a report detailing the Committee’s Work Programme.

Members were reminded that an informal meeting had been arranged with the County Council’s Public Health Team to discuss the Lancashire heath profile statistics on 27^th January 2015 at 2.00pm.

It was noted that, after the last meeting of the Committee in November to consider Community Safety issues, an update on the impact of the new Anti-Social Behaviour powers had been added to the Work Programme.

The Committee went on to discuss the January meeting of the Committee which was dedicated to Older People’s issues. It was agreed that the following issue be considered at the meeting :

·         Silverline

·         The work of the Home Improvement Agency

·         An Update on the Government Funding for Dementia Friends

·         Monitoring of Older People’s Homes – private and public

Resolved :-

That the actions set out above be agreed.