Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the Meeting held on 18^th January, 2023 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18^th January 2023 were signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

To receive declarations by Councillors of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Councillors are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Councillors should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Councillors are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

There were no Declarations of Interest.

Representatives from the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board  have been invited to attend the meeting.

At the meeting of Council – 29^th September 2021 it was resolved through the Motion on Notice Primary Care Patients in Lancaster, that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee establish an annual meeting to discuss healthcare matters in the district, to which should be invited representatives of relevant NHS bodies, including the local Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Chair welcomed Peter Tinson and Hilary Fordham from NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Amy Williams and Dr. Gavin Torr of Lancaster Medical Practice to the meeting.

Hilary Fordham, Integrated Place Lead – North Lancashire, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Peter Tinson, Director of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board provided the committee with an overview of the changes to the health and care system brought about by the Health and Care Act 2022:

·        The eight Clinical Commissioning Groups in Lancashire and South Cumbria were disestablished in July 2022 and replaced by the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.

·        This new body takes on the NHS commissioning function previously held by the CCGs as well as additional functions previously the responsibility of NHS England such as Community Pharmacies, Dentistry and Eyecare.

·        A new statutory committee, the Integrated Care Partnership was also established to enable partners to develop joint strategies to address long term challenges which cannot be addressed by a single sector or organisation alone.

Presentation slides had been prepared in advance of the meeting which provided more detail on the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Partnership.

Dr Gavin Torr, GP Partner at Lancaster Medical Practice and Amy Williams, Managing Partner of Lancaster Medical Practice then addressed the Committee with updates on the improvements to the level of service provided by their organisation along with a presentation outlining in more detail the services provided by the Practice during 2022 and the start of 2023 including:

·        Patient Pathways by which patients are treated.

·        Activity including number of appointments and home visits delivered, medications issued, and documents processed.

·        Snapshots of the ratio of face to face and telephone appointments across all clinical staff.

·        Prescription processing times.

·        Call handling metrics and average telephone queue times from April 2022 to January 2023.

The committee posed questions to the representatives of both organisations and discussed issues relating to their presentations and the provision of healthcare in the district. This discussion covered several issues including the proposed relocation or refurbishment of Lancaster Royal Infirmary, difficulties faced by residents accessing Lancaster Medical Practice services, urgent care triage, continuity of out-of-hours care, access to face-to-face services for residents in deprived areas, the provision of Health Visitors under the new commissioning regime and the specifics of LMP’s call-handling statistics.

At the conclusion of this discussion, after thanking the guests for their attendance, the Chair called a 10-minute recess.

Resolved:

(1)   That thanks be extended to Hilary Fordham, Peter Tinson, Dr Gavin Torr and Amy Williams for their attendance and information provided.

(2)   That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

The meeting adjourned at 19:15 and reconvened at 19:25

Members are reminded that the Committee agreed to look at the 4 Corporate Plan priorities for 2030, with a meeting being arranged for each priority.  To add value by considering to what extent the Council has delivered on the outcomes.

Members were reminded that the Committee agreed to look at the 4 Corporate Plan priorities for 2030, with a meeting being arranged for each priority, to add value by considering to what extent the Council has delivered on the outcomes.

Prior to the meeting Councillor Sally Maddocks, the Council’s representative on the Lancashire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee, had circulated a report to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee concerning matters discussed at the latest meeting of this body. The Committee noted this report and extended their thanks to Councillor Maddocks.

The Chair welcomed the Director of Communities & The Environment, the Head of Public Realm, and the Head of Housing to the meeting along with the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Arts, Culture Leisure and Wellbeing, and the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Services.

Each Officer addressed the committee in turn with an overview of the functions provided by their service and their contribution to the Council Priority - Healthy and Happy Communities. The emphasis was on the preventative healthcare benefits of the services provided by the Council such as Housing, Public Protection, Salt Ayre Leisure Centre and the provision of open public and green spaces. The Committee was also updated on the work of Customer Services and the Community Connectors to assist residents with accessing external support such as the Household Support Fund.

Following questions to the invited Officers from the Committee, the Cabinet Members in attendance provided a brief update on matters relating to the Healthy and Happy Communities priority from within their Cabinet Portfolios.

Councillor Sandra Thornberry, Cabinet Member for Arts, Culture, Leisure and Wellbeing informed the Committee of the publication of the arts and heritage research audit carried out by Counterculture LLC and how this would be forming the basis of a draft strategy in conjunction with the Cultural Heritage Cabinet Advisory Group.

Councillor Jason Wood, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Services informed the Committee that the reports produced on Customer Services for the benefit of Cabinet and Group Leaders will now also be shared with Scrutiny Committee Chairs.

The Chair thanked the Officers and Cabinet Members for their contributions.

Resolved:

(1)   That the update on Lancashire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee matters be noted and thanks be extended to Councillor Maddocks.

(2)   That the Officers and Cabinet Members presentations be thanked for their attendance and that their presentations be noted.

Report of the Head of Democratic Services. 

The Committee considered and noted the latest updates to the Work Programme.

Resolved :-

(1)   That the Work Programme Update be noted.