Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Katrina Cope  Senior Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

60.

Apologies for Absence/Replacement Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P Gleeson (Boston Borough Council), T Boston (North Kesteven District Council) and Mrs R Kaberry-Brown (South Kesteven District Council).

 

An apology for absence was also received from Councillor Mrs S Woolley (Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison and Community Engagement).

61.

Declarations of Members' Interest

Minutes:

Councillor Mrs P F Watson advised she was currently a patient of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

62.

Minutes of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire meeting held on 14 November 2018 pdf icon PDF 185 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire meeting held on 14 November 2018 be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to the final sentence of the fifth bullet point on page 9 being amended to read "Confirmation was give that GP Access Hubs would be open for a minimum of twelve hours and that it was not known at this stage whether any Urgent Treatment Centres would be open 24 hours."

63.

Chairman's Announcement pdf icon PDF 246 KB

Minutes:

Further to the Chairman's announcements circulated with the agenda, the Chairman brought to the Committee's attention the Supplementary Chairman's announcements circulated at the meeting.

 

The Supplementary Chairman's announcements made reference to:

 

·         Dental Services in Mablethorpe;

·         United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) – Children and Young Persons Services – Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Report; and

·         Lincoln Medical School – Capital Funding.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Chairman's Announcements presented as part of the agenda on pages 17 to 20; and the supplementary announcements circulated at the meeting be noted.

64.

The NHS Long Term Plan - Impact on the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership pdf icon PDF 146 KB

(To receive a report from the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, which provides the Committee with a quarterly update on the overall progress of the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.  John Turner, Senior Officer responsible for the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, will be in attendance for this item)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting John Turner, Senior Responsible Officer, Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (LSTP) and Sarah Furley, Programme Director, Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.

 

In guiding the Committee through the report the Senior Responsible Officer (LSTP) made reference to the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP).  The Committee was advised that the Prime Minister had set out a funding settlement for the NHS in England for the next five years.  In return for this the NHS had been asked to set out a Long Term Plan for the future of the NHS service.  It was highlighted that work on the LTP was being co-ordinated nationally by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSI).  As part of the process NHS England and NHSI had been engaging with stakeholders and groups to develop policy proposals for inclusion in the plan.  The Committee was advised that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care had stated that his three priorities were Workforce, IMT, and Prevention; and it was expected that these would feature strongly in the LTP, along with greater emphasis on integration and system working.  Details of the considered themes were shown on page 31 of the report.  Particular reference was made to the clinical priorities, which were Cancer; Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases; Mental Health including Learning Disability and Autism.

 

It was highlighted that publication of the LTP was the start of the next phase; as local systems would be required to engage with patients, the public, stakeholders and health and overview scrutiny committees in developing local strategic plans in line with the LTP.

 

A copy of a letter sent to Council Leaders, Health and Wellbeing Boards and Health Scrutiny Committees from NHS England and NHSI was attached to the report at Appendix A.  Appendix B provided the Committee with a copy of a letter from the NHS England Chief Executive and the NHSI Chief Executive which advised of their approach to planning. 

 

It was highlighted that nationally steps were being put in place to streamline working procedures between the NHS England and NHSI, to have one team of National and Regional Directors working together.  It was highlighted further that the new region had just been announced.  It was reported that there would now be seven regions across the country and that Lincolnshire would be part of the Midlands Region. 

 

The Committee was advised that planning for the content of the LTP as a system approach was already on-going.  Previously, there had been individual plans; but now for 2019/20 there would be a one system approach, with Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS Trust working together as one team.  It was noted that the priorities that would be addressed were care in the local community where appropriate, diabetes and frailty.  There was an emphasis on supporting more care in the community.

 

The Committee noted that there would be one Accountable Officer for all the four CCG's; and a single leadership team.  The Committee noted further that there was a requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

65.

Annual Reports of South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group pdf icon PDF 110 KB

 (To receive a report from Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, which gives the Committee the opportunity to consider the Annual Reports for both South Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group.  John Turner, Chief Officer for both South Lincolnshire CCG and South West Lincolnshire CCG, will be in attendance for this item)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting John Turner, Chief Officer, South Lincolnshire CCG and South West Lincolnshire CCG, Dr Kevin Hill, Chair, South Lincolnshire CCG; and Dr Dave Baker, Chair, South West Lincolnshire CCG.

 

The Chief Officer introduced the report and brought to the Committee's attention the Appendices attached to the report.  Appendix A provided a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts 2017/18 for South Lincolnshire CCG; and Appendix B provided a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts 2017/18 for South West Lincolnshire CCG.

 

The Committee noted that John Turner was the Chief Officer for both South Lincolnshire CCG and South West Lincolnshire CCG.  The report highlighted that each clinical commissioning group had a statutory duty to produce an annual report and accounts. 

 

The Committee noted further that South Lincolnshire CCG had a population 162,000; and a budget of £229 million; and South West had a population of £133,000; and a budget of £182 million.  It was highlighted that each of the CCGs had differing leadership responsibilities; details of which were contain within Appendix A and B attached to the report.  It was highlighted further that the Appendices contained historical data up to 31 March 2018.

 

During discussion, the Committee raised the following issues:-

 

·         One member enquired whether GP extended hours had made a difference to the number of people turning up at A & E.  The Committee was advised that surprisingly more patients had turned up at A & E; as the focus had been changed to pre-booked appointments, with same day access;

·         One member enquired whether there was any control through the 'Choose and Book' system to keep patients in Lincolnshire, rather than attending hospitals in bordering counties.  The Committee was advised that many people in Lincolnshire lived close to borders and chose to use health facilities out of Lincolnshire, as that was their closest hospital, and likely to be their preferred hospital.  It was highlighted that there was no intention on the part of the NHS to change this.  The emphasis of the work was to provide more care in local communities, so that fewer people actually needed to go in to hospital.  It was also highlighted that it was in the CCGs interest to ensure that the population of Lincolnshire received the best care possible; where the care was received was not an issue.  It was highlighted that the Patient Charter ensured that patients had choice; and to the fact that Lincolnshire never had sufficient health funding; in relation to using hospitals in neighbouring counties, it was emphasised that health funding was not for Lincolnshire NHS organisations, but for the care of Lincolnshire people, wherever that might be;

·         Page 128 – Some concern was expressed that the Bar Chart on page 128 appeared inaccurate.  It was also highlighted that there was a lack of information for members of the public to compare GP services in their area with other GP areas.  The Committee was advised that there was more information available for the public to view  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

66.

Non-Emergency Patient Transport - Thames Ambulance Service Ltd

(To receive a report from the Thames Ambulance Service Limited (TASL), the provider of non-emergency patient transport in Lincolnshire.  The report provides the Committee with an update on the latest position on service delivery performance.  Mike Casey, General Manager, Thames Ambulance Service Limited (TASL), will be in attendance for this item)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed to the Committee Mike Casey, Director of Operations, Thames Ambulance Service Ltd and Andy Hill, Contract Manager, Thames Ambulance Service Ltd.

 

A copy of the "To Follow" report had been emailed to members of the Committee prior to the meeting and a hard copy of the aforementioned report was circulated at the meeting.

 

The Director of Operations guided the Committee through the journey of Thames Ambulance Service Limited (TASL) had made since taking over as provider of the non-emergency patient transport services in Lincolnshire on 1 July 2017.  Details of which were shown within the report represented. 

 

The Committee noted that originally there had been 900 complaints outstanding of which 369 had related to Lincolnshire.  It was noted that to date there was two outstanding complaints, one of which had been upheld; and one that was still on going.

 

The Committee was advised that TASL had been inspected by the Quality Care Commission (CQC) in November 2018, and that TASL was working with NHS England and the CQC prior to publication of the final report.  The Committee was advised further that TASL continued to work with the CQC and the Commissioners.

 

It was reported that the performance KPIs had not achieved the expected trajectory since the 12 September 2018 Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire meeting.   The Committee was advised that the two main factors for this were data collection and staff attrition, as the service was carrying a number of vacancies.  The Committee noted that TASL had lost a number of staff as a result of the recent NHS ambulance recruitment drive; TASL had found it hard to keep up with the staff turnover.  The Committee was advised further that TASL had brought in additional third party support and taxis to support the service, but these had not been always as efficient.  It was reported that TASL was trying alternative ways to increase its recruitment drive.  It was noted that TASL had appointed seven apprentices working in partnership with Lincoln College, in addition to this, agreement had been reached for TASL to utilise the NHS jobs website; and that there was a rolling recruitment drive for front line staffing in Lincolnshire.

 

The Committee was advised that the Operations Team remained focussed on delivering the action plan which underpinned attainment of improvement in KPI performance.

 

In was highlighted that in October 2018, performance had dropped against all contract performance indicators; and that the reason for this had been the current contract reporting process.  The Committee noted that a new reporting process had commenced in early October 2018, which had led to some issues relating to data capture.  The Committee noted further that contractual requirements had meant that TASL had to continue to report performance and where there was no recorded time the contract dictated that this was a failed journey.

 

The Committee was advised by TASL that by April 2019, 8 of 18 of the KPIs would be on target; and by June 2019, 15 out of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

67.

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire - Work Programme pdf icon PDF 343 KB

(To receive a report from Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Committee to consider and comment on its work programme)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, which enabled the Committee to consider and comment on the content of its work programme to ensure scrutiny activity was focussed where it could be of greatest benefit.

 

The Committee gave consideration to the work programme as detailed on pages 138/139 of the report presented.

 

During discussion one member requested that Dental Services (including an update on dental services in Mablethorpe) should be included as an agenda item on the 23 January 2019 meeting.  The Chairman advised that it had been included on the March agenda as no response had been received.  In response to an enquiry as to whether a response would be received from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regarding Grantham Accident and Emergency Department in readiness for the January meeting, it was stated that at the moment it was unknown whether a response would be received or not.

 

A further item suggested for consideration was the Pain Management Service.  It was felt that an update could be given as part of the Chairman's Announcements.

 

The issue of NHS Workforce was also raised; and when it was likely to be scheduled as an item as Healthwatch was also doing some work on this matter.  The Committee was advised that the intention was that this item would be considered as part of the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust report at the 23 January 2019 meeting.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the work programme presented be agreed subject to the changes as detailed above. 

 

 
 
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