Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M G Allan, R J Cleaver, Mrs L Hagues (North Kesteven District Council) and G Scalese (South Holland District Council).

It was reported that, under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990 that Councillor P M Dilks had been appointed as the replacement member for Councillor R J Cleaver for this meeting only.

It was also noted that Councillor M Geaney (South Holland District Council) had replaced Councill G Scalese (South Holland District Council) for this meeting only.

An apology for absence had also been received from Councillor S Woolley (Executive Councillor NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners).

Councillor R J Kendrick wished it to be noted that he was one of the Council’s representatives on the Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust – Council of Governor Stakeholder Group.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire meeting held on 21 February 2024 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Further to the announcements circulated with the agenda, the Chairman brought to the Committee’s attention the supplementary announcements circulated on 19 March 2024, which referred to the following:

·       Information requested at previous meetings;

·       The Government Blood Pressure Campaign; and

·       The Healthwatch Lincolnshire – Your Voice Event scheduled to be held on 26 April 2024 at Boston United Football Club between 10.00am and 1.00pm.

During consideration of this item, the Committee noted that information from East Midlands Ambulance Service would be circulated to members of the Committee when it was made available.

RESOLVED

That the supplementary announcements circulated on 19 March 2024 and the Chairman’s announcements as detailed on pages 15 to 18 of the report pack be noted.

(To receive a report from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), which provides the Committee with a general update on services.  Chris Higgins, Director of Operations, LPFT will be in attendance for this item)

Consideration was given to a report from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), which provided the Committee with a general update on services.

The Chairman advised that this item had been requested by the Committee at its meeting on 21 February 2024, in response to some developments being reported, including progress with removing legionella from the Hartsholme Centre and the expansion of the Adult Eating Disorder Support Service.

The Chairman invited the Director of Operations, LPFT, to present the item to the Committee.  The Head of Communications and Participation, LPFT was also present to observe to meeting.

In guiding the Committee through the report, reference was made to: Temporary Closures, Service Reviews; New Services; Recruitment and Retention; and Waiting Times.

(Note: Councillor S R Parkin joined the meeting at 10:13 am)

During consideration of this item, some of the following comments were noted:

·       The Committee noted that if three consecutive sets of tests for Legionella showed levels that were safe for the Hartsholme Centre, then the unit would safely open. If however, this was not the case then an enhanced flushing method would be undertaken.  It was noted that the other option the Trust would consider was a possible refit of the pipe working system;

·       Confirmation was given that the NHS 111 Mental Health Option would be available for anyone to contact for advice.  The Committee was advised that the Trust was working with NHS England regarding the advertising of the new Mental Health 111 service, and that it was thought there would be a soft launch initially to test the system, followed by a nationally driven initiative by NHS England.  It was noted that the 111 Mental Health line would be staffed with a combination of registered specialist professionals and non-registered specialist professionals, and that at any time on duty there would be a combination of the two types of professionals; 

·       Confirmation was provided that funding was yet to be approved to develop the memory assessment pathway.  The Committee noted that if funding was not forthcoming this time, a further bid would be made for the following year’s funding round, and that in the meantime the service would look to see what could be done differently within the resources available. Healthwatch offered their support for the development of the business case;

·       Details relating to staffing numbers, structure and grades would be made available to members of the Committee.  The Committee noted that the Trust was confident that staff numbers would continue to increase, but there was recognition that there were some harder to recruit posts, such as psychologists;

·       In relation to Autism diagnosis, the Committee was advised that prioritisation was done from the information received from the conversation at the initial triage. It was noted the professional and the multidisciplinary professional team took into consideration what was happening in the person’s life and a range of other different factors which would indicate whether somebody would benefit more than somebody else from an early diagnosis. For example, if somebody needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

(To receive a report from the Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team, which provides the Committee with an update on the contribution the Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team make to improving health outcomes in Lincolnshire.  Chris Wheway, Chair of Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team will be in attendance for this item)

The Committee considered a report from the Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team (LVET) which provided an update on the contribution the LVET was making to improving health outcomes in Lincolnshire.

The Chairman invited the Chair of the Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team, and the Managing Director of LVET to remotely present the item to the Committee.

The Committee was advised of the LVET’s Activities; the future for LVET and the current challenges faced by members of LVET.

During consideration of this item, the following comments were noted:

·       The Committee was advised that LVET employed four members of staff, one of whom was on secondment and whose role was solely focused on the personalised agenda and the relationships with Primary Care Networks;

·       The Committee noted that music and singing was something that could bring some radical change to those with dementia;

·       It was reported that the complexity of the LVET sector was vast and that membership varied from large organisations to two or three people meeting together in a church hall.  With support of the LVET team, effective use was made of all the resources to help them have a strategic impact.  It was noted that LVET ensured that smaller organisations and groups were able to gain access to available funds;

·       Anyone wishing to contact any of the delivery groups was advised to contact Paul Gutherson via email;

·       Further information was sought regarding LVET supporting service redesign through 60 working groups, steering groups or boards.  It was noted that LVET was a collective who represented around 150 organisations of different sizes, all of whom had different capacity and resource issues, and to enable members to voice their concerns or make contributions to any of those groups needed time to do that.  As sometimes the timescale of being contacted before a board meeting or working group meeting did not always provide enough time to effectively talk with members for them to feedback to the working groups, so it was really hard to find a mechanism for more effective collaboration enabling all member to have a voice;

·       The Committee noted that the challenges of staff and volunteer burnout, recruitment and retention affected all groups, and was a general theme post pandemic along with financial challenges and the increased feeling of pressure at leadership level within organisations;

·       The representatives were unable to advise of the total amount of funding from NHS Lincolnshire given to voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector through contractual arrangements.  Some concern was expressed that funding information needed to be made available and monitored as to how it was being spent as there was a danger of the amounts being reduced.  The Committee noted that it was felt that LVET was not taken seriously as a sector and that investment in the sector should grow on the basis of ensuring particularly with the NHS that it was able to focus on what it needed to be doing;

·       The vital role of the voluntary sector in communities and that getting people to volunteer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

(To receive a report from Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Committee to consider its approach to the Quality Accounts for 2023-2024 and to identify its preferred option for responding to the draft Quality Accounts, which will be shared with the Committee, by local providers of NHS-funded services)  

Due to the availability of presenters, it was agreed that the Arrangements for the Quality Accounts 2023-2024 report (Item 8) would be considered as the next item of business on the agenda and that this would then be followed by item 7.

The Chairman invited the Health Scrutiny Officer to present the item to the Committee.

The Committee were asked to determine which draft Quality Accounts for 2023-24 from local providers of NHS-funded services it wished to consider and to advise of the arrangements it wished to follow to respond to the draft Quality Accounts.

During consideration of this item, the Committee agreed to prioritise the following two Quality Accounts: United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) and East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) and that for the following further four suggestions: Lincolnshire Community Health Service NHS Trust (LCHS) , Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT), North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG), the Health Scrutiny Officer would liaise with Healthwatch Lincolnshire to see which  Quality Accounts they were planning to cover to avoid any duplication.

The following members of the Committee volunteered to be part of the remote working group: Councillors C S Macey, J McGhee, C Morgan, Cllr T J N Smith and L Wootten.

RESOLVED

1.      That ULHT and EMAS be prioritised as the two draft Quality Accounts for 2023-24 from local providers of NHS funded services, the Committee wishes to make a statement on.

2.     That the Health Scrutiny Officer be tasked with contacting Healthwatch Lincolnshire to identify which of the following further four providers Quality Accounts: LCHS, LPFT, NWAFT and NLAG, Healthwatch was planning to consider to help avoid any duplication.

3.     That for drafting statements in response to the Quality Accounts for 2024, Councillors: C S Macey, J McGhee, C Morgan, Cllr T J N Smith and L Wootten volunteered to be part of the remote working group.

(To receive a report from North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT), which provides the Committee with an update on the implementation of the Clinical Strategy for Stamford and Rutland Hospital; and Recovery Plans for all patients.  Hannah Coffey, Chief Executive, NWAFT will be in attendance for this item)

The Committee gave consideration to a report from the Chief Executive, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT), which provided an update on the clinical and estates development at Stamford and Rutland Hospital, the latest information on the development of a Day Treatment Centre at Stamford, and Trust-wide activities taking place to reduce waiting times for all patients of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust.

The Chairman invited the following representatives from the Trust to remotely present the item to the Committee: Hannah Coffey, Chief Executive, David Moss, Director of Estates and Facilities and Callum Gardner, Chief Medical Officer, the lead officer for the Stamford Hospital development.

In guiding the Committee through the report, reference was made to: the Stamford and Rutland Site Strategy; the Day Treatment Centre Proposal; the sale of unused land on the Stamford and Rutland Hospital Site; and reducing waiting times for patients.

Note: Councillor C Morgan declared a non-pecuniary interest as the Vice-Chairman of South Kesteven District Council Planning Committee.

Councillor P M Dilks also wished it to be noted that he was a cabinet member of South Kesteven District Council.

During consideration of this item, some of the following comments were noted:

·       Reassurance was provided that car parking remained a priority for the Trust and there was recognition that at peak times parking was a challenge at Stamford and Rutland Hospital.  The Committee was advised that planning permission for a multi-storey car park was still in place, if required, but at the moment discussions were talking place regarding an adjacent site which would mean that sufficient car parking spaces could be provided without the need for a multi-storey car park.  It was also highlighted that staff were encouraged to travel as sustainably as possible using buses, walking or cycling to work, which would then free up parking spaces for patients.  It was noted that this had been done at Hinchingbrooke Hospital (also operated by NWAFT) and a similar approach had been suggested for staff working at Stamford.  The Committee also noted that parking mechanisms were due to be introduced shortly which would help control parking;

·       It was reported that a decision regarding planning permission for the Day Treatment Centre proposals on the Stamford and Rutland site was expected in May 2024.  It was noted that the proposed building was a modular build, which would be constructed off site and then delivered in modules to the site for construction.  It was expected that the building would be completed by January 2025;

·       With regarding to the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Stamford, the Committee was advised that the guidance for MIU’s had changed and that this matter would be for the NHS LincoInshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), as commissioners.  The Committee noted that the Trust was working closely with the ICB to find a way through the guidance to ensure that services in Stamford were maintained;

·       The Committee was advised that some construction work was currently ongoing at the Peterborough site to construct a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

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

The Chairman invited the Health Scrutiny Officer, to present the item, which invited the Committee to consider and comment on its work programme, as detailed on pages 58 to 60 of the report pack.

The Health Scrutiny Officer briefed the Committee on the items for consideration at the 17 April 2024 meeting.  It was highlighted that the Urgent and Emergency Care Update, would not include Grantham Urgent Treatment Centre, as Grantham had a specific item included in the work programme for the 12 June 2024.

The Committee was also advised that due to the availability of presenters, the item on GP Provision was now being brought forward from the 17 July 2024 meeting to the 15 May 2024 meeting.

It was also noted that the items concerning the Implementation of the Mental Health Community and Rehabilitation Services on the work programme for the 17 July 2024 meeting could possibly move to the 11 September 2024 meeting.

From the comments raised at the meeting, further information/possibly agenda items regarding funding from the NHS to voluntary organisations; and an update from the Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service.

RESOLVED

That the work programme presented on pages 58 to 60 of the report pack be agreed, subject to the inclusion of the suggestions put forward by the Committee and the amendments detailed above.