Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Committee and made the following announcements:-

i)             Agenda Item 5 – Congenital Heart Disease Services – East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre

On 8 July 2016, NHS England made an announcement on the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre.  As a result of this, a report was prepared for inclusion on the Committee's agenda at short notice.  This item was not on the Committee's work programme but a report had been prepared for the agenda and would be considered at Item 5 of the agenda.

ii)            Item 8 – East Midlands Ambulance Service – Response to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Comprehensive Inspection Report

The Chairman reported that a decision had been made to withdraw item 8 (East Midlands Ambulance Service – Response to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Comprehensive Inspection Report) from the agenda.  Mike Naylor (Finance Director – EMAS) and Steve Kennedy (Assistant Divisional Manager – EMAS), had been expected but, following the decision to withdraw the item, Richard Henderson (Acting Chief Executive – EMAS) and Blanche Lentz (newly appointed Lincolnshire Divisional Manager – EMAS) would attend the afternoon session of the Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday 21 September 2016.

It was agreed, therefore, to consider item 9 immediately following the recess for lunch.

iii)          Lincolnshire Health and Care – Case for Change Document

On 29 June 2016, Lincolnshire Health and Care published the Case for Change document, which identified the main challenges faced by the Lincolnshire Health and Care system, and led to the conclusion that the current system was not sustainable either clinically or financially.

The Case for Change committed to a full consultation on any reconfiguration of services but did not include any firm date for consultation.  This would largely be dependent on the outcomes of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan submitted to NHS England on 30 June 2016.  A copy of the document would be circulated to the Committee with the Chairman's Announcements.

iv)          Community Pharmacy 2016/17 and Beyond

As agreed at the last meeting, the Chairman wrote to the Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, the Minister of State for Community and Social Care, on 21 June 2016 outlining the concerns about the absence of consultation with health overview and scrutiny committees.  The Chairman reported that a reply had been received, dated 13 July 2016, in which Mr Burt reiterated the vision for a more efficient modern pharmacy system.  The comments regarding consultation had also been noted although Mr Burt stated that many stakeholders had been consulted including patient groups and the Local Government Association.

v)            Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Annual Public Meeting

The Chairman had received an invitation to attend the Annual Public Meeting of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which would take place at Peterborough City Hospital between 5.15pm and 7.00pm on Thursday 28 July 2016.  The Chairman was unable to attend the meeting and asked if any members could attend on behalf of the Committee.  Councillor  R L Foulkes advised that he would discuss this with Councillor D Brailsford and Councillor T M Trollope-Bellew, as divisional members for that area, to agree attendance.  Councillor Foulkes would confirm the decision with the Health Scrutiny Officer once agreed.

vi)          Lincolnshire East Clinical Commissioning Group Listening Event Report

A report had been received from Lincolnshire East Clinical Commissioning Group following a Listening Event held on 4 February 2016.  A total of 85 people attended the event and the report made reference to several themes including access to services; communications between health professionals; and patient discharge from hospital.  A copy of the report would be circulated to the Committee.

vii)         Lincolnshire Special Care Dentistry Procurement Outcome

NHS England (Central Midlands) had issued a briefing paper on the outcome of the procurement exercise for the special care dentistry service.  The Chairman explained that special care dentistry was dental care for those people with a physical, sensory, intellectual, mental, medical or emotional impairment or disability who required support beyond that available from the general dentist.

The contract was awarded to Community Dental Services and would begin on 1 December 2016 with services transferring from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust.  Community Dental Services was an employee-owned social enterprise and community interest company which had been in existence since 2011.

The briefing paper would be circulated to the Committee.

viii)        Rural Services Network – Health Scrutiny Project

The Rural Services Network, which had a wide range of membership including local authorities, had initiated a project whereby it intended to gather evidence via local authority health overview and scrutiny committees on health services in rural areas.  The Committee had been asked to scrutinise its local clinical commissioning group to obtain answers to twelve questions, however as there were four clinical commissioning groups in Lincolnshire and the work programme was busy towards the end of the year, the Chairman proposed that this request be declined.  The Committee agreed with this proposal for the reasons given by the Chairman.

ix)          Meeting with Chief Executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT)

On 21 June 2016 the Chairman met with Jan Sobieraj (Chief Executive – United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) where discussion focussed on the impact of the junior doctor dispute on patient care; recruitment and retention at the Trust; and the Trust's overall financial position.

x)            Adults Scrutiny Committee – Delayed Transfers of Care

At the last meeting of the Committee it was reported that the County Council's Adults Scrutiny Committee would be considering a paper on delayed transfers of care at its meeting on 7 September 2016.  To enable Healthwatch Lincolnshire sufficient time to provide their input in to this topic, the Chairman advised that this item had now been rescheduled to be considered at the meeting of the Adults Scrutiny Committee on 19 October 2016.

The Committee expressed disappointment at the length of time taken for this item to be considered by the Adults Scrutiny Committee.  It was explained, and acknowledged, that the reason for the delay was to enable a full report to be prepared for the Committee's consideration.

xi)          Healthwatch Lincolnshire Annual Report

On 6 July 2016, Healthwatch Lincolnshire published its annual report for 2015/16, a copy of which would be circulated to the Committee.

xii)         Training on Mental Health – 15 June 2016

The Chairman noted the Committee's thanks to Dr John Brewin, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, for delivering a mental health training session to the Committee on 15 June 2016.  Twelve members of the Committee had attended and the informal feedback received was that most members had found the session to be fascinating and helpful for the Committees future consideration of mental health topics.  It was agreed to arrange a follow-up session in the Autumn.