Agenda item

(To receive a report which sets out the work programmes of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee; and the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire)

The Board considered the work programmes for Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire (an updated replacement for which was circulated at the meeting).

Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

The Chairman of Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, Councillor C E H Marfleet updated Members on the work being undertaken by the Committee and its plans for the coming year.  The work programme was in part driven by topics following the national agenda, as well as including several pre-decision scrutiny items.  The Committee was also seeking to hold meetings on a themed basis.

The Chairman referred to the financial position of Adult Social Care which had stabilised over recent years.  The Committee continued to receive regular updates on the overall financial position of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing.

The January agenda would include an item on Mosaic and other IT items.

There were often issues which fell within both Adult and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee's and the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire's remits, and these items would be addressed by liaison between the respective Chairmen.

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire

There had been various updates to the Committee's work programme since the publication of the Board's agenda, and a new version of the work programme was circulated.

The Chairman of Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire, Councillor C S Macey, highlighted three items which would be considered by the Committee in the coming months: -

Sustainability and Transformation Plan

A key question was when the local NHS was going to begin its consultations on the main elements of the STP, such as women's and children's services; and emergency and urgent care.  The timing of the consultation was dependent on approvals from NHS England and this meant it was largely outside local control, but it was more likely to be towards the end of the calendar year than any earlier. 

An update item had been scheduled on the STP at the October meeting.  The Committee will be seeking information at this meeting on the developments since the STP was last considered by the Committee in January of this year.

The terminology had evolved as STP was now also being used to mean a 'Sustainability and Transformation Partnership'.  In effect each Sustainability and Transformation Plan area was being viewed as a 'partnership'.  This usage was confirmed by an announcement by the Secretary of State for Health on 19 July 2017 of £325 million of capital to support 15 out of the 44 Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships.  (Lincolnshire STP had not been included in this round of funding). 

Lincoln Walk-in-Centre

On 19 July 2017, the Committee considered the Lincoln Walk-in-Centre and agreed that it did not support the proposals from Lincolnshire West CCG to close the service.  If the CCG went ahead with the closure, they had indicated the walk?in-centre would close "during the autumn".  The Committee was not convinced that the CCG would put in place alternative provision prior to this intended closure time.  The Committee also believed that the proposed closure would lead to an increase in attendances at Lincoln County A&E.  There were also some concerns with the consultation process, such as the availability of information and the financial rationale. 

The Committee's Working Group was due to meet on 1 August, where it would draft a response.  

Commissioning of Ambulance Services

The Committee was considering an item on the commissioning arrangements for emergency ambulance services in the East Midlands in September.  A total of 22 Clinical Commissioning Groups had responsibility for commissioning services from the East Midlands Ambulance Service, with Hardwick CCG (in Derbyshire) undertaking the lead role across the region.  Within Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire West CCG acted as the lead commissioner.  The purpose of this item was to develop an understanding of the commissioning arrangements and how commissioning decisions were made. 

In addition to the commissioners, the Committee would also have EMAS attending to present a separate item on their response to the CQC report, and providing an introduction to the national ambulance response programme, which introduces significant changes to ambulance performance measures. 

During a discussion about the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire's work programme, the following points were noted:

·         25 GPs had been recruited for the Lincolnshire area through a national scheme.  The Chairman did not know how many GPs were needed to meet Lincolnshire's shortfall, and as a result, it was not clear what impact 25 extra GPs would have;

·         With regard to the potential closure of the Walk-In Centre in Lincoln, Councillor Macey confirmed that Dr S Hindocha of the Lincolnshire West CCG had indicated that alternative provision was in place, however the Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee confirmed the view of the Committee that more information was needed on the alternatives in the event of the closure;

·         There were surgeries in Lincolnshire who would happily take on extra GPs on a part time basis, however anecdotal evidence had suggested that the insurance, required by each GP, was too expensive to make this viable for them.  Plans for a medical school as part of the University of Lincoln were highly significant as it was stated that some medical staff were not attracted to Lincolnshire because it did not have a teaching hospital;

·         East Midlands Ambulance Service was aware that ambulance crews including paramedics were delayed unnecessarily at hospitals, waiting to handover patients and if the crews were released sooner, they could be answering other 999 calls.  The issue had been a recurrent theme for the Health Scrutiny Committee and would be considered again.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board be satisfied with the content of the work programmes of:

·         The Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee; and

·         The Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire.

2.    That no suggestions on the content of the work programmes of the two committees listed above be put forward by the Board.