Issue - meetings

To approve a protocol with the South Cheshire CCG and the Eastern Cheshire CCG.

The former Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee had a protocol with the Central and Eastern Primary Care Trust (PCT). Due to the new arrangements for the organisation of health services a new protocol is required between the Committee and the Clinical Commissioning Groups which began operations on 1 April 2013. Attached is the proposed protocol to be adopted by the Committee.

The Committee considered a draft protocol with the Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and the South Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCGs) which was an updated version of an existing protocol between the previous Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee and the Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) which had taken account of the new National Health Service (NHS) arrangements brought about by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which abolished PCTs and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), and introduced CCGs.

The Committee suggested some minor amendments to the protocol. Fiona Field of South Cheshire CCG suggested that the protocol needed amending to reflect that CCGs would not be responsible for commissioning of primary care services as PCTs had been because the General Practitioners (GPs) running the CCGs would not commission their own services. Ms Field offered to assist in amending the protocol and suggested that a protocol between the Committee, and the Cheshire & Merseyside Local Area Team (LAT) and NHS England to cover the commissioning of primary care services. It was also suggested that the Committee may need a protocol with Cheshire East Healthwatch.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the scrutiny officer, with support from officers of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), be requested to amend the protocol to reflect that CCGs will not be responsible for commissioning primary care services as the Primary Care Trust (PCT) had been.           

(b)  That the scrutiny officer investigate the need for a protocol with the Cheshire and Merseyside Local Area Team to cover the commissioning of primary care services.      

(c)  That with the following amendments be made to the protocol:

a.    Reference to Strategic Health Authorities be removed.

b.    Reference to Scrutiny Committee Spokesperson be replaced by Vice Chairman.

c.    In the sentence at 8.7 which reads “At level one, the committee would not become involved directly, but would assume that the Healthwatch is being consulted” that “assume” be replaced by “be notified”.