Agenda and minutes

Councillors Suzanne Brookfield, Ellie Brooks, Steven Edgar, Jill Rhodes, Mick Warren and Lesley Smetham.           

To approve the minutes of the following meetings of the Committee:

18 January 2017

9 March 2017

RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the Agenda

There were no declarations of the existence of a party whip.

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: in order for officers to undertake and background research, it would be helpful if members of the public notified the Scrutiny Officer listed at the foot of the Agenda at least one working day before the meeting with brief details of the matter to be covered.

There were no members of the public present who wished to speak.

To consider an update on the potential relocation of Outpatient Clinics from Handforth by East Cheshire NHS Trust.

East Cheshire Trust (ECT) NHS representatives, Kath Senior, Director of Nursing, Performance and Quality and Fiona Walton Associate Director for Allied Health and Clinical Support attended the meeting and reported on proposed arrangements for the Handforth Health Centre.

Kath advised that ECT currently leased premises in Handforth from Handforth GP’s, to provide a range of outpatient clinics and community services.  The lease on the building was due to expire in May 2017. 

ECT currently benefited from a discounted rent in conjunction with a subsidy from Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (ECCCG).  The landlord of the building had given notice to ECT to increase the rent to market value.  This would increase the rent costs by £120,000 per annum.  Rent for outpatient services would not be subsidised by ECCCG, but some community services will still be operated from the building.

Outpatient services were under utilised, the Dental Clinic was a large part of the building not often used, consultant led services were 60-70% occupied, the withdrawal of ECT would enable the GP service to utilise the whole building to capacity.

The Committee asked questions relating to the cost for ECT to remain in the building.  Kath advised that ECT operated at a deficit and there were no additional funds to meet increased rent costs, leading ECT to conclude that services should continue, in a different location.

The Chairman advised that the Committee was unable to make any observations at this stage because it would wish to seek the views of both ECCCG, and South Cheshire CCG.

Mark Nedderman advised that the Committee that the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and associated regulations gave local authorities the power to review and scrutinise health services.  The Committee needed to determine if this matter was a Substantial Development or Variation (SDV).

RESOLVED-

(a)  That the report be received;

(b)  That the matter be acknowledged as a Level 3 SDV; and

(c)  That the matter be considered again in detail on the 11 May to the Committee, together with appropriate and relevant health partners.

To receive an update on progress made to commission a new Healthwatch Service for Cheshire, Healthwatch Cheshire.

Mark Palethorpe provided a progress update on the commission of a new Healthwatch Service for Cheshire, Healthwatch Cheshire.

New arrangements for Healthwatch were approved by Cabinet in July 2016, this included a Pan-Cheshire offer in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council. 

The Committee noted that the contract began on the 1 April 2017 for a period of three years with a two year extension.

The Committee considered the additional benefits that the new arrangements would deliver, these included significant statutory powers to enable the voice of local people to be heard, holding local government, agencies and NHS to account and that the voice and direct experience of Carers influenced the quality of services.

The Committee discussed the role Healthwatch had had up until the new arrangements.  The Chairman advised the Committee that within Cheshire East, the role and visibility of Healthwatch had been inconsiderable when compared to the tighter structure that had operated in Cheshire West. 

RESOLVED-

(a)  That the report be noted and received;

(b)  That the Handforth Health Centre be suggested to Healthwatch as a pilot project; and

(c)  That a representative of Healthwatch be invited to attend to the Committee in 12 months with an outcomes led progress review.

To receive an update on the Mental Health Gateway by South Cheshire & Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Group.

Dr. Jean Jenkins, Clinical Director for Transformation and Commissioning at NHS Vale Royal CCG and NHS South Cheshire CCG presented the Committee with an update on the South Cheshire Mental Health Gateway.

The South Cheshire Mental Health Gateway model was a new approach for people that suffered from a mild-moderate mental health difficulty and had been introduced nine months ago.

The Committee had previously raised concerns around the integration with social care and that there already existed a relationship with a Single Point of Access (SPA) Team and possible delayed referrals.  

Dr. Jenkins informed the Committee that 1842 people had been managed within the Gateway.  This was a better service than previously, it was more timely and the patients were benefitting from early intervention.

This model of working was part of a proposed three stage offer to Primary Care Mental Health.

The Committee asked for clarification of the patient journey through the referral process including how people hear about the scheme in the first instance and what happened to people who decided not to enter into the scheme despite a GP referring them.  The Committee suggested it would be useful to hear from a person who had been through the process to speak about their experiences of the model.

The Chairman advised that there was not enough detail contained within the presentation to be able to scrutinise the benefits of the scheme as a whole.

RESOLVED-

(a)  That the South Cheshire Mental Health Gateway be requested to return to the Committee with more outcomes based data to provide a sound basis for scrutinisation; and

(b)  That Pete Gosling, Principle Manager, Adult Social Care be requested to attend the meeting; and

(c)  That a representative from the South Cheshire Mental Health Gateway identify a patient who has been through the service and would be prepared to attend the meeting to answer questions as a service user.

To receive a progress report that outlines how the Council’s Adult Social Care and Children’s and Families, NHS South Cheshire and NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups are continuing delivery against the five key priorities set within the delivery plan.

Rob Walker, Commissioning Manager and Rachel Cuthbert, Joint Carers Project Manager provided the Committee with an update on the Carer’s Breaks and Joint Strategy for Carers Delivery Plan following the report that was presented to the Committee in December 2016.

Rob advised the Committee that by 2037, nationally it is expected that there would be a 50% increase in carer numbers that equated to 9.1 million people, or 1 in 6 in any workplace.

Cheshire East Council was recognised as a good employer and had carers within the work force.  The aim was to ensure Cheshire East became a carer friendly borough.

Rob and Rachel had been rolling out workshops to raise awareness and promote carers.  They had produced toolkits that included top ten tips, pledges for employers and a carers charter.  They were working on a project to enable access to an online resource for employers and carers.

RESOLVED- That the report be noted and received.

To review the current Work Programme

The Committee reviewed its Work Programme.

RESOLVED-

(a)  That the Community Safety day on the 25 April be made a half day event beginning at 10am;

(b)  That the meeting on 11 May be made a full day to accommodate the number of agenda items and;

(c)  That following the resolution from today’s meeting, the East Cheshire NHS Trust item for Handforth Health Centre Arrangements be added as an item on the Work Programme.

To note the current forward plan, identify any new items, and to determine whether any further examination of new issues is appropriate.

The Committee reviewed the Forward Plan.

RESOLVED- That the Forward Plan be received and noted.