Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2016

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2016 be approved 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 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 review the Quality Account 2015/16 of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and submit comments for inclusion in the Account

Jayne Hartley, Deputy Director of Nursing and Quality, provided an overview or the Quality Accounts 2015/16 for Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT). During the presentation members of the Committee asked questions and discussed their views on the Quality Account.

The following comments arose:

·         Overall the Committee was pleased with the content of the Quality Account and believes it provides a good picture of the performance of the Trust.

·         The Committee was pleased to see that the Trust’s financial deficits had been reduced and hoped that financial stability was sustainable in the long term.

·         The Committee noted the Trust’s success in achieving zero MRSA and CDiff cases as well as no ‘never events’ as well as the 95% approval rating from the Friends and Family Test.

·         The Trust’s performance on the Emergency Department (ED) waiting times did not meet the national target of 95% patients discharged or admitted with four hours. However the Committee understood the pressures facing ED’s which were discussed in the Committee’s recent Ambulance Services Report.

·         The Committee was concerned about the length of stays for patients and delayed discharges, which in turn affects ED waiting times.

·         The Committee also noted the relatively high rates of readmissions within 30 days and wanted to ensure that patients were discharged at the right times and that effective recovery and care services were in place for them.

·         The Committee also recognised a concern about an apparent need for additional intermediate care beds in the community to provide the additional care patients need to enable them to be discharged from hospital on time.

·         The Committee shared the Trust’s disappointment with the increase in pressure ulcers cases and supported efforts to improve equipment and staff training to ensure pressure ulcers did not occur while patients were in hospital.

·         The Committee noted the nurse staffing levels of the Trust and supported efforts to train additional nurses locally in partnership with South Cheshire College and hoped more local young people looking to enter a career in nursing could be supporting into a role at their local Trust.

The Committee was requested to submit a statement regarding its views on the Quality Account to MCHFT so that it could be included in the final version of the Quality Account.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Quality Account for 2015/16 be noted.

(b)  That the Chairman be requested to write to the Trust to submit the Committee’s statement for inclusion in the Quality Account.