Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor M Goldsmith.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2019.

RESOLVED –

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 June 2019 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.

No declarations of interest were received.

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

No declarations of the existence of a party whip were received.

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.

No members of the public present wished to speak.

The committee asked the Acting Executive Director of People for a verbal update on the council’s response to the Beechmere fire incident that occurred on 8 August 2019.

The committee was made aware of the work that the council, partners and volunteers had undertaken to support the displaced and affected residents, and were continuing to provide.

The committee expressed an interest in receiving a further update report that detailed the lessons learned by the council following its response to the incident, as well as the publication of the Fire Authority’s de-brief report.

Members asked that the report also address some of their other queries and concerns relating to the costs incurred by the council following the incident, as well as its business continuity plans and emergency contingency plans in place in other service areas to protect and support residents in the event of another emergency situation.

RESOLVED –

That the Acting Executive Director of People put together a multi-disciplinary report on the lessons learned by the council following the Beechmere incident, which also addresses the committee’s other queries raised, at an appropriate date in the future.

To review the current work programme.

Consideration was given to the committee’s current work programme.

Concern was raised by members regarding delays to items and the committee sought assurance from officers that reports scheduled for the next meeting on 10 October 2019 would not be delayed further.

Members also requested an update on the committee’s proposed work relating to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

RESOLVED –

1          That the work programme be agreed and approved, including the new items suggested for addition.

2          That the committee hold an additional, informal meeting in the afternoon of Thursday 7 November 2019 – after its ordinary business meeting in the morning – to receive information from officers/partners relating to the welfare of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and how this Council compares against national requirements and benchmarks.

To review the Council’s forward plan of key decisions through to 31 December 2019.

Consideration was given to the council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the four month period ending 31 December 2019.

RESOLVED –

That the Forward Plan be noted.

To be updated on the commissioning of oral surgery and orthodontic services for Cheshire East residents, and what the next steps and future developments will be.

Consideration was given to a report submitted by NHS England and Public Health England regarding the future commissioning arrangements of oral surgery and orthodontic services for Cheshire East residents.

Following this, members asked questions and put comments in respect of;

·         whether there had been improved consultation and engagement between NHS England and stakeholders and key partners since the last update was provided to the committee;

·         what process or pathway patients had to go through to access orthodontic and oral surgery services, and which alternative providers they had been transferred to;

·         concern that the private healthcare organisation Spire Healthcare had received additional business following the closure of the orthodontic and oral surgery services at Macclesfield District General Hospital.

Members were reassured of the reasons why patients had been transferred to Spire Healthcare in recent months, and that this provider was not part of the longer term plans for patients.

RESOLVED –

1          That the update be noted.

2          That a further update report be provided to the committee in December 2019.

3          That NHS England and Public Health England endeavour to meet the committee’s request that the next update report includes an evaluation of organisational workforce stability, with reference to the mechanisms being put in place to mitigate any current or future workforce instability.

To consider the letter received from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in response to the Committee’s referral of the closure of specialist orthodontic and oral surgery services in Cheshire East.

The committee considered the letter received from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in response to its referral of the closure of specialist orthodontic and oral surgery services at Macclesfield District General Hospital.

Members expressed disappointment that the Secretary of State’s response did not specifically address the main issue – a lack of any consultation on the proposed service closures – that had resulted in the referral being made.

RESOLVED –

1          That the committee responds to the Secretary of State’s letter, providing its view on the current and future consultation arrangements with the committee.

2          That the response letter seeks assurance from the Secretary of State that measures will be put in place to ensure that responsible health bodies follow legislative requirements to consult and engage with their local health scrutiny body at the earliest opportunity regarding service reconfigurations.

The committee adjourned for a short break.

To consider a report from East Cheshire NHS Trust on its planned re-designation of the current Neonatal Unit at Macclesfield District General Hospital to a Special Care Baby Unit.

Consideration was given to a report submitted by East Cheshire NHS Trust regarding its planned re-designation of its Neonatal Unit at Macclesfield District General Hospital to a Special Care Baby Unit.

Following this, members asked questions and put comments in respect of;

·         concern that this re-designation was indicative of wider service sustainability issues at Macclesfield District General Hospital, in particular its maternity unit; and

·         why the Trust had not been able to fulfil the care requirements associated with a Neonatal Unit (level two of three).

The Chief Executive of East Cheshire NHS Trust assured the committee that the re-designation of the Neonatal Unit would not impact on the level of service provided.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.

To consider the draft Cheshire East Five-Year Place Plan and provide comments and feedback to be considered by the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership prior to formal agreement and adoption of the Plan.

Consideration was given to the Cheshire East Partnership Five Year Plan, with a view to providing feedback on its content to the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership, for consideration prior to the final version of the Plan being adopted.

The committee provided the following feedback to be passed on to the Partnership;

·         More references could have been made to substance misuse within the Plan;

·         Members would have liked to have seen more detail about Cheshire East’s elderly population, particularly in respect of life expectancy and the multitude of conditions that elderly people more commonly live with, and how these consequently affect the future sustainability of council services;

·         More references could have been made to people living with special educational needs or disabilities, or other complex needs; and

·         That the Plan could have talked more about supporting people struggling with personal issues such as sexual or gender orientation and identification, and the mental health issues that can sometimes be related to these.

RESOLVED –

That the committee’s feedback be passed on to the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership for consideration.

To consider performance data and indicators for adult social care services from quarter 1 of the municipal year, 2019/20.

Consideration was given to the performance data for services within the remit of the committee from the first quarter (May, June and July) of the current financial year 2019/20.

Members asked that the performance data it had previously requested through its work programme, for quarter three of the previous financial year 2018/19, be circulated outside of the meeting.

Members asked questions on the performance data provided, with a focus on those areas of low or worsened performance.

RESOLVED –

1          That the performance scorecard be noted.

2          That the performance scorecard for quarter three of 2018/19 be circulated to the committee via email after the meeting.