Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor J Parry.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on  5 December 2019.

RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting held on the 5 December 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.

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.

­­­­The Chairman invited members of the public present to speak to the committee.

Congleton resident, Mr. Richard Walton addressed the committee in respect of the Congleton War Memorial Hospital, and raised the following concerns;

·         That since this committee last discussed the matter on 10 October 2019, service provision had worsened due to issues with the building’s heating, the discovery of asbestos and other infrastructural difficulties;

·         The X-ray machine was no longer in operation due to a drain on the electrical supply; and

·         That the intermittency and unpredictability of the hours of operation at the Minor Injuries Unit was still a concern and issue for residents.

Mr. Walton noted that he had approached Fiona Bruce, the Member of Parliament for Congleton, to assist and support with this matter.

Congleton Town Councillor Suzi Firkin also addressed the committee in respect of the Congleton War Memorial Hospital. Town Councillor Firkin raised concerns that related to;

·         The weekend closure of the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) and the total closure of the X-ray department for the foreseeable future;

·         Electrical failures that had been cited to residents of Congleton as the reason for service closure;

·         The lack of formal updates on both the upgrade and repair of infrastructural work, and a date that services were expected to resume at the hospital.

RESOLVED –

The committee thanked Mr Richard Walton and Ms Suzi Firkin for taking the time to attend the meeting and address the committee.

Following the most recent update on 12.09.19, to receive a further update on the activity and progress in relation to future orthodontic and oral surgery services in Cheshire East.

Consideration was given to a report on the future provision of orthodontic and oral surgery services in Cheshire East.

Members were advised that two appropriately skilled interim clinicians had been procured who had worked with a cohort of patients who had been treated at Macclesfield District General Hospital prior to the cessation of services in 2019.  Findings showed that less patients went into an acute setting and more patients were treated in the community.

Members of the committee were advised that the next steps would finally evaluate the interim service in April with a view that this model should be rolled out more widely into the south of Cheshire to minimise patient journeys and also adhere to national guidance on treating more patients in a primary care setting.

The committee raised concerns about workforce recruitment and retention issues, and also discussed some of the potential ways of working that could be introduced such as within GP surgeries, in pharmacies or across borders as a travelling team.

RESOLVED –

1          That the updated be noted.

2          That a further update in relation to this be scheduled, either for April 2020 or another suitable date soon after

To keep the committee informed of progress made within the health and adult social care sections, against key performance indicators.

Consideration was given to the key performance indicators relating to services within the committee’s remit from the second quarter of the 2019/20 financial year.

Members were advised that the major fire incident at Beechmere Retirement Home, Crewe, had occurred during this period; council staff and resources had not operated as usual in the wake of this incident, which was reflected in the data.

Members raised questions and comments in relation to;

·         Delayed transfers of care performance, and the overall spend by the NHS into adult social care;

·         The National Health Check (NHC), specifically how different cohorts and groups of people of different ages, ethnic backgrounds and from areas of greater socioeconomic deprivation were engaged with, and encouraged to partake in the NHC.

The Acting Director of Public Health agreed to answers to the committee’s questions relating to the NHC and that these would be circulated to the committee outside of the meeting once received.

RESOLVED –  

1          That the performance for the second quarter of 2019/20 be noted.

2          That the Scrutiny Officer circulate the answers provided by the Acting Director of Public Health to committee members outside of the meeting.

To consider the council’s current forward plan.

The committee considered the items on the forward plan which fell within its remit.

RESOLVED –

That the forward plan be received.

To review the current Work Programme.

The committee reviewed its work programme and noted that there were more scheduled items for the meeting in February than March, and considered the possibility of rescheduling some items.  The committee referred back to the points raised earlier in the meeting by members of the public in respect of the Congleton War Memorial Hospital.

RESOLVED –

1          That the work programme be noted.

2          That the Chairman discuss the work programme with officers and portfolio holders at the next liaison meeting.

3          That the senior officers responsible for the operation and financing of the Congleton War Memorial Hospital be contacted and asked to provide an interim report at the next meeting on 6 February 2020, ahead of the scheduled update due on 9 April 2020.