Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor I Faseyi.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October, 2018.

RESOLVED

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 October, 2018 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

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 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 that expressed an interest in speaking.

To consider a report on the impact to patient care following changes made to ambulance target measures.

Pursuant to Minute No. 82 (Health and Adult Social Care and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 2017/18), the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) submitted a report outlining performance in Cheshire East against national standards.

Consideration was given to the report and members asked questions relating to;

• how performance in Cheshire East compared to other areas of the country;
• how the required financial savings to be made through 2018/19 would impact on service capacity and delivery, and ultimately, Cheshire East residents;
• how effective the partnership working and joint arrangements between NWAS and local NHS bodies was in supporting the effective delivery of services during the current financial pressures; and
• the potential implications on future staff recruitment and retention following the outcome of Brexit.

The NWAS Sector Manager for Cheshire and NWAS Service Development Manager for Cheshire and Merseyside provided the committee with assurances that, in spite of the growing financial pressure, savings had successfully been made through improving internal efficiencies. The aim for NWAS and health partners in the future would be to ensure that a greater proportion of patients that call 999 would be able to remain and be treated safely at home.

RESOLVED

That representatives from NWAS be invited to attend a meeting of the committee in twelve months, to provide a further update on performance.

To consider the proposed Learning Disabilities Strategy prior to a formal decision being taken by Cabinet on 4 December 2018.

Consideration was given to a newly drafted strategy for people with learning disabilities in Cheshire East, the main aim of which was to ensure that all individuals with learning disabilities can live a healthy, happy and independent life, with choice and control over the care they receive.

Members asked questions and made comments on:

• how the advocacy service is integrated within, or would work alongside, the proposed strategy, and
• whether there had been a positive level of engagement from both maintained and academy schools within the borough.

RESOLVED

That the proposed strategy be supported and endorsed by the committee.

To consider a report on the Personal Care Record project being delivered in collaboration between the Council and NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical  Commissioning Group.

Consideration was given to a report from the Director for Public Health on the Personal Care Record project: a digital wellbeing project to develop an electronic personal care record to enable local people to unlock their information via an electronic personal care record on the Live Well portal.

The committee raised comments and asked questions regarding:

• whether this project would increase risks to the council in relation to compliance with the new General Data Protection Regulations introduced in May 2018, and
• that more consideration should be given to the impacts of this project on certain minority groups, for example, non-English speaking and transient communities.

RESOLVED

That the Director for Public Health endeavour to consider more specific information on the potential implications of the Personal Care Record project to certain community or minority groups.

To receive and note the Council’s Adult Social Care Local Account for 2017/18.

The committee considered the annual Adult Social Care Local Account report for 2017/18, which outlined what adult social care services the council provides, how it delivers them and what has been achieved during the year.

In response to questions and concerns expressed by members in relation to the potential implications to Cheshire East residents following Allied Healthcare filing for protection from its creditors, the Acting Executive Director for People advised members that the council had received assurances from Allied Healthcare that this situation would not impact on the Cheshire East locality.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

To consider a report to update members on the proposed business cases to be submitted to the NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG Governing Body, and on how members’ concerns and comments raised on 27 September 2018 have been addressed.

Report to follow.

Pursuant to Minute No. 41 (Health and Adult Social Care and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 2018/19), the committee considered a report submitted jointly by the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership, NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and NHS South Cheshire & Vale Royal CCG, which reported how the comments and feedback received during the consultation and contientious consideration periods had been taken into account during the drafting of the final decision-making business cases to be submitted to the governing bodies of the CCGs.

Questions were put to the attending officers in relation to;

• the timescales for delivering this redesign of mental health services;
• whether the consulted options had placed an over-reliance on third sector service providers; and
• whether bodies will be able to recruit enough fully qualified staff to deliver the new community crisis service model.

RESOLVED

That the NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG be asked to keep the committee informed of future decisions and developments relating to this process.

To consider the Council’s forward plan and determine whether any items relating to the remit of this committee would require further scrutiny.

The committee considered the council’s Forward Plan for the four month period ending 31 January, 2019.

The Acting Executive Director for People advised that the upcoming key decisions to be taken on the Mental Health Strategy and Cheshire East Integration Strategy would be delayed and taken by Cabinet at a date after the previously planned 15 January, 2019.

RESOLVED

1. That the Forward Plan be noted.

2. That the reports and supporting documentation for Key Decisions ‘CE 18/19-18’, ‘CE 18/19-10’ and ‘CE 18/19-22’, be circulated to the committee for information.

To review the current work programme.

The committee considered its current work programme and were advised that the proposed changes made to the programme had been carried out to prioritise the committee’s workload and ensure that it could undertake the most effective scrutiny work that would add value to the subject matters being considered.

Members were advised that all four of the council’s overview and scrutiny committees would consider the Pre-Budget Consultation 2019-22, to ensure that comments and feedback could be submitted prior to the 14 December 2018 deadline.

RESOLVED

That the work programme be approved, subject to the addition of the Pre-Budget Consultation 2019-22 to be considered at the meeting on 6 December, 2018.