Meeting documents

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement & Review Commission held on 12 November 2014, be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Meeting had been scheduled in order to receive a presentation by Richard Corbett, Healthwatch Bucks, on the findings of their Buckinghamshire-wide Urgent Care Survey. The Commission had been approached by Ms Ozma Hafiz, who had been involved with the Save Wycombe Hospital campaign, who also wished to make a presentation to the Commission. Chairman of the Commission Councillor Gaffney had therefore suggested Ms Hafiz’s presentation also be received at this Meeting.

These presentations being the last submissions to the Commission in respect of its Urgent Health Care Review; following on from the Public Listening Event of 15 October 2014 and the follow up presentation by health providers in Buckinghamshire at the Commission’s 12 November 2014 meeting.

Ms Hafiz outlined the history of her campaign which stretched back some 6 years. Supported by an extensive Facebook campaign and more recently similarly on Twitter, the emphasis of the campaign was the return of a full Accident and Emergency unit to High Wycombe. Playing in the background as Ms Hafiz spoke was a ‘Hands up for a Hand Back’ video with a repeated motif of hands supporting the campaign.

Ms Hafiz then showed a further video with comments of users of both the MIIU (Minor Injuries and Illness Unit) at High Wycombe and the A&E at Stoke Mandeville.

Members received clarification on a number of queries and made comments in respect of the presentation as follows:

·         Many of the views and comments in the presentation reinforced the views expressed at the Council’s public listening event in October;

·         Some Members felt that the campaign’s concentration on re-establishing an A&E at High Wycombe, which had not proven possible despite a long campaign over many years, may need to refocus on ensuring the current model of centres of excellence, supported by urgent care centres works well;

·         One of the key issues  was transportation and Ms Hafiz suggested that the solution was to bring more facilities back to Wycombe Hospital and, in the short-term, for paramedics to be well-informed about local facilities

·         The introduction by staff of some consideration of the patient’s home address (i.e. if a long way away in the south of the County) should be considered when discharging with an instruction to return the following day (particularly re maternity); and

·         The lack of consideration of mental health patients at both the MIIU and A&E was remarked upon;

The Chairman thanked Ms Hafiz for her presentation and her input into the review of the Commission and wished her well with her continuing endeavours on this important topic.

Mr Corbett then gave his presentation on the recently completed Healthwatch Bucks’s Buckinghamshire-wide review of Health Care Services. The report had not yet been finalised but Mr Corbett was in a position to outline the following key points:

·         The Survey was paper / online based, there had not been any listening events as under the Commission’s review; however a response rate of 385 respondents with 648 cohorts showed that the survey had been quite  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.