Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Oculus, Buckinghamshire Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury HP19 8FF. View directions

Contact: Liz Wheaton 

Media

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence/changes in membership

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr Liz Walsh.

2.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cllr Chris Poll declared an interest in item 7 as his son was employed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in the spinal injuries department.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 450 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30th September 2021 as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30th September 2021 were agreed as a correct record.

 

The Chairman updated the Committee on the actions from the last meeting.

 

·       Page 7 - Adult Social Care Winter Plan – the national ASC Winter Plan had just been published so ASC colleagues were currently considering the local plan in relation to this.  The plan would be circulated to the Committee once completed.

·       Page 7 – GP Access. This was discussed at the recent Health & Wellbeing Board meeting alongside a paper which had been produced by the CCG.  The Chairman encouraged Members to view the webcast of this meeting and listen to the discussion.

·       Page 8 – Local Directory of Services used by 111 service – Caroline Capell, Director of Winter Planning, had responded to say that BHT had completed a lot of the work as part of Winter preparation.  This would continue to be an ongoing process as all services/providers need to be reviewed every year and a pathway had now been set-up for this.

·       Page 8 – involvement of local pharmacists in developing the Winter plan – the chief officer for the local pharmaceutical committee attended the recent Health & Wellbeing Board meeting as part of the winter plan discussions.  Colleagues from primary care publicly thanked the support that local pharmacists had provided, and continue to provide, to the local population.

4.

Public Questions

Public questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee.

 

The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

 

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no public questions submitted for this meeting.

5.

Chairman's update

For the Chairman to update Members on health and social care scrutiny related activities since the last meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman updated Members on the following:

 

·       Members of the Inquiry Group looking into Primary Care Networks had met to discuss the scoping document.  A meeting with the Clinical Commissioning Group’s Head of Primary Care Network Development and Delivery was taking place at the beginning of December.   Further evidence gathering sessions would take place in January/February.

6.

Future GP and healthcare services in Buckingham pdf icon PDF 560 KB

The Swan Practice in Buckingham launched a 12-week consultation on the proposed plans to build a new site at Lace Hill.  The public consultation ran from 23rd August to 16th November 2021.  The HASC Select Committee submitted a formal response to the consultation.

 

The Chairman will update the Committee on the next steps.

 

Papers:

Consultation briefing on the future of healthcare services in Buckingham

Health & Adult Social Care Select Committee consultation response

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Chairman updated Members on the future plans for primary care in Buckingham.

 

The public consultation closed on 16th November 2021.  The Chairman had submitted a formal response on behalf of the HASC Select Committee which highlighted a number of concerns, including the lack of an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) and a request that the end of consultation report be presented at a future Committee meeting.

 

 

7.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust's Clinical Strategy pdf icon PDF 642 KB

The Committee will hear from representatives from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust about their newly published clinical strategy.

 

Presenter:

Mr David Williams, Director of Strategy, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Mr Andrew McLaren, Chief Medical Officer, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

 

Papers:

Covering report from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Clinical Strategy

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Mr D Williams, Director of Strategy, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and Dr T Kenny, Director of Clinical Partnership, to the meeting.

 

During their presentation, the following main points were made.

 

·       Surveys with various key stakeholders and focus groups had been undertaken to help inform the strategy.

·       The strategy outlines a commitment to quality of care, with the aim of maintaining the CQC’s outstanding rating for compassionate care and to move the Trust’s overall rating to outstanding.

·       The core of strategy was also to improve the health & wellbeing of all Buckinghamshire communities and to help to keep older people at home for longer.

·       The Trust was one of the biggest employers across the county and the workforce was a heart of what it does.  Staff wellbeing was a priority for the Trust. 

·       The strategy aligns with the requirements put in place in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

·       A new paediatric department would be opening in April 2022.

·       The clinical strategy aimed to provide emergency services on one site and then planned services on another site.

·       The Trust was developing a community diagnostic hub at Amersham Hospital which would have extended hours and would move to 12 hours, 7 days a week, as necessitated by demand in the fullness of time.

·       The strategy also focussed on more Integration of community services so people with long-term health conditions could live more independently.

·       A new innovation centre would be opening to extend research, especially in terms of spinal injury care.  The Trust aimed to be nationally and internationally renowned for rehabilitation services for spinal injury patients.

·       Investment in digital care would help to ensure a better patient experience with more co-ordinated patient records and more services available online (as appropriate).

·       An Expression of interest had been made to the Government’s national hospital infrastructure programme to invest in new facilities to care for Buckinghamshire’s existing and growing population.  Further details would be available in the New Year once a decision had been made.  The public would be engaged on the options as these were developed.

 

During the discussion, Members asked the following questions.

 

·       A Member asked for clarification around the difference between a Trauma Centre and a Trauma Unit.   Dr Kenny explained that a trauma centre would handle the more serious illnesses that need more interventions, for example, cardiothoracic surgery patients.  A trauma unit would handle less complicated issues, such as broken limbs.

·       In response to questions about health inequalities, Mr Williams explained that waiting lists would be monitored by ethnicity and deprivation quintile to ensure inclusiveness.  The Trust had commissioned Healthwatch Bucks to work with individual groups to help improve inclusive care.

·       The Healthy Communities strategy was directly linked to health inequalities and each service within the Trust had been asked to outline their contribution to reducing health inequalities.

·       Members agreed to consider reviewing health inequalities as part of the Committee’s future work programme.

·       A Member raised concerns about the planned housing developments in Buckinghamshire and the increased demand for healthcare  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Director of Public Health Annual Report pdf icon PDF 480 KB

The Committee will review the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report.  This year the report focuses on domestic violence and abuse.

 

Presenters:

Dr Jane O’Grady, Director of Public Health, Buckinghamshire Council

 

Papers:

Cover report

Director of Public Health’s Annual report

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Dr Jane O’Grady, Director of Public Health, Buckinghamshire Council and explained that reviewing the Director of Public Health’s annual report was part of the Committee’s remit.

 

During the discussion, the following main points were made.

 

·       The annual report focussed on domestic violence and abuse and a wide range of stakeholders were involved in bringing the report together.

·       Domestic violence and abuse was often unrecognised and under-reported.

·       It was everyone’s responsibility to look out for signs of domestic violence and to take appropriate action to safeguard those affected.

·       A Member commented that there was a lack of understanding around the services available for children and that the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) was struggling to cope with the demand for their services.  The Director of Public Health explained that the annual report shines a light on a specific issue and the recommendations were shared with partners for them to develop into action plans.

·       A Member asked about the funding available for tackling this issue.  The Director of Public Health responded that funding came out of the Community Safety team budget.

·       A Member commented that the strategy needed to be embedded in order to make the necessary changes.  The Director of Public Health explained that the strategy was owned by all the key partners and an action plan would be developed by the Domestic Abuse Board.  She confirmed that it was a priority for the council.

·       A Member expressed concern about the data collection methods to which the Director of Public Health explained that one of the recommendations was specifically focussed on improving data collection.

·       A Member felt that the fear of children being taken away from them was a major factor in people not reporting domestic abuse and families need to be reassured.

·       A local campaign would be developed in line with the national campaigns.

 

The Chairman thanked the Director of Public Health for her presentation.

9.

Healthwatch Bucks update pdf icon PDF 340 KB

The Committee will receive an update on the recent key projects for Healthwatch Bucks.

 

Presenter:

Ms Z McIntosh, Chief Executive, Healthwatch Bucks

 

Paper:

Update attached

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ms Z McIntosh, Chief Executive, Healthwatch Bucks updated the Committee on the latest activities and made the following main points.

 

·       The Covid-19 vaccine report had now been published and a response had been received from the Clinical Commissioning Group.

·       Access to NHS Dentists was still one of the key areas of concern raised by the public.  A Member commented on the charges for PPE being added to the patient’s bill and it was agreed that this should not be charged for.  The Chairman suggested this issue be raised with key partners when dentistry was reviewed again by the Committee.

·       A report on remote blood pressure monitoring would be published soon.

·       A piece of work around cancer services was currently being undertaken.

·       Hospital waiting times were being reviewed across the Healthwatch’s covering the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System.

 

10.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 367 KB

The Committee will review the items on the work programme for future meetings.

 

Contributors:

Committee Members

 

Papers:

Work programme

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee discussed the items for the next meeting and agreed to add Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s proposal on the future of community hubs at Marlow and Thame Community Hospitals.  As this was a new item for the February meeting, the Chairman said that she would review the work programme and make any necessary changes.  The discussions around future plans for primary care in Buckingham may also need to come to the February meeting, but this had yet to be confirmed.

 

 

11.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 3rd February 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The next meeting is due to take place on Thursday 3rd February 2022 at 10am.