Archived decisions

Hampshire County Council

Health Review Committee Item 10

8 April 2003

Managing the Transition - Joint Conference on Public and Patient Involvement in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Report of the Chief Executive, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health Authority

Contact at H&IoWHA, Richard Samuel

1. Summary

1.1. This paper sets out proposals of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health Authority for a Hampshire-based conference to be held in May/June 2003. The aim of the Conference will be to facilitate the handing over of responsibilities, expertise and knowledge from the outgoing Community Health Councils to the new Overview and Scrutiny Committees and, if established, Patients Forums.

2. Introduction

2.1. For 28 years, Community Health Councils (CHCs) have worked to protect the rights of individuals and the public in health. In discharging this responsibility, the CHCs have used a wide and varied portfolio of approaches, from complaints work, scrutiny work and visiting programmes through to public involvement and engagement. On 1 September 2003, however, the CHCs will be abolished: replaced by a range of alternative bodies and mechanisms, including Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Patients Forums and Independent Complaints and Advocacy Services.

2.2. Over the course of the 28 years, CHCs have clearly developed a considerable amount of experience, skill, expertise and knowledge about local health services and about the optimal techniques and approaches required to fulfil their role.

2.3. In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight there are five CHCs:

2.4. Mindful of this experience and skill, it is proposed that a Conference is organised in late May or early June to:

      · celebrate the CHCs successes and achievements over the last 28 years;

      · identify the roles and responsibilities of the CHC and clarify to whom, if at all, they will transfer after 1 September 2003;

      · ensure that any issues that the CHCs feel require continued scrutiny are identified and `handed-over' (either on a county-wide basis or on a locality basis);

      · provide the opportunity for CHC members to share experiences and lessons that might prove useful for members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees or Patients Forums;

      · to enable Overview and Scrutiny Committee members to consider approaches to joint-scrutiny of health across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

2.5. It is proposed that the Conference will include the following participants:

      · members and officers of all five Hampshire and the Isle of Wight CHCs;

      · members and officers of Hampshire County Council Health Review Committee;

      · members and officers of the Portsmouth City Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

      · members and officers of the Southampton City Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

      · members and officers of the Isle of Wight Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

      · directors and non-executive directors of the Strategic Health Authority;

      · Patient Forum members (or, if not established, representatives from the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health);

      · Trust and Primary Care Trust Chief Executives and Patient Advice and Liaison Officers;

2.6. The CHCs have signalled their support for such an event, in place of an annual statutory meeting with the Strategic Health Authority. If supported by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, a planning group be established to identify speakers and plan the event.

3. Recommendation

    That the Committee welcomes the proposal by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Health Authority to host a conference marking and facilitating the handing over of responsibilities, expertise and knowledge from the Community Health Councils to local authorities' overview and scrutiny committees and, when established, Patients' Forums.