ITEM 2

AT A MEETING of the HEALTH REVIEW COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday, 21 September 2004.

PRESENT

Councillors: Dr R J Ellis (Chairman); Mrs A M McNair Scott (Vice Chairman) ;

I F E Beagley; C Connor; Mrs P Dickens; A Dowden; K Evans; W S Filer;

Mrs K Heron; R C McIntosh; Mrs E M F Randall; D Welch; Mrs P A West;

D F Wright.

Also in attendance: Councillor B Parnell (Southampton City Council) and

Councillor I Stephens (Isle of Wight Council).

86 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that where they believed that they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally, at the time of debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter is discussed.

Councillors Mrs P Dickens declared a personal interest in that she is employed by the NHS; Councillor D F Wright declared a personal interest in that his wife is a General Practice Manager; and Mrs P A West declared a personal interest in that her daughter-in-law works for the Ambulance Service.

87 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 27 July 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

88 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

(a) Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Health Scrutiny Joint Committee

The Chairman reported that the Joint Committee met on 13 September. The arrangements for considering the proposal to develop maternity services in south east Hampshire were considered and the participation from each of the local authorities affected agreed.

(b) South East Regional Chairmen and Officers Meeting

The Chairman reported the Chairmen and lead officers from Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees in the south east of England meet at Winchester yesterday to identify issues of common interest.

(c) Area meetings

The Chairman reported that the area meetings are underway - the mid and south west Hampshire meeting was held on the 8 September; that for north Hampshire would be held on the 29 September and south east Hampshire on the 11 October.

(d) Additional Meeting

The Chairman reminded members that an additional meeting of the Committee would take place on 21 October 2004. The meeting was not a formal `call-in' of the local NHS but would provide the Committee with an opportunity to closely scrutinise proposals from the PCT for the future of services in Fareham and Gosport and key local stakeholders would be invited to share their views with the Committee.

(e) Beyond HealthFit

The Chairman reported that the Strategic Health Authority was organising a conference on `Beyond HealthFit' on the 10 November 2004. Members would be advised of the arrangements when they were received.

(f) Queen Alexandra Hospital

The Chairman reported that at the meeting of the Strategic Health Authority on 14 September 2004 he highlighted the concerns of the Committee that the contract for the Private Finance Initiative redevelopment at Queen Alexandra Hospital remained unsigned and this was not expected to be completed until November 2004, nearly a year after the anticipated date. The Chief Executive of the Strategic Health Authority had stated that this would not cause a delay in completing the work.

89 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations to the meeting.

90 CO-OPTION OF DISTRICT MEMBERS

The Chief Executive reported that the Association of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Authorities had nominated Councillors K Evans and D Welch to fill the vacancies on the Committee for District Members.

RESOLVED:

That Councillors K Evans and D Welch be appointed as co-opted Members of the Committee.

91 INQUIRIES RECEIVED AND ACTION TAKEN

The Chief Executive presented a report on inquiries received, the source of each inquiry and the action taken (Item 6 in the Minute Book). He gave details about Diagnostic and Treatment Centres; Arrangements for Patient and Public Involvement in health and the interrelationships; Redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital/Services in South East Hampshire; Beyond HealthFit; GP Out of Hours cover; Differential Tariffs and Foundation Hospitals. Members expressed concerns about the problems being encountered with GP Out of Hours cover and asked for the situation to be monitored very carefully.

RESOLVED:

That the report be received and the actions outlined in the report be endorsed.

92 PROPOSALS TO DEVELOP OR VARY NHS SERVICES

The Chief Executive presented a report on proposals from the NHS to vary or develop health service in the area of the Committee (Item 7 in the Minute Book). He presented the report in two parts which comprised of items for information which alerted the Committee to forthcoming proposals from the NHS to vary or change services and items for action which set out the actions required by the Committee to respond to proposals from the NHS to substantially change or vary NHS services.

Under items for information he gave details on:

Hampshire Partnership Trust: Secure Adolescent Mental Health Services for the South of England

The Committee had been alerted to proposals for the development of secure adolescent mental health services across the region. The initiative was in the early stages of development and was not due to be completed until January 2007, it was, therefore, unlikely to be the subject of formal consultations until 2005/06. The Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight Health Scrutiny Joint Committee had considered the issue and requested regular updates, information on the process for discharging Section 11 responsibilities and that all parties be engaged in the development of the project.

Under items requiring action he gave details on:

Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust: Closure of the Mount Hospital on Safety Grounds

The recommendation of the Committee had been communicated to Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust (WEHT) following the meeting of the Committee on 29 July. The Trust had responded and the Committee was now required to determine whether or not it accepted the response.




Maternity Services in South East Hampshire

Consultation on the provision of maternity services in South East Hampshire was due to commence in October 2004. Portsmouth City Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was taking the lead in co-ordinating the Joint Committee to consider the proposal. It was necessary to appoint a fourth member to the Joint Committee to replace Councillor Bayford.

Planning Future Health Services in Fareham and Gosport

Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust were formally consulting local people on the future patterns of health services in Fareham and Gosport. An additional meeting of the Committee had been convened for 21 October 2004 to consider the outcome of the consultation and the preferred option to be presented to the Primary Care Trust Board on 3 November 2004. The interests of the Committee in considering these proposals were at two levels

- had there been adequate consultation with local people
regarding the options for providing health services to people
living in Fareham and Gosport;

- is the preferred option identified in the interests of the health
service in the area.

Amendment to the Criteria for Assessing Proposals for the NHS to Vary or Develop Proposals

It was necessary to change the previous identifier for addressing proposals from the NHS to vary or change to take into account of the provisions of The Race (Amendment) Act 2000 which placed a duty on all public bodies to promote race equality. A key element of the duty was the need to assess the impact of new policies or service changes on different racial groups and consult there.

RESOLVED:

That:-

(a) Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust: Closure of the Mount Hospital on Safety Grounds

(i) The response from WEHT to the recommendations be accepted.

(ii) WEHT immediately advise the Committee of any further change to the services provided at the Mount Hospital.

(iii) Eastleigh & Test Valley South PCT provide the Committee with an up-date on progress with the implementation of the new service model at its next meeting.

(b) Maternity Services in South East Hampshire

(i) Councillor Connor be appointed as the fourth to the formal joint committee to consider this proposal.

(ii) The expectation that this Joint Committee will take account of the criteria for responding to consultation agreed by the Committee be reaffirmed.

(iii) The Joint Committee considers the proposal from the NHS taking account of the population affected.

(c) Planning Future Health Services in Fareham and Gosport

(i) Preparatory work for the meeting on 21 October 2004 includes

- A briefing paper for members including the additional information requested by the Committee, the purpose of the meeting, the role of the Committee in considering the options presented and appropriate background information.

- Key partner organisations are invited to attend the meeting to share their views on the proposals developed by the PCT.

(d) Amendment to the Criteria for assessing proposals from the NHS to vary or develop services

(i) The criteria for assessing proposals from the NHS be amended to reflect the requirements of the Race (Amendment) Act 2000.

(ii) This information is communicated to all partner organisations.

93 HEALTH REVIEW PROGRESS REPORT

The Chief Executive presented a report on the progress being made on the reviews of Access to Therapy in Schools and Access to Footcare for people with Diabetes (Item 8 in the Minute Book). He said that an additional Member was now required on the working group on Access to Footcare for People with Diabetes to replace Councillor Williams. Councillor Mrs West volunteered her services. Due to delays both reviews would now present their reports to the November meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That:-

(a) The progress made with the review programme and the change to the final report back date be noted.

(b) Councillor Mrs West be appointed to the working group on Access to Footcare for People with Diabetes.
4JM330904