Archived decisions

ITEM 2(a)

AT A MEETING of the HEALTH REVIEW COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Royal Hotel, St. Peters Street, Winchester on Friday, 26 November 2004

PRESENT

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

Mrs. P.G. Banks; I.F.E. Beagley; K.G. Chapman; C. Connor; Mrs. P. Dickens; K. Evans; P.K. Mason; A. Mitchell; Mrs. P.A. West; D.F. Wright.

Also in attendance: Councillor F. Charlton (Portsmouth City Council).

94. 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.

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

95. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and set out the programme for the day.

96. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations to this meeting.

97. PLANNING FUTURE HEALTH SERVICES IN FAREHAM AND GOSPORT

The Chief Executive presented a report summarising the key issues relating to the consultations by Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust (PCT) regarding arrangements for providing NHS services for people living in Fareham and Gosport and setting out the role and responsibility of the Committee in considering the issues (Item 4 in the Minute Book). The Committee received presentations on the proposals from Fareham and Gosport PCT; Portsmouth Hospitals Trust; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority; The Ministry of Defence; Mark Hoban MP; Hampshire Social Services; Fareham Community Action; Fareham Borough Council; Gosport Voluntary Action; Haslar Task Force; Gosport Borough Council and Peter Viggers MP.

Fareham and Gosport PCT

Representatives of the Trust said that their aim was to enable more and better care to be delivered in a local setting and for patients to be able to receive treatment locally. They gave details of the various options considered and the consultation process and their preferred option as a result of the consultation. The preferred option would develop community hospitals as the hub of community health services in both Fareham and Gosport. This would result in a new Fareham Community Hospital and the expansion of Gosport War Memorial Hospital to include an Accident Treatment Centre, outpatients, minor surgery and diagnostics including endoscopy and scanning. The proposal would also provide new health centres in Fareham and Gosport to replace existing clinics and offer a new base for the Gosport Community Mental Health Team. Intermediate care services and specialised practitioners would continue to be developed, as would the provision of continuing care levels with social services and the independent sector. St. Christopher's Hospital, Blackbrook Maternity Home, Hill Park Clinic site and the Royal Haslar Hospital buildings would be declared surplus to requirements and would close.

Portsmouth Hospitals Trust

Representatives explained their involvement with Fareham and Gosport and said that they were in favour of the preferred option. They said that the private finance initiative for Queen Alexandra Hospital was due to be completed shortly. It was anticipated that rebuilding work would be completed in Summer 2008. They were confident that, although the Royal Haslar Hospital was currently scheduled for closure in Spring 2007, there would be continuity of service until the completion of Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority was happy with the consultation process and thought that it had been extremely thorough. It supported the preferred option and said that the PCT had provided a vision as to what would happen for 2008.

Ministry of Defence (MOD)

On behalf of the Ministry of Defence Rear Admiral Philip Raffielli said it was imperative to recognise that the MOD works closely with Health. He said that he believed that the health needs assessment carried out by the PCT was very comprehensive. The MOD would withdraw from Royal Haslar Hospital but was committed to the area with new MOD medical facilities being provided at Queen Alexandra Hospital. He said that, although withdrawal from the Royal Haslar Hospital was currently scheduled for March 2007 he was confident that there would be a continuity of service until the completion of the redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital which was currently scheduled for 2008. The final decision on this matter was for the responsible Minister.

Mark Hoban MP congratulated the PCT on its consultation exercise. He said that the PCT had been left to pick up the pieces of health provision in the area and taken the opportunity of a once in a lifetime appraisal to rectify services in the area. He did, however, have two areas of concern which were that there should be an accident treatment centre in Fareham which would relieve the pressure on Queen Alexandra Hospital and that the provision of outpatient services should be delivered at a local level.

Hampshire Social Services

The Director of Social Services explained how the County Council had assessed the PCT in the development of options and Social Services had looked at issues involved across all user groups. He said that it was important that Health and Social Services continue to work together closely. Hampshire Social Services had considered all of the options and the implications of each. In principle it supported the preferred option as it provided the optimum purpose built or altered accommodation costing the least recurring revenue and assured that the PCT could offer the most services to support care in the community and included schemes to prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.

Fareham Community Action

Paul O'Brienne, representing Fareham Community Action, outlined its role in the community and the actions it had taken in involving voluntary groups in the consultation process. The trustees of Fareham Community Action favoured the preferred option but were of the opinion that there should be an Accident Treatment Centre at the proposed Fareham Community Hospital. The comments back from voluntary organisations were that health services should be delivered locally and that provision in Fareham was best met by the preferred option.

Fareham Borough Council

Councillor Bayford, representing Fareham Borough Council, said that the PCT consultation process had been excellent. The Borough Council supported the partnership approach and the need to close outdated buildings. It was in favour of the proposed Fareham Community Hospital at Coldeast but was concerned that there were no proposals for an Accident Treatment Centre there; at the low number of inpatient beds to be provided and the low number of outpatient suites. It thought that it would not be big enough to cope with expected growth.

Gosport Voluntary Action

David Miles, representing Gosport Voluntary Action, explained its role. The consultation had been difficult as Gosport people still wanted the Royal Haslar Hospital to be retained. The voluntary groups were asked about the consultation and most were happy with the process followed by the PCT. The majority preferred option 1 which retained the use of the Royal Haslar Hospital.



Haslar Task Force

Dr. Philip Gray, representing the Haslar Task Force, spoke of the excellent services provided at the Royal Haslar Hospital and the vast amount of public money that had been invested in the hospital which would be wasted if it closed. He said that the current level of service at the hospital was about right and that proposed further facilities at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital would not be possible.

Gosport Borough Council

Councillor Peter Edgar, representing the Borough Council, said that it fully supported the redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital and the upgrade of facilities in Fareham to the standard in Gosport. He said that the consultation should have been based on the 2000 agreement which gave a commitment to the provision of a range of health services to people in Gosport and South Fareham. The Borough Council was unhappy with the MOD valuation of the Cross Link building at the Royal Haslar Hospital, with regard to the disposal of assets there were precedents that allowed transfer of buildings from one Government Department to another without cost. Should Haslar Hospital close this would be a scandalous and unnecessary waste of money given that a strong case could be made that the public interest would best be served if facilities at the Royal Haslar Hospital were transferred at a minimum cost. There had been no planning application for any redevelopment at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital. Traffic was a severe problem and the problems would increase if the Royal Haslar Hospital was closed resulting in increased use of Gosport War Memorial Hospital. The Borough Council favoured option 1 which retained the use of the Royal Haslar Hospital.

Peter Viggers MP said that the PCT consultation had been good but had been met with anger from the people of Gosport. He was concerned about the private finance initiative for the redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital and the loss of beds arising out of the redevelopment. He referred to a private finance initiative that had been overturned in Kent and said that the Queen Alexandra initiative should be referred to the Secretary of State for Health with a request that it be looked at by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel. He said that if the Royal Haslar Hospital was to close everything must come right first including the completion of the redevelopment of Queen Alexandra Hospital. He was of the opinion that, when looking at any changes, the Health bodies should start with what could be provided locally.

Members questioned each of the presenters on their presentation and their concerns and the PCT was invited to respond to the presentations. After a short adjournment to consider the presentations and all of the issues and concerns the Chairman gave a preliminary recommendation of the Committee on its findings and said that findings and recommendations would be given full consideration by the Committee at the next meeting on 30 November 2004.



RESOLVED:

That the Chief Executive presents the findings and recommendations of the PCT's proposals for the future of health services in Fareham and Gosport to the next meeting of the Committee on 30 November 2004 and that all parties be advised of the Committee's decision following that meeting.

4JM441204