Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An Apology for absence had been received from Councillor Atkinson.

To receive details of any changes in membership.

Councillor Irving attended as a substitute for Councillor Atkinson.

To receive declarations of interest by members of any interests on respect of items on this agenda, and to consider any dispensations.

Members may however, also decide, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other registerable or other interests.  

There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item on the agenda.

RESOLVED: - that the press and public be not excluded during consideration of any items on the agenda today.

To receive a report from the Interim Senior Service Manager – Policy and Performance (copy enclosed)

The Chair introduced the agenda item and made the following statement –

The committee recognised and acknowledged the challenges and pressures facing the NHS. However, they want to better understand the measurements informing the proposed changes to bed provision, and foster a more collaborative approach of ‘no surprises’ when sharing information between this committee and them as healthcare providers whilst maintaining and serving the best interests of our residents as effectively as they could.

The proposals had caused community concern, including her fellow Councillors. As a Scrutiny Committee one of their roles was to use their powers to amplify their concerns where they thought it was important and necessary. The decision to convene this extraordinary meeting was intended to dispel hearsay and speculation amongst the public about the planned reconfiguration of wards and beds.

Help them to understand the rationale behind the changes and the mechanisms and manner of public and stakeholder engagement undertaken by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay Trust to come to these decisions.

They welcomed an opportunity to scrutinise, review and understand the processes that led to these decisions. Under the terms of the Local Government Act 2000, the purpose of health scrutiny was to ‘strengthen the voice of local people, ensuring that their needs and experiences are considered an integral part of the commissioning and delivery of health services and that those services are effective and safe’ and in the spirit of positive collaboration, they wanted be as effective as they could be by working together.

And so, today was an opportunity for NHS representatives to provide further detail behind these plans and explain any public engagement so far to members of the committee.  What constitutes a ‘substantive service change’? These plans appear to be substantive in a geographically for patients and they simply wanted to understand how the ‘patients’ voice’ was heard or indeed, listened to’

Aaron Cummins - Lead Chief Executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria Provider Collaborative, provided an introduction to the presentation on the proposed bed configuration at UHMBT.

He stated that UHMBT’s Vision was to admit patients to hospital only when there was a clinical reason, with no better alternatives. Patients should be admitted to the most appropriate unit and be cared for by the right clinical team, then discharged promptly when acute care is complete. Data and feedback indicated that while the Trust often met these goals, there were inconsistencies in patient experiences. As a result, a review of the bed configuration had been undertaken to identify areas for improvement.

The proposed changes were not about reducing services at any hospital but about improving patient care and reducing inpatient stays. The Trust remained committed to its hospitals' futures.

The proposals were developed by the Trust’s clinical Care Groups, which used relevant data and feedback to inform their development. These plans were discussed with senior clinical leaders before being finalized.

The consultation had started and would run for 30 days, with colleagues raising important  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.