Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brough, Councillor Lunn-Bates, Diane Blair, Healthwatch Sefton and Brian Clark, O.B.E., Healthwatch Sefton.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2023

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2023, be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

The Committee considered the report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, that provided an update about the work of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, Sefton. The report outlined details of the following:

·       Pioneering stroke assessment centre opens at Aintree University Hospital

·       Covid & Flu Vaccination Update

·       Children’s flu vaccination programme gets underway

·       Region-wide AI deal to help tackle waiting lists across nine NHS trusts

·       Latest NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Board meeting

RESOLVED:

That the update report submitted by the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (Sefton) be noted.

Report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

The Committee considered the report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, that provided data on key performance areas for North and South Sefton, together with responses for the Friends and Family Test for both Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT). Information on the monitoring of the7-day GP extended access scheme, and ambulance response times were also included within the data.

Members noted a drop in performance for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital. It was agreed that a response to the query would be circulated to the Committee.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the information on Health Provider Performance be  noted;

(2)      the Assistant Director of Adult Social Care be requested to obtain a response from health colleagues to the query around the drop in performance for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital, to be circulated to the Committee.

Report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

The Committee considered the report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside that set out details of:

·       Current Performance Reporting;

·       The future of Performance Reporting, in relation to the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board;

·       Whole Life Sefton Plan Themes; and

·       Recommendations

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·       Statistics and data should continue to be presented to the Committee in the interests of openness and transparency.

·       Themed reports should be presented to the Committee alongside the performance report, it should not be an either/or.

·       It would have been helpful for the Committee to have received an example of alternative options for performance reporting.

·       Performance data was useful to enable the Committee to scrutinise and monitor what is happening in healthcare and particularly important in terms of the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

·       Scrutiny committees can be open to criticism for not fulfilling their duties, and the scrutiny of data was an important part of the Committee’s role.

RESOLVED: That

(1)           it be confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health) wishes to continue to receive the Performance Dashboard at all future meetings;

(2)      the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside be requested to include a narrative to explain future variations in data, where possible;

(3)      Sefton Plan themes be considered under Minute  No. 33 below.

Report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

The Committee considered the report of the Sefton Place Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside that set details of the following:

·       Purpose

·       Background

·       Melling Surgery

·       Impact of COVID-19

·       Premises/Lease arrangements

·       Contractual

·       Options Appraisal

·       Overall impact on patients

·       Impact Assessments (EIA and QIA) Summary

·       Impact on patients from Sefton

·       Changes in accessibility

·       Bus Routes

·       Patient Transport

·       Community Pharmacy Support

·       Home Visit Support

·       Complaints received during the closure

·       Patient communication

·       Patient Information Event

·       Actions taken by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Members of the Committee asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·       The reasons for the lease not being renewed and the legalities around that.

·       It was confirmed that Ward Members had reported that residents were complaining about the closure.

·       The population in the Melling area was increasing with a development of 140 new houses, which added to the concern about access to GP surgeries.

·       The bus routes to other surgeries were quite long and not acceptable for people who were sick. However, it was noted that the offer of taxis had not been widely taken up by melling surgery patients.

·       The circumstances of the closure were understood, but it was apparent that the closure would be a substantial change.

RESOLVED:

That the impact of the closure of Melling Surgery forSefton residents constitutes a substantial change.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officerproposing amendments to the process for considering substantial reconfiguration proposals. The Protocol for Joint Health Scrutiny Arrangements was attached to the report at Appendix A.

The report indicated that some 63 substantial reconfiguration proposals were likely to be forthcoming to each of the nine local authorities in Cheshire and Merseyside in the near future, as part of the Harmonisation of Clinical Policies within the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System.

Rather than submit all future substantial reconfiguration proposals received directly to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health), it was proposed that the Statutory Scrutiny Officer, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee, should review substantial reconfiguration proposals received to inform an initial decision which would be conveyed to the relevant Health Provider. Details of substantial reconfiguration proposals received would be emailed to Committee Members inviting feedback and once an initial decision had been reached, the outcome would be reported to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health), for formal approval.

RESOLVED:

That the Statutory Scrutiny Officer, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Adult Social Care and Health), be authorised to review substantial reconfiguration proposals received, in order to inform an initial decision, as set out in paragraphs 3.1 to 3.3 of the report.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer submitting the most recent update reports from the Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care, and the Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing, whose portfolios fell within the remit of the Committee.

The Cabinet Member update report – Adult Social Care, attached to the report at Appendix A, outlined information on the following:

·       The National Assurance Update for Adult Social Care

·       Integrated Care Teams (ICT) Development

·       Strategic Commissioning:

o   Domiciliary Care

o   Day Opportunities

o   New Directions

o   Care Homes

o   Quality Monitoring

o   Grant Funding

o   Extra Care Housing

·       Care Transfer Hubs - ASC involvement in Hospital Discharge/Preparation for Winter

·       Adult Social Care Budget

·       Adult Social Care Complaints, Compliments and MP Enquiries

·       Principal Social Worker Update (PSW):

o   Practice Audits

·       Performance and Key Areas of Focus

o   Admission into care and reablement

o   Self-directed support and direct payments

o   Employment

o   Housing

o   Safeguarding

The Cabinet Member update report – Health and Wellbeing, attached to the report at Appendix B, outlined information on the following:

Public Health:

·       Combatting Drug Partnership

·       Staff Flu Vaccination Programme 2023

·       Sexual Health Extension

·       Parent Champion for Respiratory Health Pilot

Leisure:

·       Leisure Update

Councillor Cummins, Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care and Councillor Moncur, Cabinet Member - Health and Wellbeing, attended the meeting to present their reports and to respond to any questions.

Members noted the following points:

·       The challenging financial position relating to Adult Social Care.

·       The issue of a high number of staff vacancies in social care across the independent and voluntary sector.

RESOLVED: That

(1)      the update reports from the Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care and the Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing be noted; and

(2)      the Assistant Director of Adult Social Care be requested to submit further data to Committee Members on vacancies and staffing in the social care in the independent and voluntary sector.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that sought to:

• seek the views of the Committee on the Work Programme for the remainder of the Municipal Year 2023/24;
• identify any items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the Key Decision Forward Plan;
• seek the views of the Committee on the Programme of informal briefings/workshop sessions for the remainder of 2023/24,
• note the intention for the Local Government Association to provide training from Members and Substitutes of the Committee;
• receive an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
• receive an update on the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System Joint Health Scrutiny Committee; and
• note the update by Healthwatch Sefton.

The following appendices were attached to the report:

• Appendix A – Work Programme for 2023/24;
• Appendix B – Latest key decision forward plan items relating to this overview and scrutiny committee.
• Appendix C – Draft programme of informal briefings/workshop sessions for 2023/24
• Appendix D – Update of recent activities taken by Healthwatch Sefton.

Members noted the addition of the following items to future agendas:

·       Cancer Alliance

·       Winter Plan for Adult Social Care

·       Ormskirk/Southport Hospital

RESOLVED: That

(1)    the Work Programme for 2023/24, as set out in Appendix A to the report be agreed, along with any additional items (as above) to be included and thereon agreed;

(2)    the following additional items be included in the Work Programme for the dates indicated:

·       Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance – January 2024

·       Winter Pressure and Plan for Adult Social Care – January 2024

·       Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust – Shaping Care Programme – February 2024;

(3)    the contents of the Key Decision Forward Plan for the period 1 November – 29 February 2024, be noted;

(4)    the Programme of informal briefings/workshop sessions for 2023/24, as set out at Appendix C to the report, be noted, along with any additional informal items to be included and thereon be agreed;

(5)    the intention for the Local Government Association to provide training from Members and Substitutes of the Committee be noted;

(6)    the update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted;

(7)    the update on the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System Joint Health Scrutiny Committee be noted; and

(8)    the recent activities undertaken by Healthwatch Sefton, as outlined in Appendix D to the report, be noted.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Committee be re-arranged to Tuesday, 23 January 2024, to be held at the Town Hall, Southport, commencing at 6.30 p.m.