Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed Members and Officers to the Special Meeting of the Committee and introductions took place.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cluskey and Jones; Diane Blair, Healthwatch; and Councillor Cummins, Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care.

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.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer requesting the Committee to consider each of the proposals in relation to the next phase of clinical service integration for a number of services delivered by Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUFT), as set out at Appendix A to the report, and seeking to determine whether the proposals constituted a substantial development or variation for Sefton residents. Appendix A to the report set out the background to the matter; the strategic context; and an overview of the proposals in relation to the following specialities:

·       General surgery;

·       Vascular services;

·       Urology services;

·       Nephrology services; and

·       Breast services.

Appendix A also outlined the duty to consult with local authority Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees; the public consultation approach to be taken; the indicative timeline and milestones; and a conclusion.

Carole Hill, Director of Strategy, Communications and Integration, Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Groups; and Dr John Brennan, Interim Medical Director,were in attendance to present the proposals and to respond to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

Dr. Brennan gave a presentation on the Clinical Services Reconfiguration Schemes that outlined the following:

·       Integration and Reconfiguration Programme – Context;

·       Integration and Reconfiguration Programme – Progress to Date;

·       Integration and Reconfiguration Schemes 2022;

·       Clinical Recommendation for Site Configuration;

·       Proposed Reconfiguration Schemes:

o   General surgery;

o   Vascular services;

o   Breast services;

o   Nephrology services; and

o   Urology services.

Members of the Committee asked questions/raised matters on the following issues:

·       Staff and trade union consultation regarding the proposals.

·       Any job creation/reductions associated with the proposals.

·       The car parking situation around the vicinity of hospitals.

·       Any cost savings/efficiencies associated with the proposals.

·       Knock-on effects to other hospital trusts in the North Mersey patch, including Southport Hospital.

·       Impact to the spinal service based at Southport Hospital.

·       The need for hospital trusts to co-ordinate with adult social care services, particularly where proposals could result in shorter hospital stays.

·       Advice to be offered to future patients regarding public transport links to the hospitals concerned.

·       Assurances that the costings and business case for the proposals would be made available, in the event that a Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was established.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer presented the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer and highlighted the criteria to be considered in considering whether a proposal was substantial.

The Chair requested Committee Members present to indicate agreement that the proposals represented a “substantial” change for Sefton residents in relation to each of the services outlined and it was:

RESOLVED:

That the Committee considers that the each of the proposals detailed in Appendix A to the report constitute a substantial development / variation in services delivered by Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for Sefton residents.