Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bamborough, Mrs Constable, Mrs Eagland and Councillor Ray.

Councillor O’Hagan declared a personal interest as he is currently employed by the Southern Staffordshire and Shropshire Mental Health Service based at Burton Queens Hospital.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 March 2018 previously circulated were taken as read, approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Taken from Article 6 of Part 2 of the Lichfield District Council Constitution

The Terms of Reference taken from Article 6 of Part 2 of the Lichfield District Council Constitution were approved however, Councillor Evans noted that this committee were responsible for “Local crime and disorder matters” but said she also sat on the Lichfield District Safer Neighbourhood Panel as an outside representative and she felt this was duplicating effort.  Mr Davies advised that the Lichfield District Safer Neighbourhood Panel was part of the Police & Crime Commissioner’s structure and not Lichfield District Council and so was not a duplication. 

The Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Performance of Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be in attendance

The Committee welcomed Kevin Downs, Director of Finance & Performance from Derby Teaching Hospitals and Alison Wynne, Director of Strategy & Partnerships from Burton Hospitals NHS who presented an update on the merger of Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  They advised that clearance for the acquisition (merger) had been given by the Competition & Markets Authority at Phase 1 and all appointments had now been filled on the Executive Teams.  It was reported that the name for the new Trust was to be “University Hospitals of Derby & Burton NHS Foundation Trust” and the date for the merger set as 1 July 2018.  The presentation illustrated the journey so far and the time line as well as the principles for the merger.  A question and answer session then followed the presentation and discussions on the major problems within the hospitals took place. 

It was asked if residents would still have the same choices as offered now and it was reported that there would be no change to the costs but a better offer for care provided.  It was noted that there were some efficiency savings taking place and Members expressed their concerns regarding the quality of services that would be experienced.  When asked if quality could be compromised, it was reported that anything that affects patient care was considered by the Care Quality Commission and it was envisaged that quality would improve with the joining of the expertise of two Trusts.  Continuing with questions around financial matters, it was asked if Consultants would have access to specialist equipment and it was reported that they would and the use of artificial intelligence would be a great improvement for outpatient care.  Examples given were the electronic distribution of x-ray and scanned images across sites.

Much discussion centred around bed blocking and it was reported that there had been the equivalent of two wards obstructed at Derby Hospital by patients in acute beds who were really in the wrong place and there had also been a need to cancel elective surgeries to accommodate these acute patients as there were not enough beds available.  It was suggested to alleviate this issue, a ‘discharge to access beds’ model would be introduced and this would free up acute care beds but still allow for the right care packages to be in place before discharge. It was asked who would pay for aftercare as the Health Department say it is for Social Care and Social Care say it should be the Health Department.  It was noted that this was a national issue, however, there had been a newly appointed Chief Executive for Public Health and hopefully this problem would be rectified over time.

An update was requested regarding the proposed Urgent Treatment Centres at both the Lichfield Samuel Johnson Community Hospital and The Sir Robert Peel Hospital in Tamworth which should be taking over from the Minor Injury Units and it was reported that this was still on track to happen although further discussions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Members considered the Work Programme and it was agreed to add “update on the merger of Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust” to January or March 2019 and the word “not” to the item “Discharge to Assessment” details.

a)    Lichfield District Health Provision            

b)    Staffordshire Health Select Committee   

LICHFIELD DISTRICT HEALTH PROVISION

Following on from the last meeting, the Chairman said that Burntwood was still awaiting development.  He said there was definitely a shrinking market of GP’s and discussions took place around the Home Office now refusing work permits.

STAFFORDSHIRE HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE

The Chairman reported that the meeting of the Staffordshire Health Select Committee had taken place last night and the All Age Disability Strategy for Staffordshire was to be implemented.  He advised that the draft policy actually targeted children born with disabilities and their journey although it did make reference to adults with disabilities as well.  The Chairman said Councillor White had got it and it was emphasising what people can do and not what they cannot do.   He said the draft policy would now be adopted across Staffordshire.  Members felt a holistic approach from all teams was not being done in at the moment in Staffordshire and this led to different teams not communicating effectively.  It was noted that in Staffordshire our special schools are full and so many children are sent outside of the area.

AIR QUALITY IN LICHFIELD

Following on from discussions at the previous meeting, a Briefing note had been prepared on the Air Quality in Lichfield and this was circulated and published on Brian for the members’ attention.