Agenda item

To review the Health Scrutiny Committee’s Workplan for 2016-2017.

The Chairman referred to the Health Scrutiny Workplan for 2016-2017 and progress with the implementation of recommendations. The Chairman informed the Committee that some agreed actions from previous meetings required from the Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group were still outstanding without any explanation and that It was important to complete actions and also ensure reports for meetings were submitted in good time. A request would be sent on his behalf to the Clinical Commissioning Group. 

The Committee were provided with a summary of key topics added to the Work Programme.

Following an inspection in the middle of 2016, the Care Quality Commission had required significant improvement from the Grange Park Health Centre which was the only health centre in Blackpool served by a single GP. The Committee had previously noted the concerns and that there had been no direct threat to patient safety or quality of care. Therefore a watching brief had been maintained. A re-inspection had taken place with another report due to be published in December 2016. It was understood that steady progress was being made with support from NHS England and Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group. However, improvement needed to be sustained after the various support had ceased. Following the re-inspection report being published, the Committee could receive a detailed update at its March 2017 meeting from the Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Committee had recently considered progress being made at The Harbour (Lancashire Care Foundation Trust’s in-patient adult mental health facility in Blackpool). The Care Quality Commission had undertaken an inspection of the Trust in autumn 2016 and inspection report would be published in December 2016. The Trust had indicated to the Committee that no serious concerns had been raised by the Commission during the inspection. The Committee noted the option for a brief update at its March 2017 meeting.

The draft Public Mental Health Strategy would be considered at the March 2017 meeting and would complement a dedicated meeting focusing on young people’s health needs. The draft Sexual Health Strategy would be considered at the provisional July 2017 meeting.

The Committee had previously considered progress with integrated health and social care, principally through the development of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan 2016-2020. Progress with transforming care for people through the Plan as well as financial efficiencies were to be added to the provisional July 2017 or September 2017 meetings.

Councillor David Owen referred to the significance of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan and concerns that the Plan showed little prospect of delivering on effective transformation of services to improve patient care, manage demand or to achieve the level of financial savings required (£572m across Cumbria and South Lancashire equating to 25% of budgets) over the five years. Plans were being driven by national savings requirements of NHS England. He highlighted that the Plan lacked specific local detail of proposed actions, would impact negatively upon patient care and should be rejected.  He highlighted the importance of keeping track of progress.

Mr Roy Fisher, Chairman, Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group acknowledged that the Sustainability and Transformation Plan lacked detailed but had been supported by the Health and Wellbeing Board. A user-friendly version would be produced. He added that it would be possible to consider progress earlier in 2017 with more detailed local information in the Plan.

The Committee agreed:

1.             To approve the Scrutiny Workplan subject to progress with health and social care integration (principally Sustainability and Transformation Plan) being reported to the Committee at its March 2017 meeting or another early date in 2017.

2.             To note the ‘Implementation of Recommendations’ table and that the Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group would be requested to complete outstanding actions.