Agenda and minutes

MOVED FROM 08/11/2022, Scrutiny Health & Social Care Sub-Committee - Monday, 28th November, 2022 6.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX. View directions

Contact: Simon Trevaskis  Email: simon.trevaskis@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

28/22

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 as an accurate record.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

 

29/22

Disclosure of Interests

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest made at the meeting.

 

30/22

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

 

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 

31/22

Update on proposed health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington pdf icon PDF 55 KB

The Health & Social Care Sub-Committee is presented with an update from Croydon Health Service NHS Trust on the proposed health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 15 to 18 of the agenda which provided an update on the provision of new health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington by Croydon Health Service NHS Trust (CHS). This update had been included on the agenda to inform the Sub-Committee of the reasons for the delay in delivering these projects. 

During the introduction to the report by Matthew Kershaw, the Chief Executive of CHS and Place Based Lead for Health, the following points were noted: -

          The provision of new health facilities on the sites in Coulsdon and New Addington were both long running developments.

          CHS had recently written to patients’ groups, MPs and other stakeholders to flag the delay in the development of these sites, which had been caused by a request for further rent on the site from the developer.

          As the higher cost would make the developments financially unviable, CHS was in negotiation with the developer and would provide a further update once it was possible to do so. Confirmation was given that CHS remained committed to the provision of new health facilities on both sites.

          It had originally been proposed that both sites would be developed in conjunction with the Council through their Brick by Brick development company. As this option was no longer available CHS had chosen to work with a developer.

Following the introduction, the Sub-Committee was given the opportunity to ask questions on the information provided. The first concerned the plans for the sites, with it confirmed that except for consideration being given to parking drop-off provision on the Coulsdon site, the plans were the same as originally proposed.

Regarding the timeframe for the negotiations with the developer, it was confirmed that CHS was looking to resolve the outstanding issues by the end of March 2023 as a longer delay would impact upon the funding provided by NHS England requiring an extension to be negotiated. It was expected that negotiations with the developer should be concluded within six to nine months. There was a commitment from both CHS and the developer to work together on this site, but if the outcome from the negotiation meant it was not viable to proceed, then other options would need to be considered.

It was confirmed that neither the Coulsdon nor New Addington developments were reliant on the other to proceed. The same developer had been appointed for both sites, but they could be developed separately if needed.

Given the delay to the provision of health facilities on the Coulsdon site, it was highlighted that the Purley War Memorial Hospital was the hub for the south of the borough. CHS was looking at improving both the surgical and diagnostic services available from this site.

In response to a question about feedback from the local community on the delays, it was highlighted that the health service had been managing without these facilities and would continue to do so. There had been conversations with patient  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31/22

32/22

Balancing Adult Social Care Legislative Duties with the Available Financial Resource pdf icon PDF 450 KB

The Health & Social Care Sub-Committee is presented with a report reviewing the challenges, risks and mitigations used, when balancing adult social care legislative duties with the available financial resource.

 

This report has been included on the agenda to enable the Sub-Committee to seek reassurance that the budget reduction is being delivered without compromising the Council’s duties to provide care.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 19 to 26 of the agenda which explained how the Adult Social Care service maintained its statutory requirements in the face of delivering its budget savings targets. This report had been requested to allow the Sub-Committee to seek reassurance that there were sufficient safeguards in place to ensure that any changes to individual care provision was managed safely. 

During the introduction to the report by the Corporate Director for Adult Social Care & Health, Annette McPartland, the following points were noted: -

  • The report provided for the Sub-Committee set out the services provided by Adult Social Care, outlined the requirements for the Service under the Care Act and how these requirements were met in Croydon.
  • Reassurance was given that the Service was meeting its requirements, and as they were statutory, this would continue to be the case despite the Council having recently issued another Section 114 Notice.
  • The Service engaged with the people of Croydon in several different ways including the recently established Resident Voice Group. Engagement was vital as it allowed the Service to hear directly from residents about any issues they experienced with their care.

Following the introduction, the Sub-Committee had the opportunity to question officers on the information provided. The first question asked for an update on how winter pressures were being managed by the health and social care services in the borough. It was confirmed that at present the situation was extremely challenging across the whole health and care pathway. All aspects of the system were under significant strain, which was impacting upon the flow through the system affecting access times across services. Although the level of activity seen at the Croydon University Hospital tended to fluctuate, it was broadly in line with levels seen in previous years. Issues within the hospital and across the whole health and care pathway were slowing the flow through the system. However, this was not unique to Croydon, with the hospital being one of the top performers in London, even with the level of performance being significantly lower than in previous years.

As a follow-up, it was questioned whether staffing was a particular issue exacerbating patient flow through the system. It was confirmed that staffing was always one of the contributing factors to patient flow through the system. Although the hospital was doing well in terms of nursing staff, the availability of therapists along with shortages in social care were creating issues. There was also staffing hotspots in other areas across the system that had an impact.

The Government had announced new funding to help health and social care services manage the impact of winter pressures. Croydon had been given the biggest allocation in South West London, which equated to £2.5m for the borough. 60% of this would be allocated to health care services and 40% to social care.

Given it was recognised that health and social care services nationally were going through a challenging time, it was questioned whether there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32/22

33/22

Healthwatch Croydon Update pdf icon PDF 61 KB

This item is an opportunity for the Manager of Healthwatch Croydon, a co-optee on the Sub-Committee, to provide an update on their latest activity.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received an update from the manager of Healthwatch Croydon, and co-opted member of the Sub-Committee, Gordon Kay, on the latest activity of his organisation.

Healthwatch Croydon had recently held its Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was the first held in person for since before the pandemic. The meeting was split into two parts, the first focusing on reviewing the services available in the borough and the second focusing on what services people would like to see.

From the review section of the meeting issues raised included access to services, availability of dentistry, continuity of care, the need for joined up services, social prescribing, mental health provision and maternity care. From the improvement section of the meeting items raised included easier access to services, improved digital inclusions, the provision of dental hubs like the GP hubs, services returning to pre-covid levels, an improved provision of information and increased support for the homeless.

A summary of the question and answer session from the AGM would be published by Healthwatch and used to inform future work planning.

Resolved: That the update from Healthwatch Croydon is noted.

34/22

Scrutiny Work Programme 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 87 KB

The Health & Social Care Sub-Committee is asked to: -

 

1.     Note the most recent version of its Work Programme, as presented in the report.

 

2.     Consider whether there are any other items that should be provisionally added to the work programme as a result of the discussions held during the meeting.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee considered a report on pages 29 to 32 of the agenda which presented the work programme for review.

The Chair confirmed that the South West London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) had recently met and was in the process of agreeing its work programme. At the moment the JHOSC was primarily focussed on specific capital projects across the healthcare estate, but a request had been made by the Croydon representatives for the JHOSC to look at dentistry provision across South West London.

Resolved: That the work programme for the Health & Social Care Sub-Committee is noted.

 

35/22

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

 

Minutes:

This motion was not required.