Agenda and minutes

County Councillors B Dawson and A Schofield replaced County Councillors N Hennessy and A James respectively, and Councillor J Oakes replaced Councillor H Jackson of Rossendale Borough Council.

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of Councillors Asjad Mahmood (Pendle Borough Council), and Julie Robinson (Wyre Borough Council).

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None disclosed

The Minutes of the Health Scrutiny Committee meeting held on the 13 January 2015 were presented and agreed.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Health Scrutiny Committee held on the 13 January 2015 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Director of Public Health, Adult Services, Health and Wellbeing Directorate and County Councillor Azhar Ali, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.

Dr Karunanithi presented the report, which provided an update on:

The Health & Wellbeing Strategy:

The three programmes of work – Starting Well, Living Well, Aging Well were underway and progressing well. The main risks to delivery had been identified. The Six Shifts Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) was progressing well. Areas of synergy and opportunities for collaborative working were being identified and a final draft was to be presented to the next Health & Wellbeing Board (HWBB) Meeting.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) plan:

The plan had been approved and an implementation action plan had been developed by the Steering group on behalf of the HWBB.

The Relationship between the HWBB and Health Scrutiny Committee:

It was explained that Legislation underpinned the role of health overview and scrutiny committees in holding health bodies, including health and wellbeing boards, to account. The centre for Public Scrutiny had produced a report Spanning the System – Broader Horizons for Council Overview and Scrutiny to help support accountability through Overview and Scrutiny.

County Councillor Ali added that the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership was an important part of the contribution towards health and wellbeing; it was currently focussing on employment and economic development and he felt strongly that implications for health and wellbeing would need to be considered in planning and delivery, for example it was important to promote the living wage and, in terms of planned housing developments, ensure that appropriate services were in place. Seminars had already been held with housing providers to discuss and consider matters such as affordable housing and fuel poverty, and much work was ongoing behind that.

Work was also ongoing with the Head of Economic and External Relations to access European funds to support wellbeing services at a local level.

CC Ali reported that, following consultation with student councils about how best the county council could help support the emotional wellbeing of young people, an 18-month pilot had been launched through the mental health charity MIND who would work with a high school in every district in Lancashire to provide support with issues such as stress, bullying and cyber bullying. It was hoped that ultimately the project could be sustained over a longer period.

He reported also that a pilot had been launched in east Lancashire aimed at tackling obesity and getting communities more active.

He was looking forward to launching, later this year, an integrated wellbeing service to replace the current signposting service, provided by Help Direct. The vision was to provide a consortium of organisations delivering wellbeing services in the community at very local level to whom GPs could refer people for support.

Finally, CC Ali drew the Committee's attention to a report by the Lancashire Fairness Commission published earlier in the week and called 'Fairer Lancashire Fairer Lives'. It contained a number of recommendations and called on public, private and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

On 7 November the Steering Group had met to discuss the new congenital heart disease review prior to consultation. A summary of the meeting was at Appendix A to the report now presented.

On 28 November the Steering Group had met with officers from West Lancashire CCG and Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust to discuss breast services at Southport Hospital. A summary of the meeting was at Appendix B to the report now presented.

Resolved: That the report be received.

Appendix A to the report now presented set out a draft work plan for both the Health Scrutiny Committee and its Steering Group, including current Task Group reviews.

Wendy Broadley reminded members that there was to be a 2015/16 work planning workshop following the next meeting of this committee on 14 April 2015.

She reported that a Motion had been carried at a meeting of the county council's Full Council on 26 February 2015 part of which said that:

"The county council resolves that the chairman and chief executive of the North West Ambulance Service and north west CCGs be requested as a matter of urgency to attend a meeting of the LCC Health Scrutiny Committee Steering Group to advise what measures are being undertaken to improve response times across the county including those areas most affected by poor Red 1 performance."

Councillor Jackson of Rossendale Borough Council had mentioned at a previous meeting of this Committee that Rossendale Borough Council was conducting a piece of work relating to ambulance response times. It was suggested and agreed that the Steering Group engage with those councillors when taking forward arrangements for the meeting with NWAS.

It was considered most important to include in the work plan an item through which the Committee could be reassured that appropriate and proper governance arrangements were in place across organisations within the health service, and that any governance issues arising were dealt with correctly. It was considered important, as part of that, to seek assurance that whistleblowers were listened to and protected, and that supportive HR policies were in place. It was suggested also that there should be a pan-Lancashire, strategic approach and that the role of non-executive directors in holding organisations to account and the effectiveness of relevant inspectorate bodies be considered. It was agreed that this would be a very relevant piece of work, the scoping of which would need careful consideration.

Members were informed that, in advance the work planning workshop, they would be provided with a list of suggested outline topics

Resolved: That the work plan, as now amended, be noted.

The Committee's attention was drawn to forthcoming decisions and decisions recently made by the Cabinet and individual Cabinet Members in areas relevant to the remit of the committee, in order that this could inform possible future areas of work.

Recent and forthcoming decisions taken by Cabinet Members or the Cabinet can be accessed here:

http://council.lancashire.gov.uk/mgDelegatedDecisions.aspx?bcr=1

Resolved: That the report be received.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

No urgent business was reported.

The next meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee will be held on Tuesday 14 April 2015 at 10.30am at County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday 14 April 2015 at 10.30am at County Hall, Preston.