Agenda item

The Chair welcomed guest speakers from the NHS:

• Emma Foster – Transformation Director, Lancashire Care Trust
• Paul Hopley – Head of Programmes, NHS Lancashire
• Alistair Rose – Project Director, Lancashire Care Trust
• Amanda Thornton – Clinical Director, Adult Community Network, Lancashire Care Trust

The report explained that at the meeting of the Joint Health Committee on 31 May 2012 members had been presented with an update on the progress made and planned relating to the development of new mental health inpatient services and the transition arrangements for existing services to be de-commissioned. It was agreed that further updates would be presented to the Committee at appropriate stages.

Appendix 'A' to the report now presented provided the latest of these updates and specifically related to proposed revised timescales of the overall re-configuration of services.

Alistair Rose used a PowerPoint presentation to inform the Committee about the timescales for the provision of The Harbour, a new inpatient service for the Fylde Coast. He explained that some re-design work was being undertaken and consequently there would be a requirement to re-submit relevant planning applications.  There was an expectation that work on site would now begin in Spring 2013. A copy of the presentation is appended to these minutes.

Emma Foster then explained to the Committee how changes to the timescales for construction work at the Harbour had affected the timescales for service changes and the transition plan. She summarised key points contained in the report now presented.

Councillors were invited to ask questions and raise any comments in relation to the report, a summary of which is provided below:

·  Regarding the site in East Lancashire, it was explained that as the site was Royal Blackburn Hospital, which was owned by East Lancashire Hospitals Trust work was underway to see how the LCFT's plans fitted with ELHT's plan. It was anticipated at the current time that the original plan would not change and that 72 adult mental health beds would be provided. The Committee would be informed as soon as possible if things changed. It was explained that one of the options to be shortly consulted upon included the provision of dementia inpatient beds at Blackburn.

·  The Trust was currently using a number of private sector beds and it was confirmed that these were mostly not within Lancashire and that this was one of the reasons why it had been decided to slow down the pace of change.

·  The report indicated that there would eventually be 16 Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) beds at the Harbour, Blackpool. This figure would be kept under constant review and whilst there was no expectation that the PICU bed provision would be fewer the number of beds might increase; the Trust did not want to have to use beds outside Lancashire.

·  In response to a question about the financial position within LCFT the Committee was assured that the Trust's finances were sound and the development plans presented were affordable. It was pointed out that its accounts were publicly available.

·  The report indicated that a closure date for wards 20, 22 and the PICU at the Burnley site would be determined "by the measured reduction in in-patient demand rather than by a pre-determined date" and clarification what this actually meant was sought. In response it was explained that the Trust needed to be confident that it was safe to close those wards before a decision was taken. The Board was to assess the position in January.

·  Regarding the site for Central Lancashire, the Trust was currently working on a long-list from which preferred sites would be short-listed.

·  Regarding the provision of services for West Lancashire it was explained that services were currently available at Ormskirk; future provision was subject to the location of the site which would provide services for Central Lancashire.

·  It was explained that two planning applications for the 'Harbour' at Blackpool were necessary and that two local authorities were involved (Blackpool Borough Council and Fylde Borough Council). One of the applications had already been submitted and it was expected that the second one would be submitted in early December. A decision about each application was expected within 13 weeks of its receipt by the planning authority.

·  In response to a question about the impact of the changes on jobs it was explained that there would be more members of staff per patient and those staff would be better qualified. Workforce planning was required but it was not envisaged that wholesale changes would be necessary.

·  It was confirmed that when the specialist dementia beds became available at The Harbour patients would transfer from Ribbleton Hospital in Preston and the ward there would close.

Paul Hopley gave a short presentation about the consultation on dementia care services that was to begin on 3 December 2012 and run to 22 February 2013. Much pre-consultation work had already been carried out. He used a diagram which set out visually the background, the current position and two options for future provision to be consulted upon. The Trust's preferred option was Option 1. A copy of the diagram is appended to these minutes.

There would be 16 public events starting in January 2013 across Lancashire at various locations and at various times. These would be advertised in local newspapers, on local radio and there would be posters in GP practices and libraries. People would be given a range of ways by which to contact the Trust and assistance would be provided if necessary. The Trust also stated that additional meetings with community based groups would also take place if requested.

Part way through the consultation independent experts at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) would conduct a check on the demographics of the responses to that point and, if necessary, under-represented groups would be targeted as appropriate. At the end of the consultation UCLAN would produce a report for the LCFT on all responses. This Committee would be informed of the outcome.

It was confirmed that all elected members would be included in the consultation and details of the venues for the public meetings, referred to above, would be provided to the Committee via the Scrutiny Officer.

Following the consultation, the decision regarding the model for future provision would be taken by the Clinical Commissioning Groups. The programme of meetings with the CCGs and the PCTs had already been set and there was no reason to believe that the timetable for a decision would falter.

Regarding support for carers, it was explained that during August the PCTs and LCFT had jointly commissioned an organisation called Insight Network, comprising 63 charities and third sector organisations, to run 15 carers events at which carers were asked what support they would like to see developed. The solutions suggested, for example, patient transport, volunteer drivers, improved advocacy arrangements, would be included in the consultation document and respondents would be asked to rank, in order of preference, what type of support they wanted.

The question of adequate transport had been raised by members previously and also by carers. The Committee was assured that the needs of those clients who lived beyond the direct transport routes had been explored.

The Chair thanked officers from the NHS for attending.

Resolved: That,

1. The report be received;

2. The proposals set out in Appendix A to the report now presented be supported.