Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Jodie Clements, Hyndburn 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.

Councillor Kerry Lloyd, West Lancs Borough Council, declared a pecuniary interest in Item 5 as an employee for Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) as the Deputy Director of Nursing and Care. Councillor Kerry Lloyd left the meeting for the duration of this item due to the pecuniary interest declared.

The report circulated in the agenda pack provided information on the membership, Chair and Deputy Chair and Terms of Reference of the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2024/25.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record.

Rob Cooper, Managing Director, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Halima Sadia, Programme Director, Shaping Care Together and Sarah O'Brien, Chief Nursing Officer, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB attended the meeting to provide an update and partake in a discussion on the NHS Shaping Care Together Programme.

The report and presentation circulated in the agenda pack provided information on the key points in the Shaping Care Together Programme, including the urgent and emergency care phase and the Case for Change's core elements.  The presentation also provided committee members with further detail and a request to consider  if these could constitute a substantial variation to services.

The Chair invited questions from committee members and a summary is outlined below:

·  Members queried which services were classed as fragile and further queried where the fragile service were located. The committee were informed that there were 18 fragile services identified in July 2023 and 6 of these had already been stabilised including acute stroke services, dermatology and haematology, and 12 services had plans to be stabilised in the next 6-12 months. It was further explained to the committee that these services were fragile due to the limited number of skilled workforce, and it was essential for these services to be stabilised to ensure availability to the local population. Members were informed that a full list of all 18 fragile services could be circulated to the committee.

·  The committee raised concern over the lack of a 24 hour children's service in Ormskirk and District General Hospital, and queried when a 24 hour service could be expected to open. The committee were informed that work was being carried out regarding Paediatric A&E, to employ appropriate skilled staff to deliver services.  It was explained to the committee that a definitive timeline could not be given, as this was dependent on the engagement and consultation period, which would inform what options for the change were available.

·  In regard to health inequalities across West Lancashire, concern was raised regarding the distance between Skelmersdale and Southport to access services. The committee were informed that this was noted in the Case for Change, and public transport networks were part of the consideration for the options. It was explained that public engagement had taken place in Skelmersdale, and the uptake was positive with 200 contacts on a 1-1 basis and 20% of individuals who completed the survey were from this area. Members were informed that targeted work was also taking place in high deprivation areas to promote non-digital engagement as well.

·  The committee raised concern over the lack of engagement between the ICB, county councillors and the Health and Wellbeing Partnerships. It was highlighted that Cheshire and Merseyside ICB were the lead ICB however Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB had been involved in the process entirely.

·  Concern was raised over the attendance at the engagement meeting in Aughton, and further concern was raised over communication on general communication of engagement events across the county. It was confirmed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

County Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Ruksana Sardar-Akram, Interim Consultant in Public Health, Alison May, Children and Young People Network and Place Lead, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB and Sakthi Karunanithi, Director of Public Health, Wellbeing and Communities attended the meeting to provide information and partake in a discussion regarding Speech and Language Assessment in Early Years Settings.

The report circulated in the agenda pack provided information on work undertaken in Lancashire to support reduction in waiting times for speech and language therapy in Early Years settings, which is one of the 3 priorities to the Best Start in Life and the multi-disciplinary approach.

The Chair invited questions from committee members and a summary is outlined below:

·  It was queried by the committee why the model had not been implemented across Lancashire. The committee were informed that a range of factors contributed to the roll out programme across Lancashire, and it was currently being evaluated how the scheme would work in other areas such as if a phone line service was more appropriate to a walk in centre in some divisions. It was confirmed that the time scale for a county wide roll out could be circulated to the committee at a later date and it was highlighted that the pilot had transformed the service in Hyndburn from a 40 week wait to no wait for services and this would be replicated in other areas.

·  The committee queried why Hyndburn was selected for the pilot scheme, if other districts also had substantial waiting times of more than 40 weeks. It was highlighted to the committee that the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board had prioritised the 'Best Start in Life' and  it was further explained to members that several factors contributed to choosing the pilot area, including the confidence in early years practitioners to deliver the programme. The committee were informed that the property selected in Hyndburn was conducive for the drop in sessions. However there was not a definitive list of properties in each division for a complete rollout so other methods of delivery such as phone lines were being piloted.

·  Members queried the eligibility criteria for a child and family to access the service. It was confirmed to the committee that the eligibility criteria stemmed from the 2-3 year old take up however it was acknowledged that this service should be available to all children.

·  The committee commented that the programme should utilise social media and the Lancashire County Council website to advertise and further commented that raising awareness to support parenting skills over social media. It was confirmed that a parenting strategy was being investigated and consideration was being given to publishing the 'Best Start in Life' offer.

·  It was queried if there was a difference in speech and language ability in children where English was or was not their first language. It was confirmed to the committee that speech and language difficulties were not exclusively seen in non-English speaking children and there were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

County Councillor David Westley presented a report on the Health Scrutiny Steering Group meetings which took place on 22 May and 10 July 2024.

The meeting held on 22 May 2024 provided information on Winter Reflections and Looking Ahead, and NHS Quality Accounts Review. The meeting held on 10 July 2024 reviewed the terms of reference for the Steering Group and the draft work programmes identified as part of the Annual Portfolio and Service Area Review which took place on 26 June 2024.

Resolved: That the report of the Health Scrutiny Steering Group be received.

The committee received a report which provided information on the work programme of the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee and Health Scrutiny Steering Group. Members were advised that further information had been included as part of the report to provide information on areas highlighted as part of the county council's risk and opportunity register as well as the corporate performance indicators.

Resolved: That Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee and Health Scrutiny Steering Group work programme be noted.

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.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

The next meeting of the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Wednesday, 30 October 2024 at 10:30am in Committee Room C – The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston.

The next meeting of the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Wednesday 30 October at 10:30am in Committee Room C – The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston.