NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL
19 JULY 2023
STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SCRUTINY OF HEALTH COMMITTEE
The Scrutiny of Health Committee has a responsibility to review any matter relating to the planning, provision and operation of health services within the County, including Ambulance Trusts and the policies of the Strategic Health Authority. A key part of that responsibility is requiring NHS bodies to consult health scrutiny on proposals for substantial developments or variations to local health service provision. The Committee contributes to annual health checks by providing commentaries to the Health Care Commission on the performance of NHS Trusts serving North Yorkshire and on the experiences that the Committee has had with those Trusts.
Committee Meeting on 16 June 2023
The Committee last met on 16 June 2023, in person in The Council Chamber at County Hall. At that meeting, Members received detailed presentations on: Response to Workforce Pressures Within Health and Social Care; Update on Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Primary Care in North Yorkshire. There were no public questions or statements at the committee meeting.
Outlined below are further details in relation to some of the areas that the committee has been looking at.
Response to Workforce Pressures Within Health and Social Care
The Committee was updated on the current situation within Adult Social Care, the information having previously being presented in detail at the Care and Independence and Housing Committee.
Areas of note for the Committee were OPEL level weekly and daily position, hospital discharge activity, availability of intermediate care beds, current staffing vacancies, overseas recruitment, risks and opportunities.
The Committee were informed that recruitment from South Africa and Zimbabwe is working well and other areas being utilised to improve recruitment were University open days and placements.
The Committee suggested NVQ equivalent qualifications could perhaps be offered to help recruit and retain staff ongoing as well as Apprenticeship opportunities. College and University relationships could be used to help to identify and highlight the rewards the industry can provide as job satisfaction is a key reward in this area.
Update on Yorkshire Ambulance Service
The Committee received a welcome and informative update from Yorkshire Ambulance Service having already had a more informal discussion at the previous mid cycle briefing around the areas they would like further detail on. This included information on recruitment, response times, hear and treat, alternative approaches and support, control room recruitment, patient transport services, reducing delays, transport solutions, rotating paramedics, ambulance fleet increase, specific mental health vehicles, new facilities in Scarborough and refurbishment of the York control room.
Whilst improvements were evident there is still work to be done around patient transfer times particularly in Scarborough and York.
Primary Care in North Yorkshire
The Committee was pleased to welcome Wendy Balmain, North Yorkshire Place Director, Andrew Dangerfield, Head of Primary Care Transformation and Dr Bruce Willoughby, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to its meeting to receive an presentation on Primary Care. This covered details on the primary care networks (PCN’s) within the County, this consists of 65 practices in 14 PCN’s, the collaborative priorities of the Integrated Care Board, capacity and access planning and details on the workforce.
The Committee then discussed the continuing struggle with appointments and access to GP’s generally although the higher take up of digital alternatives such as the NHS app and alternative pathways is beginning to help alleviate this problem.
The Committee was pleased to receive news of the successful admittance of Airedale Hospital onto the new hospitals programme. The Committee had previously supported Airedale ‘s bid with a letter to the Secretary of State and a subsequent press release.
Committee Workplan
Having previously discussed at length the challenges facing healthcare across the County generally and in particular the areas the Committee felt would be a priority in terms of Scrutiny over the next 18-24 months, the workplan has been updated to reflect this.
The Committee is keen to work collaboratively and will therefore continue to link in with the Council’s Area Constituency Committees (ACC’s) to ensure focus is maintained at a local level. The committee will also continue to work closely with the Care and Independence Overview and Scrutiny Committee allowing continued joint working around social care.
The next meeting of the committee will be at 10am on 8 September 2023.
COUNCILLOR ANDREW LEE
5 July 2023