NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL

15 NOVEMBER 2023

STATEMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SCRUTINY OF HEALTH COMMITTEE

COUNCILLOR ANDREW LEE

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 8 September 2023

The Committee last met on 8 September 2023, in person in The Brierley Room at County Hallall.H. At that meeting, Members received detailed presentations on: Hyper Acute Stroke Services for the North Yorkshire Population; Urgent care Delivery in York and the East Coast and Planning and Infrastructure 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.

Hyper Acute Stroke Services for the North Yorkshire Population.

The Committee was updated on the current situation relating to Stroke Services from Representatives from York and Scarborough NHS Foundation Trust.

This highlighted the following points:

• data on journeys to York, specifically from a Filey base;
• patient and families support;
• outcome data;
• priorities for the future;
• transfer and repatriation;
• a golden hour explanation;
• rehabilitation at home;
• recruitment and retention;
• international recruitment and the challenges currently being faced by the Trust.

There then followed a discussion around timescales and travel to York from Scarborough. The Trust confirmed there were rarely issues getting from Scarborough to York and there is no handover time as the hospital staff are waiting and prepared ready for the ambulance to arrive.

Mortality rates and recovery levels were also raised and discussed. The view of the Trust is most definitely that the current system and performance outcomes are better under the new system than the previous one. The Committee welcomes these improvements but will continue to monitor the performance of the unit to ensure it continues to deliver the best outcome for residents.

Urgent Care Delivery in York and The East Coast.

The Committee received a welcome and informative update from Lisa Pope and John Darley from Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

This included information on

• All parts of the health and care system provide urgent care to a degree.
• Urgent treatment centres (UTCs) provide urgent but non-emergency medical help.
• Urgent treatment centres are clinically led by doctors (sometimes GPs) working with nurses to deliver the service.
• UTCs can diagnose and deal with many of the common problems that people go to A&E with including:

⁻ sprains and strains and suspected broken bones

⁻ injuries, cuts and bruises

⁻ stomach pain

⁻ breathing problems

⁻ vomiting and diarrhoea

⁻ high temperature in children

⁻ mental health concerns

· The current urgent care services across North Yorkshire

· The emerging future model of integrated urgent care

It was noted that the model of urgent care in place at the Friarage Hospital works well and looks to be replicated elsewhere and whilst pressures within the 111 service were now beginning to recover it still remained under significant pressure.

North Yorkshire Place and Planning Infrastructure.

The Committee was pleased to welcome both representatives from NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Officers from North Yorkshire Council to its meeting to receive a presentation on NHS Infrastructure and the Planning Directorate of North Yorkshire Council to understand their alignment and interaction.

This looked at

·  How planning and health infrastructure align

· The role of the Integrated Care Board (ICB)

· Community Interest Levy (CIL)

· S106 ( of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) contributions

· The alignment of 7 previous District and Borough local plans

· The provision of a new plan by March 2028

· Delivery mechanism and community engagement

The Committee was pleased to receive this detailed presentation as it’s an area that Elected Members are often asked about by their constituents on a regular basis.

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 and also the Scrutiny Board to facilitate a County wide perspective. 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 13 December 2023.