NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL

21 May 2025

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 Health and Care Partnerships.  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 feedback to the Integrated Care Boards and the NHS Trusts serving North Yorkshire on their performance and the experiences that the committee has had with them.

Since the last full Council meeting in February 2025, the committee met in person on 7 March, to consider the following items:

Public Health Grant

The committee considered report from the Director of Public Health, which outlined the Public Health Grant for North Yorkshire and how it is spent.  The committee explored the issues in detail, including discussion of deprivation and health inequalities, particularly in the context of the county’s rural and urban divide.  Further information was sought on preventative initiatives, and how these were covered by the grant.  It was agreed that a future meeting would receive an update on the recently completed Peer Review.

North Yorkshire Neighbourhood Health

The committee received a detailed report on Neighbourhood Health in North Yorkshire, which outlined work with community groups to improve health outcomes for residents.  Members discussed access to Community Diagnostic Centres, and the ICB confirmed that discussions were ongoing to communicate with community transport organisations to ensure that patients had access to the centres.  There were further discussions on the role of digitisation to improve services, in the context of one of the national “three shifts” towards new technologies, and the need to communicate these changes clearly to residents was also emphasised by the committee.

Hospice and End of Life Care

North Yorkshire Hospice Care outlined the persistent financial challenges in palliative and end-of-life care, emphasizing the need for equitable funding and highlighting disparities in per bed-day allocation compared to neighbouring ICBs.  While a recent funding uplift was acknowledged, fostering partnerships with the ICB and community integration was deemed essential. ICB representatives recognized the pressures and proposed exploring a tariff-based funding model and enhancing communication through quarterly meetings.  Committee members stressed the pivotal role of hospices in specialist care, raising concerns over funding shortfalls and workforce retention while advocating for ongoing collaboration to ensure accessible, well-funded end-of-life care services.

Other activity by the committee

· A Joint Working Group met on 24 January 2025 to consider a joint response to the NHS Change consultation, including members of Scrutiny of Health, Children and Families O&S, and Care and Independence O&S.

· A response from Asst Chief Constable Clarke (North Yorkshire Police) following a meeting in December 2024 regarding the Right Care, Right Person policy, was received and passed to the committee.

· The committee met on 11 February to comment on the Joint Autism Strategy and review the Year 1 Action plan.

· Further information was received regarding Pharmacy First, following on from the Community Pharmacy visit in November 2024.

· Regular updates from Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and other partners and stakeholders were passed to members on a range of subjects.

Committee Work Programme

The next meeting of the committee will be at 10:00 on 4 July 2025 when the items currently scheduled for discussion include:

· Renal Services Update from Humber and North Yorkshire ICB.

· Draft Pharmacy Needs Assessment.

· Written Update from Cumbria and South Lancashire ICB.

COUNCILLOR ANDREW LEE