Issue - meetings

Minutes from meeting held on 5^th November attached for information.

The Council’s representative on the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC), Councillor B. T. Cooper, provided an update on the two latest meetings of the Committee.

5th November 2014

Members were advised that the Committee had discussed three key items during a lengthy meeting:

·         Mental health liaison.

·         An update on the Joint Services Review (JSR).  Members had been advised that whilst a preferred option had been put forward the decision would be reviewed by the West Midlands Clinical Senate at the request of NHS England.

·         Hospital treatment for patients based in North Worcestershire.  Patients referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with routine conditions were being refused treatment and this had caused concerns within Worcestershire.  The hospital had chosen to take this stance in order to protect their tertiary services.

Members noted that they had also learned that patients who lived in south Birmingham were using the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.  This had been confirmed by the Chairman of the Birmingham HOSC who had attended the meeting.

The Chairman explained that he had been approached by another Member of the Council about the services provided to patients who were members of practices in parts of the north of the district. Some GP practices in these locations were part of a wider group that were led by a parent practice based in Birmingham and were part of the Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).  It had been suggested to the Chairman that the Board might want to consider this matter as a topic for scrutiny.  However, it appeared from the HOSC minutes of  17th November that HOSC was already scheduled to investigate this matter further.  Members agreed that prior to the Board considering this matter Councillor Cooper should raise it at a future meeting of HOSC.

9th December 2014

The Board was informed that mental health services had been discussed in detail during the this meeting.  Two issues in particular had been of concern to HOSC:

·         Care for patients with acute mental health illnesses.

·         Care for patients with mental health problems who were discharged into the community.  The Committee had been reassured that the care available to patients in these circumstances was improving.

Members were advised that once the HOSC minutes for this meeting had been finalised they would be circulated for the consideration of the Board.