Minutes:
The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer provided the Committee with a presentation of the following press articles which related to the remit of the Adults, Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
• North East Ambulance Service rated ‘Good’ by the CQC but told to improve some response times – Evening Chronicle 1/11/16
The North East’s ambulance service has been rated as ‘good’ by a health watchdog - but told to improve its response times to immediately life-threatening incidents.
A team of inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) provided services which were safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.
A CQC report rated the service as “good” overall, and praised the trust for its “general culture of passion and enthusiasm”.
But NEAS was also told to make improvements in some areas, after data showed it was the joint worst performing ambulance service in the NHS for responses to “Red 1” - immediately life-threatening - calls
• Poor A&E performance has 'become the norm' for NHS trusts – MPs – Northern Echo 1/11/16
A new report from the Commons Health Committee warns the NHS could face a "substantially more difficult" winter this year than last, with increasing demand for services, trusts suffering due to too-few staff and a widespread inability to move out patients who are medically fit to be discharged.
Evidence submitted to the MPs' inquiry showed that A&E departments are now routinely missing the national target to deal with 95% of patients within four hours.
Major type 1 A&E departments - those that are located in hospitals - perform the worst, with only 87.9% of patients admitted, discharged or transferred within that timeframe in 2015/16.
• Health chiefs rule out Consett hospital sale – Northern Echo 31/10/16
Health chiefs have appeared to move to quash fears a community hospital will be sold to make way for more housing.
People who use Shotley Bridge Hospital, near Consett, voiced concern after the closure of the 16-bed inpatient ward at the hospital.
NHS bosses were accused of ‘hospital closure by stealth’ by North-West Durham MP Pat Glass, concerns echoed by councillors and campaigners.
More than 4,000 have signed an online petition to save the services.
A joint statement issued by NHS Property Services, NHS North Durham CCG and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “In response to queries about the potential disposal of the site for housing development, NHS Property Services Ltd can confirm that the site is not for sale.
• Report shows services need improvement – Northern Echo – 28/10/16
An NHS body has been rated one among the worst in the country for maternity and mental health services, latest statistics have shown.
NHS England has examined and graded the country’s 209 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) for the first time.
Its findings showed more than half of mental health services and almost three-quarters of maternity care services at local NHS groups needed improvement.
However, the Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group fell into the Greatest Need for Improvement category for both services.
The figures showed that while it was rated similar to others in the neonatal mortality and stillbirths and women’s experience of maternity services category, it was among the lowest scoring for choices.
And in mental health provision, only 45.5 per cent of people who finished treatment were moving to recovery.
• Anger over GPs having to ask permission to refer patients to hospital – Evening Chronicle 20/10/16
Doctors have hit out at plans for a private company to review GPs referrals, raising concerns it will put patient safety at risk.
North Durham CCG has entered a new contract with private healthcare company About Healthcare which will charge £10 per letter to review GP’s referrals before they are passed on to hospitals.
It is hoped that this will stop unnecessary appointments and save the NHS cash however the BMA has questioned the safety of decisions been taken by staff who haven’t met the patient.
Patients with cardiology, gynaecology, dermatology and gastroenterology issues will be referred using the system but urgent cases and suspected cancer cases will not be subject to this additional layer of referral.
Councillor Forster asked if these proposals would be rolled out at every surgery as she was aware that this happens at her own. The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer explained that this had specifically been put in place by North Durham CCG and would cover all of the GP’s in that area.
The Director of Primary Care, Partnerships and Engagement, DDES & North Durham CCGs, advised that this was not in operation in DDES however talks had been taking place with the clinicians in North Durham to advise how North Durham had approach it.
The Chairman suggested that a briefing be sent to Members once further information was known.