Agenda item

Sedgefield Mental Health Task Group

Mrs Hassoon expressed concerns that, in a period of increasing suicide rates, the Mental Health Task Group for the Sedgefield area had been abolished.

The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee that he had raised this issue with Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (DDES CCG) and had received a detailed response which would be circulated to all Committee Members.  The Mental Health Task Group had been established in the Sedgefield locality by the Primary Care Trust, which ceased to exist after 31 March 2013.  Dr Dinah Roy, the Mental Health Lead at DDES CCG, was in the process of carrying a review of governance arrangements for the CCG to ensure Mental Health Task Groups reflected all localities within the CCG.  Funding was in place to reconvene the Task Groups in the near future, and in the meantime, any issues could be raised through the Sedgefield Stakeholders Group.

Mrs Hassoon thanked the Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer for clarifying the issue, adding that if service users had been informed of the CCG’s intentions, their concerns may not have arisen.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Update

Mr E Lovell, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, provided the Committee with the following updates:

• The opening last week of a new Chemotherapy Unit at Shotley Bridge Hospital, which would bring chemotherapy treatment closer to home for patients.

·        The opening of a new rapid access clinic for women requiring gynaecological consultations, diagnostics and treatments at Chester-le-Street Community Hospital.  This provided care outside of the hospital environment and closer to home for patients.

• It was anticipated there would be some disruption to maternity services at the University Hospital of North Durham during the introduction of a vascular intervention theatre and the co-location of the two units.  Discussions would take place with women due to be delivering around the time the works were planned.
• Referring to winter planning, there was a need to schedule into future meetings of the Committee unscheduled care issues.  The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer replied that this could be considered at Agenda Item No. 12 of today’s meeting.