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;
· Hospital cuts planned in most of England - but what does it mean for the North East? Evening Chronicle 21/02/17
Plans for a major shake-up in hospital services would result in cuts for two-thirds of the country. In total, 44 areas in England would create sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) to deal with the expected £22bn black hole in the NHS budget by 2020 using efficiency savings and new ways of delivering care. The draft STP for Northumberland , Tyne and Wear, and North Durham report that the area would face a funding gap of £641m by 2020/21 if nothing is done, with the financial deficit for health and social care reaching as high as £904m.
· Hospital cuts planned in most of England – BBC Website 21/02/17
Hospital services in nearly two-thirds of England could be cut or scaled back. The proposals were part of a programme to transform the health service and save money across 44 different areas. The BBC found 28 proposals affected hospital care, from full closures to centralising services, such as A&E and stroke care, on fewer sites.
· How did our hospitals cope this winter? Find out how your trust is managing – The Journal 15/02/17
The region saw an increase of almost 20,000 winter A&E attendances from last year as the NHS continued to struggle to meet demands. Data from NHS Digital shows that there were 107,901 attendances at our A&E units between December 1 2016 and January 2017 - an increase of almost 20,000 on the same period the year before. But the number emergency admissions to hospitals - where a patient is admitted following their A&E visit - slightly decreased, with 27,844 from December 6 2015 and January 4 2016 dropping to 26,548 in 2016/17. A&E attendances at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust doubled - from 14,751 in December 2015 to 29,502 in December 2016.
· County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust placed joint second nationally for serious medical blunders – Northern Echo 13/02/17
Details of medical blunders by the region’s hospital trusts had emerged in a national report. The organisation NHS Improvement provisionally outlined 314 serious, largely preventable safety incidents, between April 16 and December 31, last year, such as surgery equipment being left inside patients and operations on the wrong part of the body, including the brain. Seven each so-called ‘never events’ were logged at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – the joint second highest figure in the country.