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;
· NHS bosses in County Durham defend vetting scheme to streamline GP referrals – Northern Echo 14/09/17
Health chiefs have defended a controversial policy of private companies vetting GP referrals for hospital appointments after a health trust member revealed his hernia consultation had been delayed by ten weeks.
Concerns over the scheme which requires GPs to go through third parties before patients can be referred to specialists include: the undermining of the doctor-patient relationship, decisions taken without full medical histories and the potential for operations to be restricted.
Delays in receiving care, rising workloads and bureaucracy for GPs were also raised at yesterday's County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s annual general meeting.
· Fear after firefighter stop medical emergency cover – Hartlepool Mail 18/09/17
AN 18-Month pilot scheme which saw fire crews called to medical emergencies stopped yesterday after pay negotiations collapsed.
Now a senior councillor is seeking reassurances from the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) that services to the public won't suffer after the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) decided to cease trials of the scheme, called the Emergency Medical Response.
Councillor Ray Martin-Wells, chair of the North East Joint Health Scrutiny Committee and a Hartlepool councillor, has written to NEAS Chief Executive Yvonne Ormston after the Fire Brides Union said it would cease the trials.
· Almost a quarter of North-East ambulance workers off sick due to stress – Northern Echo 20/09/17
Almost a quarter of ambulance staff in the North-East took time off work last year due to stress, new figures have revealed.
Research from the GMB Union shows that 22 per cent of North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) staff, including paramedics, were absent from work due to “stress, anxiety and related conditions” during the last financial year.
The figure is the second highest in the country, behind the East Midlands, and compares to just nine per cent of workers in Yorkshire.
· Nine in 10 GPs rated good or outstanding – BBC Website 22/09/17
Nine in 10 GP surgeries in England have been rated as good and outstanding by inspectors.
It means general practice is the highest performing sector in the NHS, according to the Care Quality Commission ratings, above hospitals, mental health and social care.
Patients across the North East region are more likely to see a good GP practice than anywhere else in the country according to a report on the quality of GP practices.
In the first performance review of its kind, The Care Quality Commission (CQC) scored more than 7,000 GP surgeries between 2014 and May this year against a series of indicators including whether they were effective, caring, safe and well-led.
The North East fared best, with seven per cent rated outstanding and 91 per cent good and one per cent both inadequate and requiring improvement.
· Partnership between Durham Police and mental health trust ‘could free up’ officers to attend other incidents – Northern Echo 15/09/17
Police officers attending incidents will be backed up by an on-call mental health team in a first for one force.
A new partnership between Durham Police and the Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust will see a mental health practitioner based in the force control room and two others providing a mobile resource.
The seven day a week street triage service being provided aims to provide a better outcome for people with mental health difficulties who come into contact with police officers.
Councillor R Bell sought clarification if there was any further information on firefighter stopping medical emergency cover. The Assistant Director Communications and Engagement (North East Ambulance Service) advised Members that the scheme nationally came to an end on the 25 September 2017, with the exception of a small area within Cleveland for which local agreement was in operation.
Resolved:
That the presentation be noted.