Minutes:
Councillor Bell had received a complaint regarding the transfer of diabetes testing from a clinic at the Richardson Hospital to the Barnard Castle Medical Practice. The issue was that the beds and level of testing were believed to be superior at the Richardson Hospital. Councillor Bell expressed concerns about where some services would end up as the trust re-commissioned chiropody and podiatry services. He had been informed that the services were being driven out of community based clinics due to the amount of rent charged by NHS Property services.
Councillor Patterson said that ongoing concerns had been raised for a long time about the future of Shotley Bridge Hospital and The Weardale Hospital, Stanhope, and she was aware that other members had raised concerns about the future of community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Sedgefield and other areas. She asked when the Committee would expect to receive a report on the future of these hospitals as it had been requested over a year ago.
Referring to the provision of services in community hospitals, Councillor Quinn commented that this was not available across the board and that most people used their GPs.
The Chief Executive of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust reported that the commissioners were conducting a Community Services review which would include the provision of services at Community Hospitals. Community feedback was to be part of this review and she assured members that a report would come back to committee with the findings from that. Sue Jacques reported that there had been two reference groups set up, one at Shotley Bridge and Richardson Hospital and the review would take account of local opinions and dialogue. She appreciated the time taken to undergo the review but assured members that there would be a lot more detail included in the report. She also indicated that the tendering process for the Community Services contract did specify that services would still need to be provided in all of the same places. With regards to the cost, the tender had excluded the costs of the property and it was recognised that this has been expensive for the service provider.
With regards to the podiatry issue the Director of Commissioning, DDES CCG explained that the tender documents specified that services would be delivered where they are located now. Referring to the Richardson Hospital she said that it was clear that services would be delivered where they currently are. She went on to say that she was pleased that some people were able to access diabetes services from their GP and said that this service did vary from area to area. There had been significant improvements within this service last year with the CCG winning an award for work carried out with acute colleagues. She would ask the Director of Integration to provide an update to Committee on the review undertaken.
Councillor Temple said that a working group had been set up with local councillors, the CCG and foundation trust to discuss the future of Shotley Bridge Hospital and said that there had been a lot of discussion at this meeting today about the re-provision of services. He asked what was being offered as there was a lot of concern in the area about the future of the hospital. He said that it had been accepted that the current building was not fit for purpose.
Councillor Hovvels, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Adult and Health Services explained that she had pulled this group together with the Director of Integration to address the concerns from local members. She said that it was a work in progress group and said that there were a lot of colleagues pulling together information and evidence and an options paper for the next stage that would feed into a wider audience. She would seek confirmation if this information could be shared at this stage with the committee and if so would arrange for it to be circulated.