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 services explained: Where should North East patients go if you feel ill - hospital, GP, or walk-in centre? – Evening Chronicle - 10/04/18
The region’s A&E departments are stretched after a tough winter.
Health bosses in the region say emergency departments are struggling to cope with high volumes of patients - including many who do not actually need emergency care.
In a bid to ease the pressure, efforts are under way to provide members of the public with information about where to go to treat different types of ailments.
· Councillors ‘insulted’ over response to concerns about moving hospital services from South Tyneside to Sunderland – Sunderland Echo – 11/04/18
Councillors say they were left feeling ‘insulted’ and ‘disgusted’ by the response to their concerns over proposed health reforms in Sunderland and South Tyneside. Health bosses say the plans - which involve some services being moved from South Tyneside District Hospital to Sunderland Royal Hospital - are necessary to improve care and cut costs. But members of the South Tyneside and Sunderland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee are unconvinced by the scheme, which they say could leave patients and health workers struggling to cope. They are to call on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to rule on the issue.
· People urged to be more open about mental health – Hartlepool Mail – 09/04/18
People in Hartlepool and East Durham are being urged to take advantage of a new national awareness campaign that encourages people to speak more openly about mental health – and to find safe, non-confrontational spaces to talk. The aim of the initiative, launched by Ford and partnered with “Time to Change”, an established mental health campaign run by the mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, aims to reduce the stigma surrounding discussions on mental health. Around one in four people in the UK experiences mental health problems, and young men in particular have been identified as vulnerable.