Minutes:
The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer provided the Committee with a presentation of the following press articles relating to the remit of the Adults Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
· Plans for future of Bishop Auckland Hospital ward six revealed – Northern Echo 2 September 2019 - a threatened hospital ward looks set to be saved from closure – but NHS chiefs are considering slashing the number of patients who can be treated at once.
· NHS chiefs accused of 'undermining hospital by stealth' as fears are raised over stroke care plans – Evening Chronicle 11 September 2019 –
· Councillors have raised concerns about proposed changes to stroke care in County Durham, including worries about transport for families travelling from Weardale and Teesdale.
· Funding secured to replace ageing community hospital – Northern Echo 23 September 2019 – NHS chiefs have given the green light for work on plans to upgrade an ageing hospital to go ahead. Concerns had been raised about the availability of cash to overhaul Shotley Bridge Hospital, which is currently dealing with a maintenance backlog worth about £2 million. North Durham CCG has confirmed that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have indicated that following a further discussion with DHSC finance and NHS England/Improvement colleagues that the Shotley Bridge scheme can now be progressed with an identified funding source.
· Rise in North-East suicide rates 'extremely worrying’ – Northern Echo 3 September 2019 – The North-East had the highest suicide rates in England last year, with a "significant increase" among men, official figures show. According to figures published yesterday from the Office for National Statistics, the region had a rate of 12.5 deaths per 100,000, whilst Yorkshire and the Humber had a rate of 12.2, the second highest.