Agenda item

Presentation by representatives of North Durham and Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Groups.

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director of Resources that provided members with information in respect of the future of Stroke Rehabilitation Services in County Durham and Inpatient Rehabilitation Services at Bishop Auckland Hospital (Ward 6) following cessation of the statutory consultations for both reviews.

The Chair welcomed colleagues from the North Durham and Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Groups who were in attendance to provide an update on the review of the stroke rehabilitation services and inpatient rehabilitation services - ward six - at Bishop Auckland Hospital.

The Chair noted that the committee had been actively involved in reviews of stroke services for County Durham since 2011, and in ongoing discussions with County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust over the future of ward six since initial reports it was to close in late 2018.  Throughout the review of stroke services, the committee sought to ensure that County Durham residents had access to the best possible rehabilitation services, and that the time patients spent in hospital was minimised – allowing them to be rehabilitated in an environment in which they felt comfortable – at their home.

As for ward six, the committee had repeatedly asked both the Trust and the CCGs on why changes to inpatient rehabilitation services were necessary and stressed a continued need for care at Bishop Auckland Hospital.

As Chair of the Committee he welcomed the CCG’s recent decision to stop the consultation on ward six, ensuring the continuation of this vital service for the community and in terms of the review of stroke rehabilitation was pleased for the residents in Bishop Auckland and the Durham Dales who had welcomed the decision to also cease the consultation on those services. As Chair he looked forward to continued dialogue with both the Trust and the CCGs on how they planned to address the issues which prompted the review.

The Head of Integrated Commissioning stated that the vision for the stroke service and ward 6 has not changed and there was still a keen drive to deliver a high level of service.  There had been 23 additional therapy posts in place that specialised in stroke rehabilitation that had received positive feedback from both staff and patients.  Ward 6 was to retain 24 led beds for therapy provision.  She added that therapy was to be given as much close to the patient’s home as possible. 

The Stroke Consultant, CDDFT advised that acute services were to be looked at as part of the pathway with increased investment to make real progress to ensure there were positive outcomes for patients who had suffered a stroke.

Councillor Smith felt that the proposals for change should be discussed first to look for path referrals as the outcomes would not be successful if there were staff shortages where therapy could not be provided.  She wanted to know how the situation could continue at Bishop Auckland considering staff shortages and what could be put in place to ensure services continued.

Councillor Quinn reiterated the comment from Councillor Smith.

The Head of Integrated Commissioning advised that staff had been consulted with along with specialists recruited to give the best outcome under the current reviews. The outcomes varied with each patient who had suffered a stroke with some experiencing lasting disabilities and with that work was underway to look at optimising the number of patients transferring to Bishop Auckland; carrying out  work with the wider team from ward 3 and 4 so staff did not deteriorate; and ensuring that patients were not transferred to acute sites but looked for escalation in other wards like ward 6. She added that this would be a long piece of work to identify fewer inappropriate transfers to ward 6 and acute services.

Councillor Henderson thanked the team for the hard work that had been carried out and was glad that officials had seen the light to withdraw the consultation. 

Councillor Bell noted that this was the third improved therapy provision.

The Stroke Consultant, CDDFT advised that work was provided through therapy teams that used acute services. Posts were regularly added to it to firm up if a patient needed rehabilitation but work was not yet focused on how to utilise the site.

Councillor Robinson thanked the team for all the hard work.

The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer alluded that work was on going to explore responses to concerns to ensure that performance in stroke services was improved and that the community provision in County Durham was levelled up if there was an imbalance. He added that further updates and feedback would be provided to the committee on a regular basis on improvements to patient outcomes, issues on patient lengths of stay, delayed discharges and the Clinical Commissioning Group.

Councillor Hovvels commented that the power of the people should never be underestimated nor the scrutiny committee who asked questions to get positive results.

Resolved

That the report be noted.