Agenda item

Presentation by representatives of North Durham Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Chair welcomed colleagues from North Durham Clinical Commissioning Groups who were in attendance to give an update on the future of services currently provided at Shotley Bridge Community Hospital. The Chair felt that as a committee a close eye had to be kept on the situation at the hospital since the temporary closure of its inpatient rehabilitation beds in 2016. 

The Committee had worked alongside a Councillor reference group that was set up by the County Council’s Cabinet member for Adult and Health Services Councillor Lucy Hovvels to scrutinise work done by the Clinical Commissioning Groups and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, both on the future of the site and the services it provided. Along with this group, the Committee had ensured the voice of local councillors had been heard by the CCG and Trust and had supported the need for services to be retained in the locality and had lobbied for funding to be made available for a new healthcare facility in the area should that be the ultimate ambition of the CCG and Trust.  The Chair felt that should that be what the partners chose to pursue, he was keen to hear what plans would be in place to ensure there was no gap in provision and that services would continue to be delivered from the existing site until such time as a new facility was opened.

Councillor Hovvels praised all the work that had been carried out by everyone involved to secure services that were currently provided at Shotley Bridge Community Hospital.  She informed the Committee that the hospital was proposed to be closed and the services along with it.  She added that work by partners had not been done in isolation but with local people getting involved that had brought a lot to the table within the engagement events that had been held. 

The Head of Integrated Commissioning advised the Committee that there was a partnership approach to deliver plans for the hospital that would have no gaps in what was currently provided to what the future provision would be. The new future model of care would be developed to be fit for purpose to ensure that the facility kept the independence of patients.  The Shotley Bridge Hospital Support Group involved people and kept them updated on progress made.

The Head of Integrated Commissioning informed the Committee that there was potential to deliver more services and they were not just looking at services that were already in existence but also on what could be delivered in the next 5-10 years.  She notified the committee that the estate was not fit for purpose as it had deteriorated over the years and was three times larger than was required.  She added that there were sites under consideration to relocate the services to that included land owned by Genesis who had already applied for planning permission. She noted that the head of terms for conditions would be concluded on each site to produce a business case and a financial appraisal to look at the costs involved.  The project was a legacy scheme that would only require internal approval and the NHS assurance still applicable in terms of the model of care before it could move forward.

Councillor Temple thanked Councillor Hovvels for making the work non-political where all parties worked together for a positive outcome.  He thanked everyone involved in all the hard work including the people of Consett for acting responsibly to accept and support the work around the hospital by giving up their heritage in a place where their children were born.  The key element in mind was to get what was best for the people and the future.

Councillor Robinson reminisced about the hospital remembering when it had been the regional heart centre and the regional burns unit. He commented that it held a lot of history for a lot of people.  He felt that it was a good case study on how joint working on a difficult project could produce a positive outcome.  He noted that the Committee would monitor progress.

Resolved

That the report be noted.</AI11>

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