Agenda item

The Committee received a presentation of Dr J Steele, Clinical Lead, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, which provided an update with regards to the reprovision of Shotley Bridge Hospital (for copy see file of minutes).

Members were advised that the scheme was clinically led with ongoing public and key stakeholder engagement.  In terms of services, Dr Steele advised that there would be no significant changes and that a site had been identified 1.8 miles from the current site.  A timeline was shared with Members and she confirmed that construction would start in December 2023 and the facility would be completed early in 2025.

Councillor Haney advised that people were frustrated and although reassuring communications had been received, he wondered whether the Trust would be willing to attend a public meeting.

Senior Portfolio Lead, Senior Portfolio Lead, County Durham Care Partnership, advised that the Communications Lead had already started Councillor briefing sessions and they were willing to extend the programme to give regular updates and a comprehensive communications plan.

The Clinical Lead added that whilst the Trust were willing to attend meetings and listen to public feedback, there may be services that were unable to be delivered.  Councillor Haney added that most people in the town would say that the number of beds was inadequate, however the conversation was necessary, and views should still be considered.

Local Member, Councillor Earley, confirmed that people were contacting him to highlight services the lack of services such as Endoscopy which had been included in other new hospitals, but was unable to be delivered in Durham.  He shared his disappointment about the number of beds and suggested that people wanted more individual rooms for various medical and personal reasons.  That being said there were positive elements, and he noted the plans for 24/7 urgent care but wondered if it would include GP cover.

The Senior Portfolio Lead, advised that the number of beds had been determined by clinicians who had disagreed with the New Hospitals Programme guidance for 100% single bed occupancy rooms and a mix of eight single rooms with two four bedded single sex bays was considered more appropriate, especially given the social interaction requirements for rehabilitation patients.

With regards to the rationale behind the decision not to open a new Endoscopy Suite, the Clinical Lead advised that she was not partial to the reasoning, but confirmed that it would have been based on a clinical analysis, of which more detail would be provided after the meeting.

The Senior Portfolio Lead advised that had been some concerns regarding the use of Endoscopy as a diagnosis tool as this process was not particularly pleasant and the budget did not have the ability to provide this treatment at Shotley Bridge.

Councillor Andrews added that endoscopy in North Yorkshire had been moved from community hospitals as an on-site Anaesthetist was required to perform the procedure which was not always possible.

The Lead Clinician added that patients requiring diagnosis tended to be frailer and more at risk of having serious complications whilst undergoing this type of investigation and whilst most were performed with no issue, some could result in a crisis.  Councillor Earley responded that if age and frailty were high risk factors the Trust could implement an age limit and other risk management measures.

Denise Alexander, Interim Project Lead, Healthwatch County Durham, referred to the involvement of Healthwatch County Durham  in the new project particularly in respect of public engagement and communications. Further discussion would take place around future ongoing engagement activity linked to the project.

Councillor Hovvels wanted to record her gratitude to everyone involved in the process as it had been a long time since the initial discussions.  She also emphasised the importance of community engagement.

Councillor Howey asked whether the plans would affect the mental health provision that was already situated at this location.  J Illingworth, Director of Operations, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, advised that Derwent Clinic was on a site owned by the Trust and separate from the hospital.  Whilst the building was not in a good state, there were no plans to move out nor was there a suggestion that the clinic would be moved from the area.

Councillor Haney added that earlier in the process, consideration had been given to a new clinic in order to try and secure more space, however the space required could not be offered, therefore it had not materialised.

Councillor Martin confirmed that the previous update the Committee had received had confirmed that the plans were subject to around 12 months delay and there was a risk that funding would be lost if they were not delivered.

The Senior Portfolio Lead confirmed that the delay was around six months as this was a complex, clinically led programme of work and main hospital sites were extremely busy and the NHS had undergone many changes.  Despite being an outline business case, there were additional criteria to meet for the full business case which were being included at this stage.

With regards to the timing, the scheme had to be delivered by the end of 2025 and there were no issues doing that.  A design and build contract was being procured and the process of starting on site was beginning.

In response to a comment from Councillor Martin, the Senior Portfolio Lead confirmed that the changes in the NHS that were causing the delay were not related to the change from CCG to ICB but related to the new Hospital Programme, many of which were major hospital builds and also the discussions regarding the criteria for community hospitals versus acute.

Resolved

That the presentation be noted and regular updates be brought back to future meetings of the Committee.