Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2011.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 13 December 2011 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Service Director (Strategy & Performance).

The report provides a summary of the recent guidance which has been issued to support the transition of public health functions to the Local Authority, detailing progress and activities that have taken place to date.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Donna Sager, 0161 474 3928, donna.sager@stockport.gov.uk

The Service Director (Strategy & Performance) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing the Scrutiny Committee with a summary of the recent guidance issued to support the transition of public health function to the Local Authority and detailing progress and activities that have taken place to date.

The Director of Public Health, the Service Director (Strategy & Performance) and the Executive Councillor (Adults & Health) responded to questions and comments from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The level of resources that would be provided by the Department of Health to the Council was as yet unknown. Without this information it was difficult to determine what additional or different future provision may be possible.

·         Efforts were being made to ensure that there was stability with the workforce in the lead up to transition. It was hoped that uncertainties around TUPE for existing NHS Staff would be settled at a national level.

·         The potential for the integration of services was a key opportunity to improve outcomes. This Scrutiny Committee had an important role, working with other scrutiny committees, to ensure Public Health commissioned services were improving outcomes.

·         Increased emphasis on school health would be welcomed, particularly doctors visiting schools as part of health screening programmes.

·         Concern was expressed about whether the pressure on Public Health services and staff during the transition would impact on service and whether reductions in other services may have an adverse impact on health outcomes.

·         There was a danger that the valuable role of a national co-ordinating and commissioning body like Public Health England began to interfere in the legitimate local functioning of public health services.

·         The Director of Public Health had a vital role in ensuring that health was embedded in the work of all council services and that the budget for public health was used effectively.

·         The Council and NHS were seeking to make the most of the opportunities presented by the transfer, including accelerating the timescales for this ahead of the national timetable, working to ensure all council staff had ‘public health’ skills and exploring collaborative working with other councils and with other Greater Manchester Directors of Public Health where there were areas of mutual interest or where skills/ services could complement each other.

·         It was hoped that there would be commitment from the Government to increase Public Health expenditure as a proportion of total NHS spend, which would allow more preventative public health work to improve outcomes, along with an increased focus on evidence based commissioning.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Scrutiny Committee would welcome further updates on the Public Health transition as appropriate.

The Executive Councillor (Adults & Health), representatives of the Council, NHS Stockport and other stakeholders to provide a verbal update the Committee on NHS Reform as appropriate.

The Executive Councillor (Adults & Health) provided an update in respect of NHS Reform. The following issues were highlighted:-

·         The Health and Social Care Bill was due to begin the reading stage in the House of Lords on 8 February. The Lords had proposed a number of amendments during its Committee stage.

·         The Executive Councillor would be attending a national ‘Sharing Event’ event on Health and Wellbeing Boards. An event was planned for 1 March during which stakeholder and the public would be consulted on the draft Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

·         A working group was developing proposals for the establishment of a local HealthWatch.

·         The Clinical Commissioning Group had recently made a number of appointments to senior posts and the Executive Councillor had been involved to provide independent input into this process.

·         Staff within NHS Stockport had recently been written to about the location of their functions within the future NHS structure.

A question was asked about the future composition of Stockport’s Health and Wellbeing Board. The Executive Councillor and a representative of the Democratic Services Manager outlined the key features of the Bill in respect of these Boards, but emphasised that the arrangements for Stockport had yet to be decided.

RESOLVED – That the update be noted.

(NOTE: The Chair was of the opinion that this item, although not included on the agenda, should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 in order to allow the Committee to consider the press release).

The Service Director (Strategy & Performance) reported that the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust had published a press release in relation to the deaths over the New Year at Stepping Hill Hospital of a further three patients that had been attributed in the media to contaminated saline products. The Trust clarified that at the moment it was more appropriate to attribute these deaths to natural causes but that the Coroner and Police were investigating. The Trust thanked their staff for their vigilance and the community for their continued support.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.                                                          

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Jonathan Vali,   0161 474 3186 , jonathan.vali@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next two meetings and any Forward Plan items that fell within its remit.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.