Agenda item

Members of the public are invited to put questions to the Chair and Executive Councillors on any matters within the powers and duties of the Executive, subject to the exclusions set out in the Code of Practice.  (Questions must be submitted no later than 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the meeting on the card provided.  These are available at the meeting. You can also submit via the Council’s website at www.stockport.gov.uk/publicquestions)

Members of the public were invited to put questions to the Executive on any matters within its powers and duties, subject to the exclusions set out in the Code of Practice.

Two questions were asked.

(1)   The first question asked whether the Executive Councillor (Health), in light of the role of the Health & Wellbeing Board and his own role as its chair, shared the concerns expressed by the North West Regional Director of the Royal College of Nursing, as reported in the Stockport Express on 3 August 2016, that the proposed cost reduction measures by the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust would impact on patient care, create uncertainty for staff and increase waiting times; and whether the Executive Councillor would recommend that the Council Meeting opposes ward and bed closures and staff cuts?

In response the Executive Councillor (Health) acknowledged the points made about the role of the Health & Wellbeing Board in improving health and wellbeing in Stockport and seeking to secure improvements in health and social care services, but highlighted the specific challenges of ensuring an ageing population remained healthy, and healthy for longer, while reducing inequalities that existed across the borough. He stressed the importance of prevention and early invention to make best use of resources that were reducing year on year. He also acknowledged the wider challenges for the health and social care economy of suitable care provision and the delays in discharge from hospital.

The Executive Councillor than addressed the points raised by the Royal College of Nursing highlighted in the question:-

·           In relation to the closure of the B3 Ward, he stated that his understanding was that closure of this ward was a seasonal occurrence and was part of normal hospital operations.

·           He agreed that year on year reductions in resources across the NHS was putting additional pressures on the local Trust and on others, and was a challenge also facing the Council.

·           He reiterated the point already made about an ageing population locally but also highlighted that as well as a general increase in age, there were increasing numbers of the very old who had particular needs.

·           Rising demand at the hospital needed to be addressed as Stockport was a significant outlier in relation to the number of patients attending A&E and then being admitted.

·           He accepted the staff and trade unions had understandable concerns, but stated that the current situation could not continue. He added that he understood the Trust had been seeking to engage staff and other in a ‘conversation’ about the future direction of the Trust.

The Executive Councillor stated that since he was not part of the management of the Trust, and these matters were mostly outside the ability of the Council to influence, he could not unequivocally oppose the measures, but gave an assurance he would continue to seek to work with the Trust to make best use of resources both parties had, and to engage with the Government to seek to redress the funding shortfall.

(2)   That second question asked whether the Executive Councillor (Health), in light of role of the Health & Wellbeing Board and his own role as its chair, agreed with the view expressed by the Chief Executive of Stockport Healthwatch, as reported in the Stockport Express on 3 August 2016, that the failure of the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Board to consult with patients and patients groups was ‘an outrage’; and whether the Executive Councillor would ensure that details of the jobs at risk and the impact and risk assessments relating to the these proposals were published.

In response the Executive Councillor (Health) stated that the requests for information were matters for the Trust’s management and not something the Council could influence. The Executive Councillor undertook to write to the Chief Executive of the Trust to ask for the release of this information.

The Executive Councillor further stated that the challenges with funding at this hospital, and others, were widely known and therefore not a surprise. He suggested that consultation could have been undertaken sooner, but acknowledged that the Trust had planned to consult with staff earlier. He suggested that a protocol may be useful to set out how such matters would be approached in the future as there was much activity underway that would impact the operation of the hospital.

The Executive Councillor, in reference to the wording of the question, stated that the he understood the Trust were only seeking voluntary redundancies, and that he understood that risk assessments were a standard part of the planning process for the Trust. He suggested that were the Trust to achieve the required number of voluntary redundancies that Trade Unions should engage with the Trust about the future direction.

The Chair reported that two further questions had been submitted by questioners who were not present at the meeting, and that in accordance with the Code of Practice a written response would be provided.