Agenda item

The final results of the scrutiny survey on access into health services is attached.

8.1  The chair introduced the draft report, and reported that the CCG had been invited to make comments and as a result of this some of the text had been amended, and a revised draft tabled. The project manager, Julie Timbrell, explained that the CCG had provided updated information on the 111 service, in particular they had explained that the London Ambulance Service had been awarded the new contract and that they were amongst the top 5 providers nationally.

8.2  The chair invited member to make comments. A member said that he thought that recommendations 3, 8 and 9 should emphasise the role of the CCG, and the committee agreed. The chair recommended a further amendment to recommendation 13 following comments from the CGG and that Public Health look at the reasons for increased acuity. A member queried the centrality of the Health and Well-being Board to lead on this and the chair invited comment from the project manager, who said increased acuity could be seen as a system problem and that the board did have a role as a systems leader. She commented that Public Health had sited some papers at the last meeting on the causes, and Public Health has research capacity. The CCG agreed with the recommendation and with the amendment that Public Health undertakes further work into the underlying causes of increased acuity.

8.3  Members queried the capacity of the committee to understand the data. The project manager commented that the Department of Health are doing work on in relation to Francis Inquiry to provide benchmarking on ward staffing levels to help scrutiny of hospital performance and this will be helpful to scrutiny. The chair said that that a letter had been written to  the Leader about more resources for health scrutiny and she will be chasing a response.

8.4  A further recommendation was suggested on offering a minimum standard for patients accessing a GP appointment. The committee agreed and the CCG advised waiting for the outcome of the NHS England’s Call for Action.

RESOLVED

Recommendation 3, 8 & 9 will be changed to emphasis the role of the CCG.

Recommendation 21 will be made clearer and will describe the support that the council currently offer to assess blue badge applications.

Recommendation 13 will include the amendment that Public Health carries out a piece of research into the reasons behind the increased acuity in Southwark.

Recommendation 26 will include an amendment saying that Southwark will consider an offer that ensures minimum standards of access for patients in Southwark in regards to contact with a GP, if appropriate following NHS England’s Call for Action response.