Agenda and minutes

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Venue: Meeting Rooms A&B Bury Town Hall

Contact: Julie Gallagher 

Items
No. Item

HSC.391

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of Health Scrutiny Committee are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the agenda and if so, to formally declare that interest.

Minutes:

Councillor Paul Adams declared a personal interest in respect of agenda item HSC.396 deferred payment scheme as his mother participates in the scheme.

 

Councillor Tim Pickstone declared a personal interest in respect of all items under consideration as his partner is employed by the NHS.

 

Councillor Joan Grimshaw declared a personal interest in respect of all items under consideration as a member of the Patient Cabinet.

 

HSC.392

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Questions are invited from members of the public present at the meeting on any matters for which this Committee is responsible.

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public present at the meeting

HSC.393

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 58 KB

The minutes of the last meeting held on 27th July 2015 and 22nd September 2015 are attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was agreed:

The minutes of the meetings held on 27th July 2015 and 22nd September 2015 be approved as a correct record.

 

HSC.394

MATTERS ARISING

Minutes:

In respect of minute number HSC.222 Annual Complaints Report – Adult Social Care Services, the Assistant Director, Strategy, Procurement and Finance reported that the concerns raised in respect of recording complaints has been taken forward and the information in relation to complaints responded to and dealt with within 48 hours will be recorded.  The BME form has been reviewed and further information can be provided to members in relation to training provided to wardens once available.

 

In respect of minute number HSC.223 Non-emergency transport service, the Principal Democratic Services Officer reported that a visit the control room will be arranged once the announcement of the new provider is confirmed.

 

In respect of minute number HSC.338 Public Question Time, the Principal Democratic Service Officer reported that a Project Overview Group will be established to review the proposals and it is hoped the group will meet prior to the next scheduled meeting of this Committee.

 

HSC.395

Activity and Finance Report - I Will If You Will ((IWIYW) pdf icon PDF 405 KB

Cabinet Member for Communities, Councillor Jane Lewis will provide members with a verbal update at the meeting.  In attendance also will be Fiona Hayward - Strategic Co-ordinator, IWIYW and John McLean: Performance and Insight Lead (IWIYW).  Reports attached.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Jane Lewis, Cabinet Member, Communities attended the meeting to provide members of the Committee with an update in respect of the I will if you will project (IWIYW) an accompanying report had been circulated to Elected Members.  The Report contained the following information:

 

I Will If You Will (IWIYW) is a project focused upon changing women and girls’ behaviours to take part in sport and physical activity with the aim of getting more women and girls to be more active, more often, and acting as a lever for change to help to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Bury.

 

The project is hosted by Bury Council in partnership with Sport England.

 

Phase One of IWIYW was launched in May 2013 and ran from September 2013 to September 2014.  A bridging period followed between October 2014 and December 2014 and Phase Two formally commenced in January 2015 and runs to December 2016 with the commitment from Bury Council to develop a sustainable model with continued delivery of IWIYW post external funding from Sport England through until 2020.

The number of participants in the programme as at 31st August 2015 stands at 10,723 unique individuals – with 91% of those being female (9693 females).  Since January 2015 when Phase Two commenced, 3,225 of these participants have continued to engage with the programme.

 

Since the programme began, there have been 7,741 sessions held – averaging 337 sessions a month. 

 

Bury Council was successful in its bid to pilot IWIYW in May 2013 and awarded a grant of £2,383,778 to lead the campaign.  The project was extended for two years and Phase 2 started in January 2015 and will run to December 2016 with a budget of £2m over 2 years. 

 

Priorities for the second year of the Phase 2 programme include:

·         Continuing the work on behaviour change priority areas to encourage more regular participation in the programme on a long-term basis.

·         Continuing to work with locality networks and encourage bids to the locality fund and community fund to support new activities.

 

·         Strong input from volunteers and champions in each locality area.

 

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

In response to a Member’s question the Performance and Insight Lead reported that a street survey had been undertaken to assess in part the impact of the programme as well as the national active people survey.  The survey has shown a narrowing of the gap between activity undertaken between men and women and also that woman are more active than they were previously.

 

In terms of sustainability, the Cabinet Member reported that lessons have been learnt from phase 1 of the IWIYW programme, there is no further funding available from Sport England beyond 2016, therefore in order to ensure sustainability the aim of the programme is to ensure that the project is embedded in the communities this will be done through engaging with partners and locality networking.

 

In response to  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.395

HSC.396

Deferred Payments Scheme pdf icon PDF 197 KB

The Assistant Director, Strategy, Procurement and Performance will report at the meeting.  Report attached.

Minutes:

The Assistant Director, Strategy, Procurement and Finance, Julie Gonda attended the meeting to provide members of the Committee with an update in respect of changes to Bury Council’s Deferred Payments Scheme.   The presentation contained the following information:

 

A person entering residential care will pay their fees by using their income and capital.  In certain circumstances they can apply for Local Authority assistance with the funding.

If the person entering residential care owns a property or land this may be taken into account when calculating the financial assessment client contribution towards the cost of their care home placement. 

 

The Local Authority will offer the option of the Deferred Payment Scheme which allows a person to accrue some of their charges for residential care against a Legal Charge placed on the Land Registry against their property or land which avoids the immediate need to sell the asset to fund care.

 

The Deferred Payment Scheme can only be used to fund care home fees.  It can be used as a form of short term “loan” until the property is sold or can be used as a longer term arrangement. 

 

Bury Council will refuse a Deferred Payment Scheme application if it can’t obtain adequate security for the deferred accrued debt, any amount of administration costs and interest charges.

 

The administration costs for the financial year 2015/16 are;

Set up administration fee: £250.00

Annual Administration fee: £150.00

Termination fee: £75.00

 

The person or their legally appointed representative will be advised of the interest charges to be applied from the first day of the Deferred Payments Scheme agreement.  Interest rate effective from: 1st January 2015 percentage rate 2.65% and from the 1st July 2015 percentage rate of 2.25%.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Assistant Director if a person chooses to rent their property, during the period of the deferred payment scheme the rental income should be paid towards the care home fees.

 

The Assistant Director reported that the house is valued at the start of the loan period but may be re-assessed if the Clients financial situation changes.  The average length of stay for a residential home is three and a half years.

 

In response to a Member’s question the Assistant Director reported that the agreement will end and the debt will stop accruing when the equity limit is reached.

 

The Assistant Director reported that the Council does not impose a time limit on the sale of a house.

 

It was agreed:

 

The report be noted.

 

HSC.397

Lifestyle Change Scheme

A representative from Bury CCG will report at the meeting.

Minutes:

Stuart North, Chief Operating Officer Bury CCG attended the meeting to provide members of the Committee with an update in respect of the CCG’s proposals in relation to the Lifestyle Change Scheme.

 

The proposed scheme would affect patients in need of non-essential surgery such as knee, hernia and hip.  The proposal, which is still being developed will result in patients who would benefit from stop in smoking or reaching a healthier weight, referral for surgery will be deferred for a number of week to enable the patient to attend a smoking cessation or weight management course as appropriate to help them become as fit as possible for surgery.    

 

Under the scheme, a non-smoker would join the surgery waiting list straight away, while an habitual smoker would have to wait to do so while a course takes place – the length of which will depend on the state of their health.

 

The Chief Operating Officer reported that the proposal is part of a bigger drive by the CCG to persuade people to take more responsibility for their care.

 

In response to a Member’s question the Chief Operating Officer reported that the proposals , were still to be finalised by clinicians and public health authorities, discussions are ongoing and the CCG may consider including alcohol as a third option.

 

Councillor Andrea Simpson, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing expressed concern with regards to the proposed changes and reported that she would like to see a patient added to the waiting list irrespective of their weight/smoking status and the intervention taken place whilst already on the list and in the system.  Councillor Simpson reported that the NHS Constitution stipulates that an outpatient referral should take place within 18 weeks and this could put this target in jeopardy.

 

In response to Councillor Simpson’s concerns, the Chief Operating Officer reported that a similar system has been introduced in Wales and the CCG will review the impact of the changes there and incorporate any learning into their proposals.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Chief Officer reported that the proposed changes will be in the interest of the patient in terms of their health and outcomes, and for the NHS by ensuring money is saved in the long term.

The Director of Public Health reported that there are strategies in place to assist people to cease smoking and reduce their weight and the trigger shouldn’t necessarily be waiting for an operation.  The Director reported that she would like to see healthy lifestyles embedded in all care/health pathways and people are afforded opportunities to make lifestyle changes earlier.

 

The Chief Officer reported that it would be up to the GP to have the conversation with the patient in respect of improving their diet/reducing or ceasing smoking and for them to explain the improved outcomes of any operation if such lifestyle changes are undertaken.

 

Members expressed concern that a patient may be unable to work due to ill-health and if their time waiting for an operation is  ...  view the full minutes text for item HSC.397

HSC.398

GLUTEN FREE PRESCRIBING pdf icon PDF 80 KB

A press release from Bury CCG is attached.

Minutes:

The Chief Operating Officer reported that Bury CCG are beginning a conversation in relation to gluten free prescribing and the appropriateness of NHS prescriptions for gluten free foods for adults. 

 

An eight week engagement phase was launched on the 12th October the results of which will inform the future decision of the CCG as to whether it should continue to prescribe in this area.

 

The Chief Officer reported that CCG clinicians recognise that the NHS does not provide foods on prescription for patients living with other conditions associated with or affected by the type of food they eat.

 

It was agreed:

 

Once the consultation in relation to gluten free prescribing is completed an update will be provided to the members of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee

HSC.399

TAXI LICENSING MEDICAL FITNESS CERTIFICATE

Any other business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair agrees may be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

Councillor Hussain raised concerns about the frequency and associated costs for taxi drivers in relation to the licence requirements for medical fitness certificates.

 

The Principal Democratic Services Officer reported that this was a statutory requirement and not something imposed by the Local Authority.  The charges incurred were in relation to the completion of the fitness certificate and were not imposed by the Local Authority.  The amount charged is determined by the individual GP practices.

 

It was agreed:

 

The Principal Democratic Services Officer would liaise with the Bury Council Licensing Manger to provide members with more information in respect of the Taxi Licensing Medical Fitness Certificates.