Agenda and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

The Chair invited Members to declare at this point any interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  

Cllr Fraser declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 (Scrutinising Selby and York Primary Care Trust’s Measures to Restore Financial Balance), on account of his previous membership of UNISON, one of the main unions of the NHS. 

Cllr Moore declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 on account of his wife’s employment at the Priory Medical Group.

Cllr Waudby declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 on account of his wife’s employment as a care worker.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee held on 12 June 2006.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee held on 12 June 2006 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Panel’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is Friday, 28 July at 10:00 am.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To receive a draft Forward Plan setting out proposed business to consider at the next two meetings of the Committee.

Members considered a draft Forward Plan setting out business proposed for consideration at the next two meetings of the Committee.

The Chair indicated that future items for discussion would be guided to some extent by the Committee’s decisions in respect of the next item on the agenda.  It was noted that the Forward Plan contained some unexplained acronyms; this should be corrected in the next version to ensure that it could be understood by members of the general public.

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan be noted.

This report asks Members to consider how they wish to examine the impact of Selby and York Primary Care Trust’s savings measures.

Members received a report which presented the Financial Recovery Plan prepared by the Selby and York Primary Care Trust (SYPCT) and asked them to decide how they wished to examine the impact of the savings measures set out in the Plan.

Members heard from and questioned the following speakers, who had been invited by the Chair to present further information on the Plan and / or their views regarding its potential impact upon individual service areas.  The speakers’ comments are summarised briefly below.

Penny Jones and John Smith introduced the Recovery Plan, explaining the reasons behind the savings requirements and the process followed in drawing up the Plan.  It was stressed that all elements had been discussed with key stakeholders at an early stage in the process before working up developed plans in each area.

Anne Bygrave outlined the background to the proposals relating to Learning Disabilities services.  These had been based largely upon savings arising from changes already planned in response to government requirements and the cost improvement programme, so were not expected to have any negative impact upon services. 

Gary Millard introduced the proposals relating to Mental Health services.  These were intended to make the 2.5% savings required across the country in this service area.  The developed plans represented a joint effort, with the PCT working closely with Council officers to ensure that the quality of services was not affected.  There had been some issues regarding communication.

John Bettridge commented on the Mental Health proposals from a voluntary sector / customer perspective.  He noted that the reconfiguration of wards at Bootham and the closure of Redroofs were contentious issues and that the voluntary sector was keen to be consulted on any future changes.  It was  pleasing that the Plan included no reductions in funding to the voluntary sector.  However, there were concerns about the uncertainty of future funding from the PCT and cutbacks to European funding.

Sally Hutchinson commented on the proposals relating to services for Older People from a voluntary sector / customer perspective.  She expressed the view that there had been insufficient consultation on the Plan, and raised concerns about the proposals to reduce intermediate care beds at Archways and Grove House and speed up discharges from hospital.  Other concerns included the effect on older people of changes to prescription charges, reduced referrals to hospital and staff cuts.

Keith Martin commented on the Plan with regard to its impact on services provided by City of York Council.  He noted that the pace of change had made it difficult for the Council to comment on the proposals as they developed.  The overall risk that the savings would impact on community services could be reduced by working together with the PCT.  It was important that there be no increase to the 2.5% savings figure for Mental Health, as the level of investment in this area was already low.  There were concerns about the reduction in intermediate care beds at the Groves and Archways and proposals impacting on occupational  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.