Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Councillor Paul Wharton-Hardman was not present at the Civic Centre but did join the meeting remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Members are requested to indicate at this stage in the proceedings any items on the agenda in which they intend to declare an interest. Members are reminded that if the interest is a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (as defined in the Members’ Code of Conduct) they must leave the room for the whole of that item. If the interest is not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, but is such that a member of the public could reasonably regard it as being so significant that it is likely that it would prejudice their judgment of the public interest (as explained in the Code of Conduct) then they may make representations, but then must leave the meeting for the remainder of the item.

Councillor Keith Martin declared a personal interest in item 3 - Health Question Time as an employee of Lancashire County Council.

Councillor Lou Jackson declared a personal interest in item 3 - Health Question Time as the South Ribble Borough Council representative on Lancashire County Council's Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Matt Campbell declared a personal interest in item 3 - Health Question Time as an employee of Lancashire County Council.

Councillor Paul Wharton-Hardman declared a personal interest in item 3 - Health Question Time as a member of the Council of Governors for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.

Senior representatives of health partners are attending to discuss health services in the Borough and how they are working together to improve the health, wellbeing and quality of life of residents in South Ribble.

This item will be a great opportunity for an informative question and answer session to explore the health landscape in more detail and cover a wider range of issues affecting the Borough and our residents.    

The Chair welcomed a panel of senior health partners to the meeting, invited them to introduce themselves and provide an overview of their role.

The Panel comprised of:

·         Gary Doherty – Director of Strategy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

·         Sarah James – Integration Place Leader (Central and West Lancashire) at Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board

·         Dr Sakthi Karunanithi – Director of Public Health at Lancashire County Council

·         Chris Oliver – Chief Executive of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

·         Laura Walsh – Director of Operations at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust

The Panel were asked a number of questions by the Committee, with responses outlined below:

(Q) How do you work together to make sure opportunities are seized, health is co-ordinated, and we provide a holistic approach to residents?

(A) Recent changes in the NHS landscape had seen greater collaboration between different organisations, particularly around community health services with clearer work programmes that were supported by localised neighbourhood teams. Links had been strengthened with other partners such as voluntary sector organisations and local authorities with services such as social prescribing and other initiatives that they can offer.

Practical examples of this collaborative approach were demonstrated by bringing a number of teams together to provide better care at home and avoid hospital admission and any subsequent challenges any recovery and returning home that may arise. From this, the ‘Care Connections’ initiative had been developed, bringing together a multi-disciplinary team to expedite triaging and referring patients to where they needed to go. There had already been a reduction in admissions to Accident and Emergency by Northwest Ambulance Service since Care Connections had been introduced, with plans to bring in additional teams to build on this positive impact.

Community Mental Health Transformation was a national scheme that looked to provide a holistic approach to mental health care and work closely with Integrated Care Boards, local authorities, charities and other voluntary sector organisations. ‘Hubs’ had been formed to improve the range of options available to patients which included prevention work such as tackling social isolation and other factors that have a detrimental impact on mental health.

(Q) We are conscious that the geographical footprint of your organisations covers very large and diverse areas – how do you make sure there is a local focus and the needs of individual areas, such as South Ribble and our varied communities are met?

(A) With the extent of the geographical area, a pan-Lancashire approach to service delivery would not be appropriate or effective for every district, ward or even down to specific nuances of even smaller communities. The current ‘place’ arrangements provided the building blocks to integrate community teams with existing partnerships to identify areas of need and direct relevant resources to those areas, in South Ribble this is undertaken through the Chorley and South Ribble Partnership. A key focus of the Partnership at the moment was ensuring the best start in life with the aim of supporting school readiness.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Councillor Lou Jackson, the Council’s representative on Lancashire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee to provide a verbal update.

The Council’s representative on Lancashire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Lou Jackson, provided an update on the work of the committee and discussions from recent meetings.

Updates were noted on the progress of the New Hospitals Programme and the commitment to replace the Royal Preston Hospital and Lancaster Royal Infirmary. It was also noted that there was a commitment to maintain the Accident and Emergency department at Chorley Hospital until the new hospitals are operational.

The Chair highlighted a number of sessions that had been arranged in recent months, including scrutiny training with Dr Steph Snape and workshop and planning sessions.

The Chair provided a brief update on the establishment of the Cost of Living Task Group with a meeting scheduled in December to take this forward.

The Committee may wish to consider looking at how our housing partners and others are working together to reduce housing waiting lists in South Ribble, as a recommendation made at the last meeting of the Corporate, Performance and Budget Scrutiny Committee.

Community and External Scrutiny Committee – Monday 22 January 2024

1.    Road Safety – Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Andy Pratt MBE to present and answer questions.

2.    Community Safety Partnership Update

The Committee noted the forward plan and unanimously resolved to schedule an additional meeting of the Community and External Scrutiny Committee in March to explore how our housing partners and others are working together to reduce housing waiting lists in South Ribble.