PRESENT: Councillors Meadowcroft (Chairman), Mrs Endacott (Vice Chairman), Mrs Evans, Majeed, Mrs Newbound (substituting for Councillor Mrs Napier) and Mrs Proctor.

Also Present: Mrs E Barker, Mrs H Blanchard, Mrs F Cortvriend, Mr J Jones & Mrs K Proctor (Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) Mrs P Head (Berkshire East PCT), Mr Rodden (Berkshire Shared Services) and Mrs J Courtenay and Mrs S Holmes (Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead LINk)

Officers: Mr Abrahamson, Mr A Brown, Mr Herlinger, Mr Iddiols, Mr A Scott, Mr Thomas and Mr Thompson.



84/08 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lenton and Mrs Napier.

85/08 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None

86/08 MINUTES

RESOLVED: That the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 3 March 2009 be approved.

With regard to Minute 73/08 – Development of Acute Medicine and Future Plans for Services at Heatherwood Hospital – it was agreed that the Ambulance Trust be invited to attend the next meeting.

With Regard to Minute 74/08 – Right Care Right Pace – it was agreed that a review of the Minor Injuries Unit at St Mark’s Hospital, Maidenhead be considered at the next meeting. It was also requested that the PCT make an announcement as to the appointment of the preferred partner for the Bracknell Healthspace.

87/08 OPHTHALMIC RECORDS AT KING EDWARD VII HOSPITAL, WINDSOR

The Panel received a presentation from Francesca Cortvriend, General Manager for Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on the provision of Medical Records to Prince Charles Eye Unit at King Edward VII Hospital.

Mrs Contvriend reminded Members of the problems that had been experienced with the retrieval of patients’ records and commented upon the measures that had been put in place in October 2008 to improve the situation. She explained that the monitoring of records had indicated that for the period February – April 2009 only 1% of patients’ records had been unavailable, against a target of 2%. She advised that the performance being achieved was better than most other Trusts.

Mrs Contvriend commented upon the roll out of electronic records for Ophthalmology patients and advised that all new patients would have an electronic record, all short term patients already in the system would finish off their care with paper records and that all longer term care or complex patients, such as patients with diabetes, would have a conversion from paper to electronic records. In response to a concern expressed about older patients receiving appointment letters addressed to "the parent or guardian of”, Mrs Contvriend advised that the matter would be investigated and that appropriate action would be taken to address the problem.

88/08 DEVELOPMENT OF ACUTE MEDICINE AND FUTURE PLANS FOR SERVICES AT HEATHERWOOD HOSPITAL - PROPOSALS FOR CONSULTATION

Members received a presentation from Dr Jones, Medical Director at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on the service changes the Trust were planning to make at Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals, which had been highlighted and discussed at the previous meeting of the Panel. Mr Jones also commented upon the consultation process, circulated draft copies of the consultation leaflet and explained the next steps in the process. It was noted that Synovate, an external market research company, had been commissioned to evaluate the consultation responses to ensure independence.

Members were advised that, following the receipt of legal advice the consultation process had been split into two, with a section providing information on the changes being proposed by the Trust where no choice was available (i.e. emergency medical patients from Heatherwood to Wexham & other hospitals) and a section on a range of additional services being proposed for Heatherwood Hospital, on which comments were being sought.

In response to a number of questions, it was confirmed that there would be no reduction in beds across sites and that all the current outpatient clinics and range of tests would be retained at Heatherwood Hospital. Arising from the general discussion, Members questioned whether members of the public would be able differentiate between the two elements of the consultation and, without any knowledge or understanding of the choices available, whether they would be able to provide a meaningful response if they did not fully understand what was being proposed.

Members were advised that all Members would be issued with a copy of the Consultation document and that the Panel at its next meeting would be asked to agree its formal response on the consultation. In response to a request from the Panel, the Trust agreed to establish two consultation meetings in Maidenhead, one during the daytime and one in the evening.
89/08 WINDSOR ASCOT AND MAIDENHEAD LINk

Members received an update from Mrs Jo Courtenay on the activities of the Steering Group for the Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead LINk. It was noted that a workshop was being proposed for Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel and the LINk to consider how they could work together in order to prevent any duplication of effort and resources.

Mrs Holmes commented upon two public meetings that had been held and questionnaires that had been issued to identify priorities for the LINk. She advised that the two most important issues highlighted had been transport to and from health facilities and the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at St Mark’s Hospital in Maidenhead. The LINk had established a Transport sub group, which would look at how people travelled to and from Wexham Park Hospital and how people accessed the community ambulance service and would be involved in the review of the MIU at St Mark’s Hospital.

Mrs Holmes also commented upon the LINk's involvement in the discussions around the re-negotiation of the contracts for the provision of the community ambulance service. The Chairman, on behalf of the Panel, advised that the LINk had the Panel’s full support in its involvement in that review of the re-negotiation of the new contract arrangements.

90/08 SUPPORTING PEOPLE STRATEGY 2009/2011

The Panel received the Draft Supporting People Strategy for 2009-2011, which set out the Borough’s plans for housing related support for vulnerable people from a wide variety of client groups. Members were advised that the Supporting People programme was the responsibility of a range of agencies in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, and the strategy outlined how they would work in partnership to deliver effective, high quality services for vulnerable people.

In response to a number of questions, the officers provided further information on the activities, services and support that was provided for people, in particular those with mental health problems. Arising from the discussion, Members then made a number of comments on the Strategy. In particular, it was suggested that document should provide greater clarity between the level of services that the Council was currently providing and the level of demand for those services. As the Supporting People grant was no longer ring-fenced it would have been helpful if the Lead Member had been present at the meeting to give an assurance that funding would still be apportioned to Supporting People and would not diverted to support other services. It was also suggested that the Lead Member should provide an indication as to the level of support that would be given to increase the provision of affordable homes. The need to improve the processing of housing benefit claims to ensure that people qualifying for supporting people services received it in a timely fashion was also stressed.

RESOLVED: That, notwithstanding the comments outlined above, the Supporting People Strategy 2009-11 be endorsed by the Panel.

91/08 SERVICE MONITORING REPORT

The Panel received and noted the latest service monitoring report for activity within the Adult, Community and Health Services during the period to 31 March 2009. It was noted that the Adult Social Care budget showed an under spend of £568k, a net decrease in expenditure of £168k on the reported under spend last month of £400k.

In response to a number of questions, the Officers commented upon the discussions that were being held with one of the block Residential and Nursing Care providers in order to address the problems being experienced and advised that it was hoped that the situation would be resolved within the month. The Officers also outlined the reasons for the proposed under spend in Occupational Therapy equipment and Concessionary Fares Scheme budgets.

92/08 SAFEGUARDING ADULTS – ANNUAL REPORT

Members received a report that outlined the Council’s responsibilities in ensuring that there were effective multi-arrangements in place to safeguard vulnerable adults, and to intervene when concerns of possible abuse were raised. The report commented upon the role of the East Berkshire Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board, which was a multi-agency group responsible for setting the strategic direction across the area, securing senior management engagement and leadership in the development of policy and standards to deliver improved practice. The report highlighted the many initiates to develop the service, raise awareness and improve the level of investigations and recording that had been introduced or which would come into effect during early 2009/10.

The Panel also received the Safeguarding Adults Annual Report 2008/09, which highlighted the Royal Borough’s Safeguarding Adults activity carried out within the Adult Care Services Team, Community Team for People with Learning Disabilities, Community Mental Health Team and Mental Health Team for Older People. Members also received a presentation on the Safeguarding Adults Annual Report for 2008/9, which provided Members with a detailed breakdown of the number of safeguarding investigations carried out during 2008/09, with a comparison to the previous year. It also highlighted the category and nature of the abuse, the location the abuse took place, the various agencies involved and now the incidents were dealt with and resolved.

In response to a number of questions, Members were advised that multi-agency training was provided and that health professions did attend training sessions. It was noted that Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were doing a lot to promote Safeguarding, although it had been acknowledged that there was still more work to be done. Arising from the discussion, it was agreed that Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the South Central Ambulance Trust be invited to attend the Panel in 6 months time to submit details of their Safeguarding Adults Policies and Procedures.

93/08 CONTINUATION OF MEETING

In accordance with Rules of Procedure Part 4A 23.1 of the Council’s Constitution, Members considered whether or not the meeting should continue, as the time had exceeded 10.00pm.

RESOLVED: That the meeting continue past 10.00pm.

94/08 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF ADULT SOCIAL CAREThe Panel received a presentation from Allan Brown, Interim Director for Adult and Community Services, updating Members on how the key areas for development arising from the annual performance assessment were being addressed. Details were provided on the measures that had been taken to ensure that fewer people remained in hospital unnecessarily when their medical needs had been met. Although, the number of clients receiving a review had increased 70% to 82%, the rate of improvement had not kept pace with the rate achieved by other councils. It was noted that the level of intensive home care has dropped and is now below the average for other similar councils.

Members were advised that additional grant funding had been allocated to Thames Valley Body Positive to help improve services for people with HIV and AIDs and their carers. It was also noted that the delivery of higher cost packages via Direct Payments would remain a priority and that the percentage of people from external organisations trained in safeguarding had increased for 28% in 2007/08 to 48% in 2008/09.

95/08 WORK PROGRAMME

Members noted the items that had been identified for submission to the next meeting.

It was also agreed that a special meeting of the Panel be held prior to the 25 June meeting of Cabinet to consider the Cabinet report on Transforming Social Care.

96/08 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 – EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on items 13 and 14 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.