Agenda and minutes

Councillor Allen declared that his wife was employed as a Nurse at Solent Health NHS Trust.

Councillor Finn declared that she was employed as a Mental Health Social Worker for NHS Professionals at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and her husband was a Trustee of Solent Mental Health Service.

Councillor Kenny declared that she was a Member of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, and her husband was a Governor of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Panel noted the declarations of interest and considered that it did not present a conflict of interest in the items on the agenda.

RESOLVED that Councillor Allen, Councillor Finn, and Councillor Kenny, would be involved the discussion of the items on the agenda.

The Chair noted that the next meeting of the Panel had been moved forward to the 30 November 2023 due to the relevant officers for the planned agenda items not being able to attend on the 7 December.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 August 2023 and to deal with any matters arising.

RESOLVED: that the minutes for the Panel meeting on 17 August 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Panel considered the report of the Scrutiny Manager which provided an update following engagement that enabled the Panel to formally respond to the proposals to redesign inpatient Older Persons Mental Health Services.

Councillor Barbour; James House, Managing Director, Southampton Place, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; Tom Westbury, Associate Director of Communications, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust; Ron Shields, Chief Executive, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust; and Councillor Fielker, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health, and Housing were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

·  Originally there were 46 beds allocated for organic dementia patients across the county, but the service had not required more than 32 beds to be used at any one time.

·  For patients who had to be accommodated away from their home district arrangements are made to enable the family to travel to those wards to support their loved ones.

·  All affected staff would be redeployed, there were a number of vacancies across Mental Health Services in Southampton and across the county.

·  The proposals were developed by a working group that included patients’ families and carers as well as staff and managers.

·  The aspiration for the service was to focus on crisis intervention and wrap around care in the community to prevent a patients needs escalating to require hospital inpatient care.

·  The consultation also identified a need to improve access to information for families from the point of diagnosis and the service planned to continue to consult with families of dementia patients.

RESOLVED That the Panel’s response to the proposals to redesign inpatient older persons mental health services would be sent to Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust by the end of week commencing 23^rd October.

The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board which provided an update on how the NHS was planning ahead of winter pressures on urgent care services in Southampton. 

James House, Managing Director, Southampton Place, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; Joe Teape, Chief Operating Officer, University Hospital Southampton (UHS); and Clare Edgar, Executive Director Wellbeing and Housing, Southampton City Council, were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

·  UHS was, when considering key indicators, a high performing hospital.

·  Demand for urgent and primary care had remained significantly high and there was limited scope to redirect additional resources to increase capacity at UHS.

·  The waiting list for elective procedures had significantly increased over the last three years and had grown since the Panel considered the issue in February 2023.

·  ‘Same Day’ Response Pathways were being established so that where local surgeries couldn’t accommodate a request GPs could refer people who needed a same day response directly to the service in order to prevent that patient from presenting at the Accident and Emergency department later on.

·  There was increased use of ‘Virtual Wards’ and ‘Digital Monitoring’ where there were medical grounds that benefited the patient.

·  The ongoing industrial action of health care professionals was not having a direct impact on urgent care as staff were stepping in to cover gaps, however it was having an impact on ongoing primary care and elective surgery.

RESOLVED 

1)  That University Hospital Southampton and the City Council would continue to work together to improve performance with regards to delayed discharge and a progress report would be provided to the Panel in the new year.

2)  That, to enable ongoing oversight, the performance report that was presented at each meeting of the UHS Trust Board would be circulated to the Panel.

The Panel considered the report of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board which provided and update on dentistry provision in Southampton.

Simon Cooper, Director of Pharmacy, Optometry and Dentistry, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; Jo Hannigan, Patient Involvement;

and Councillor Fielker, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

• Preventative activity to encourage better oral health practice.
• The challenges created by the national contract.
• Opportunities to develop additional services targeted at areas where need was highest.
• Fluoridation in the water supply to improve oral health.

RESOLVED 

1)  That, if available, data would be provided to the Panel on children accessing NHS dentistry in Southampton.

2)  That support would be provided to primary schools to encourage better oral health practises in Southampton.

3)  That the Administration would seek clarification from the Government with regards to the current policy position relating to water fluoridation and the processes that would need to be followed to enact this measure.

4)  That it be noted that, as a catalyst to improving dental health outcomes in the city, the Southampton Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel supports calls to reform the existing NHS Dental Contract.

The Panel received and noted the report of the Scrutiny Manager which enabled the Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel to monitor and track progress on recommendations made at previous meetings.

The Panel noted that all requested information had been provided and circulated to the Panel and that no further action was needed on the Health and Leisure recommendations.