Agenda and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest from any councillor on any item on this agenda.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 6 June 2022.

It was agreed that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on Monday 6 June 2022 were a correct record.

Councillor Julie Robinson, Wyre Council’s representative on Lancashire County Council’s Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee, submitted a report to update the committee about the recent changes to the scrutiny function at Lancashire County Council.

The committee agreed to discuss items four and five of the agenda in conjunction because the topics shared similarities. 

The Chairman, Councillor Ibison, introduced the items and updated members that Councillor Julie Robinson, Wyre’s co-opt member on the Lancashire County Council Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee, was unable to attend the meeting.

He noted that the next meeting of the Lancashire County Council Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee under their new format was to be held in September 2022, therefore he asked members for any questions or comments to send to Councillor Robinson for their next meeting. He also updated members that the annual update from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Health and Care System was postponed until the October 2022 meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and suggested for members to discuss local issues that could be brought to that meeting for their consideration. 

A member voiced several performance issues with the health service, social care service and ambulance service and stressed that something needed to be done to elevate the issues. They suggested that government funding and organisation added to the performance issues in the health sector.

The Chairman reminded members to focus the discussions on local issues that affect Wyre.

The committee raised the following concerns:

·         The current status of the Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals Programme

·         The current status of the construction of a Lancashire County Council funded new dementia care home in Garstang and the intentions to build more care homes for dementia patients in Wyre

·         The limited ambulance crews covering a geographical area and recruitment issues

·         Potential issues that have arisen owing to the transition from the Clinical Commissioning Group to the Integrated Care System

·         Wyre Councils voice and influence with the Integrated Care Systems

·         Large demands on hospital bed availability and the impact on ambulance staff

·         The current status of the investment plan for the Emergency Department at Blackpool Hospital

·         The ambulance waiting times

·         The impacts of Wyre’s ageing population on the health services

·         The measures that the Lancashire County Council Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee use to scrutinise the performance of the NHS.

·         Hoax 999 calls and the impact on ambulance resources

·         The issues surrounding access to NHS dentistry

·         Housing developments, 106 agreements and the impact on local health services

·         The current status of telephony issues in GP practices in Wyre

·         The Police and Crime Commissioner’s position on police officer deployment in hospitals and the potential issues caused if they were to be reduced

Members confirmed that the issues discussed covered the priorities of the residents of Wyre and that an update should be provided by the Integrated Care System, at the October 2022 meeting, on solutions to tackle the issues discussed.

It was agreed for the Democratic Services Officer to structure the issues raised by members and for them to be circulated to the Integrated Care System invited guests before the October 2022 Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. Members also agreed for comments to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The annual Quality Account for 2021/22 North West Ambulance Service is attached for information.

Following the discussions as mentioned above, the report was noted.

The Corporate Director Resources, Clare James, has submitted a report updating the committee about the delivery of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2022/23. Marianne Unwin, Democratic Services Officer, will introduce the report and respond to questions and comments from councillors.

The Corporate Director Resources, Clare James, submitted a report to update the committee about the delivery of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2022/23.

The Democratic Services Officer, Marianne Unwin, introduced the report to the committee. She provided a verbal update to members about the current timetable for the completion of the KKP leisure review. It was hoped that the draft physical activity strategy would be available by the end of July 2022 followed shortly by the draft leisure facilities strategy. The Leisure Masterplan was hoped to be completed in late autumn 2022.

Following discussions, members agreed that the committee should request to look at the draft strategies once available. This may even be in the form of an extra single item agenda meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members discussed the recent news that the Government had announced, including the plans to reinstate the Poulton to Fleetwood railway line that had progressed to the next stage of the Restoring your Railway fund programme. They debated the recommissioning of the paused Poulton to Fleetwood railway line task group but agreed to not reinstate the task group as the aims were to be covered by the more detailed business case commissioned by the Government. Members requested for Democratic Services monitor the work and provide members with updates as necessary.

The report was noted.