Agenda item

Jo Yeaman, Director of Marketing, Communications and Patient Public Involvement, submits a report outlining the current position of the Next Stage Review. The Committee is asked to consider the issues raised and offer their views on proposals for consultation.

Jo Yeaman, Director of Marketing, Communications and Patient Public Involvement, submitted a report and gave a presentation that outlined the current position of the Next Stage Review. Officers from the PCT and University Hospitals Leicester (UHL) were present to answer Members’ questions.

It was reported that a full 12 week consultation was proposed instead of a minimum four weeks. The benefits and risks of this were explained. Various strategies and reviews were being developed on a range of issues and it was felt that individual consultations on each would delay key health improvements. It was proposed, therefore, to take a single approach to merge the vision of these strategies and reviews with the aim of providing better primary care services, quality care closer to home alongside specialist central services and acute centres, resulting in higher public confidence. The process for the review was outlined and the potential impact on facilities as the health community worked to develop a plan for the best healthcare possible.

Members asked what scope there was for local accountability during the process and in the future. Issues regarding different timescales for access of services within the city and county were raised, along with the need to properly provide for areas with large numbers of elderly people. They recognised the need to change the way patients were treated, particularly with reference to the Darzi review. Questions were raised regarding a consultation exercise that had taken place as to whether this was too small a consultation to be effective. Issues of safety of personal data were discussed regarding the move towards using more technology. A request was made to investigate any potential impact on carers if patients were discharged earlier. Concern was also raised that the timetable was restrictive.

Officers responded that it was intended that decision making should be driven down through the system to ensure the appropriateness of services for local communities. A vision for standards of care would be drawn up, but the methods used would be different in individual communities. Work was being done with community leaders to identify issues and community strategies would deal with these. With regard to the timetable, it was reported that there were inequalities that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Officers were confident that they could keep to the timetable and carry out effective consultation. Conflicting pressures in the delivery of services were highlighted with regard to the move towards localised treatment, alongside the pressure to centralise complex services. The consultation exercise that had already taken place was seen to be successful and gave insights from the point of view of people who would not normally engage in consultation. Further events were planned which would make the outcomes more statistically relevant. The importance of keeping patient records safe was agreed. It was suggested that a report on information governance could be submitted to a future meeting of the committee.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee support the recommendation that a full 12 week consultation be carried out as part of the Next Stage Review.