The Overview and Scrutiny Officer for Central Bedfordshire Council invited nominations for Chairman of the Bedfordshire and Luton Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Mental Health Services for 15 October 2010 meeting.

Cllr Andrew Turner, Central Bedfordshire Council was the only candidate nominated and seconded.  He was therefore appointed Chairman for the meeting.

RESOLVED

that Cllr Andrew Turner be elected as Chairman of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 15 October 2010.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and requested that everyone introduce themselves and if relevant who they had replaced on the panel.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 3 September 2010 and to note actions taken since that meeting.

RESOLVED

that the Minutes of the Informal Meeting of the Bedfordshire and Luton Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Mental Health Services held on 3 September 2010 be approved as a correct record. Subject to the following amendments:- Peter Loose, Assistant Director, Adult Services, Bedford Borough Council had been present at the meeting and that Cllr Anna Pederson had been present during the Planning Session.

To receive from Members any declarations and the nature thereof in relation to:-

(a)    personal interests in any agenda item

(b)    personal and prejudicial interests in any agenda item

(c)     any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

To consider the proposed consultation.

The Committee received and considered the consultation management and communications plan October 2010 from NHS Bedfordshire.  The Assistant Director of Public Engagement, NHS Bedfordshire provided the Committee with an overview of the consultation and how the information would be compiled.

It was noted that an independent peer review had been carried out by NCAT which had resulted in support being given to the proposals and to the 60 day consultation.  In addition, there was a three day review by the OGC Gateway Review which would conclude on 15 October 2010.  The review tested that the proposals were clinically sound.  It was confirmed that the SHA analysis of reconfiguration tests were sufficient for GPG.  This confirmed that patient engagement and patient choice had been accounted for.

The Assistant Director of Public Engagement highlighted the four key aims were as follows:-

1.            Improve mental health assessment and admission inpatient services for adults and older people by clustering services more closely together in more suitable buildings on or close to acute local hospital sites, or in new or refurbished existing facilities in the local community, where appropriate.

2.            Encourage and enable health and other care staff to work in a more joined-up way to make services safer and more patient focused.

3.            Focus on each individual and enable health and other care staff to work in a more joined-up way to make services safer and more patient focused.

4.            Deliver assessment and admission inpatient services in a more cost-effective way to ensure best use of NHS money.

These four key aims were the underpinning of the seven proposals which were as follows:-

1.                  To transfer adult admission services from a residential area ( Townsend Court) in Houghton Regis to a refurbished existing facility on the nearby Luton and Dunstable acute hospital site by July 2011.

2.                  To transfer adult admission services from a residential area (Oakley Court) in Luton to refurbished existing facilities on the nearby Luton and Dunstable acute hospital site by March 2012.

3.                  To transfer older people inpatient services (non-dementia) in Hougton Regis (Poplar Ward) to refurbished facilities on the nearby Luton and Dunstable acute hospital site by July 2011.

4.                  To transfer older people with Alzheimer’s disease (dementia) from Beech Ward in Luton to Townsend Court in nearby Houghton Regis by September 2011.

5.                  To transfer older people with Alzheimer’s disease (dementia) from Milton Ward in Weller Wing at Bedford Hospital to a refurbished facility within Fountains Court close to Bedford Health Village (formerly Bedford Hospital’s north wing site) by December 2011.

6.                  To transfer older people inpatient services (non-dementia) from Chaucer Ward in Weller Wing to Cedar Ward at Bedford Health Village (formerly Bedford Hospital’s north wing site) by September 2012.

7.                  To develop a purpose-build unit at Bedford Health Village (formerly Bedford Hospital’s north wing site) for a Mental Healh Act Section 136 suite, adult assessment and admission inpatient services by December 2012, subject to receiving full planning consent.

The Committee were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider the draft scope and briefing note to assist in the development of further stages of the JHOSC.

The Committee considered the Scoping Document and Planning for future meetings, which provided an overview of what the Committee would be looking at during its existence and the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

It was noted that meetings would be held on a rotational basis by each authority.  Bedford Borough Council had hosted the first informal meeting and Central Bedfordshire Council hosted the second meeting and Luton Borough Council hosting the third meeting. 

It was the wish of the Committee that the hosting Council would provide a Chairman for that specific meeting.  The Terms of Reference for this Committee were agreed by the three Councils, which state that a Chairman was to be appointed at the first meeting to preside over all of the required meetings.  It has been agreed that the Scrutiny Officers would consider how the Committee’s wishes could be met prior to the next meeting of the JHOSC.

The Committee discussed the number of meetings it would need to hold and it was agreed that a further three meetings would be required.  The Overview and Scrutiny Officers would liaise and determine a set of dates and then confirm with the Members of the Committee. 

The next meeting would be held in late November or early December and would consider the progress of the consultation process to that date.  NHS Bedfordshire would be invited to the meeting to give an update.

The following meeting would be held in early January before the NHS Board meet and would review the findings to date of the consultation.  In addition, the Committee would consider whether enough contacts had responded and also ask the NHS to confirm who was consulted and any missed groups to be highlighted.

It was asked that the NHS be requested to separate the data between Bedfordshire and Luton.  It was also suggested that as a list of all third party contacts would be circulated by the Overview and Scrutiny Officers to the members of the Committee that members could highlight organisations which were located in both Luton and Bedfordshire to make sure that both perspectives were received.

The last meeting would be held in February 2011 and would consider the outcome of the NHS Bedfordshire Board’s meeting and decisions about the proposals in light of the consultation.

RESOLVED

1.            that the Joint Committee, using the attached scoping document as a tool to focus its work within the agreed terms of reference, be approved.

2.            that the Joint Committee, having regard for the attached scoping document which informed of the work of the Committee going forward, request that the three Councils amend the Terms of Reference to allow each Council to appoint a Chairman at the appropriate meeting.