Agenda and minutes

Item 10 –Update Report – Elysian House-Springwell Centre Transition

The Chairman informed the committee that although Elysian House itself had not been sold by BEHMHT to Fairview New Homes Ltd, there were plans to dispose of some of the gardens. She also mentioned that Fairview New Homes have currently obtained planning permission for Phase 2 of the Colindale Hospital site which includes Birch, Willow and Elysian House. Birch and Willow are already owned by Fairview.

The committee was also informed that Councillors Cornelius, Old and Perry would be visiting the Springwell Centre in the next few weeks to meet with staff and former residents of Elysian House.

Item 11 – Update Report – Transforming Community and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

The Chairman told the committee that she and Councillor Gideon Bull, Chairman of the North Central London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee were still waiting for an invitation to attend a meeting of the Young People's Board.  As soon as a date was agreed, she would inform the committee and would provide feedback on the meeting as soon as it had taken place.

RESOLVED that:-

the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2012 be approved.

None.

None.

See Item 7.

Resolved that –

the minutes of the 16 January 2012 North Central London Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) meeting be noted.

Mary Joseet, Director of Performance, Planning and Partnership, Gary Penn, Director of Estates, and Terina Riches, Director of Nursing, from Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust provided the committee with verbal updates on:

·   Alzheimer and dementia services: the number of staff trained in dementia and Alzheimer care as well as progress in installing “dementia signage”

·   the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy

Gary Penn also provided a verbal response to an item raised by Councillor Geof Cooke regarding staff awareness of food ingredients and food standards at the restaurant in Barnet Hospital.

Response to Councillor Cooke’s enquiry in relation to food standards and staff awareness of ingredients of items served at the restaurant at Barnet general Hospital:

Mr Penn apologised sincerely on behalf of the Trust to the committee for the regrettable occurrence when restaurant staff had been unable to provide details of the ingredients of food served. The committee were informed that measures had subsequently been put in place to rectify this situation including the training of staff in customer service and food hygiene awareness.

The committee were informed that all issues relating to equalities were considered in the compiling of the restaurants menu and that the highest standards of food safety is followed at the restaurant.

The committee were also informed that the manager of the restaurant would be happy to meet with committee members should they require any further assurances.

Alzheimer and dementia services update:

In relation to Alzheimer and dementia services, Terina Riches, provided the committee with an update on the number of staff trained in dementia and Alzheimer care and the progress made in obtaining “dementia signage” for dementia wards and service areas.

The committee was informed that 846 staff had received formal training, not including targeted training, and that the Trust will be purchasing further Alzheimer training. An e-learning package for part-time staff is also in place with 3,000 staff having access to e-learning packages.

The committee was informed that dementia signage was in place and that nursing stations had been adapted to allow patients to interact with nurses. The committee was also informed that Nutritionists were receiving training in how to feed Alzheimer patients and that new toilets are to be built at Chase Farm.

The committee was also informed that there had been a patient safety day event which had been very successful.

Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy:

Mary Joseet provided the committee with a verbal update in relation to the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy.

Mary Joseet provided the committee with an overview of the Outline Business Case (OBC) approval process, post transfers, Accident and Emergency (A&E) capacity post Strategy implementation, acute bed distribution, maternity capacity and indicative timescales.

Mary Joseet informed the committee that Barnet and Chase Farm (B&CF) NHS Hospital Trust would be seeking a 'loan' from the Government of £30 million to accommodate the alterations to maternity and A & E.  The Chairman mentioned that Mark Easton, Chief Executive of B&CF, had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Councillor Helena Hart, the Cabinet Member for Public Health, along with Dr Andrew Burnett, the Director for Public Health, presented the final draft of the Health and Well-Being Strategy to the committee.

Councillor Hart and Dr Burnett informed the committee that the Strategy had been developed upon a robust evidence base drawn from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

The committee were informed that the draft Strategy had been presented to the Health and Well-Being Board on the 22 March, when the board had agreed that the Strategy should go forward for public consultation.

The committee were also informed that the Strategy aimed to promote health and well-being using accessible language and delivering its message in a way that people would recognise and understand.

The committee agreed with the assertion by Councillor Hart that the Health and Well-Being Strategy provides a platform for the council to support and enable the Borough’s residents to lead healthy lifestyles.

The committee was informed that although the Strategy is developed to cover three years, the targets and measures utilised within the Strategy will be reviewed annually against the latest available intelligence contained within the annually updated JSNA. The results of which will be published in the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health.

Resolved that –

the committee note the publication of the Health and Well-Being Strategy.

The committee were presented with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Framework which is a tool for members to utilise when deciding upon topics and issues to take forward to scrutiny.

Committee members were invited to use the tool as a means of providing a clear line of enquiry for scrutiny.

Resolved that –

the framework is considered by members when selecting items to be addressed by the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chairman introduced the committee forward work programme and sought the committees consent to include the following updates on the programme:

·   updates from Councillors Salinger and Rawlings in relation to the work of the CLCH Quality Stakeholder group, and

·   the work and development of the Aging Well Programme

Caroline Chant, Joint Commissioner - Older People and Physical and Sensory Impairment, provided the committee with an introductory overview to the work of the Aging Well Programme including recent engagement exercises with older residents from the Stonegrove estate that was aimed at getting their views on what it meant to age well on the estate. The committee were informed that similar work was to be undertaken with groups in East Finchley.

Councillor Graham Old, the Aging Well Champion, outlined his role as lead member in ensuring support for the programme.

Finally, members of the committee agreed that the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy should be added to the committees work programme along with the monitoring of the progress by local NHS Trusts attaining Foundation Trust status.

RESOLVED that:-

1. the committee notes the development of the Aging Well Programme

2. the committee add the Aging Well Programme, Barnet Link updates, the BEH Clinical Strategy, and the monitoring of the attainment of Foundation Trust status by local NHS trusts to the committee Forward Work Programme

Resolved that –

the latest Cabinet Forward Plan to be circulated to committee members upon publication.

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Councillor Helena Hart informed the committee that the Royal Free NHS Trust had been successful in its bid for Foundation Trust status. Foundation Trust status was authorised on the 1 April.

Councillor Hart also informed the committee that the Royal free had also been chosen as the location for the North London Vascular Care Service specialised treatment centre.

Thanks and Appreciation to Committee Members

The Chairman of the committee thanked Councillor Brian Schama for his work with the committee and wished him well in the coming year in his role as Mayor.

The Chairman also thanked, in absentia, Councillor Andrew McNeill for his work with the committee.

Vice-Chairman, Councillor Maureen Braun, thanked the committee Chairman for all her hard work during the year in successfully chairing the committee against a background of an increasingly complex work programme.