Agenda and minutes

The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming all present and extending a special welcome to Officers who had not previously attended a meeting of the Challenge and Improvement Committee and the attending representative from the East Midlands Ambulance Service.

The Chairman also explained that there had been significant technical difficulties prior to the start of the meeting and there was a risk the microphones may not work. He stated the meeting would continue but there may be ongoing technical issues.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2018 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made at this point in the meeting.

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 24 August 2018.

The Committee gave consideration to the Matters Arising Schedule, setting out the current position of previously agreed actions, as at 24 August 2018.

The Democratic and Civic Officer advised Members that the Enterprising Communities Manager had been working on the amended survey for District Councillors and had emailed details to Members of the Public Realm Working Group in recent days.

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising Schedule as at 24 August 2018 be received and noted.

Presentation by Paul Litherland, Ambulance Operations Manager for Lincolnshire, from East Midlands Ambulance Service regarding service provision improvements across West Lindsey.

The Chairman welcomed to the Committee Mr Paul Litherland, Ambulance Operations Manager with the East Midlands Ambulance Services (EMAS). It was explained that Mr Litherland had attended in the past with his colleague and that he had been requested to attend again to provide Members with an update on service provision since his last visit to the Council.

Mr Litherland thanked the committee for inviting him back. He explained there had been several changes implemented since his last visit and the focus of his talk was to update the Members on these changes and the impact they had made on service provision.

Members heard that EMAS had amended their shift rotas in order to have more staff on during the day, although this meant there were fewer teams on at night. Mr Litherland explained that staff had been wary of these changes but it had proved to be successful, as proven by night shifts starting with ‘a clean slate’ rather than there being a backlog of calls for them to deal with first. This staffing change had led to a positive impact on response times both during daytime hours and over the night shifts.

In addition to these shift changes, there had also been a new helpline initiated which was staffed by trained paramedics and nurses and was available for ambulance teams to call in situations where a patient may not need to be transferred to A&E. There were also arrangements in place for the patient’s doctor to be kept informed and seen within a short period of time meaning no one would be left without follow up treatment. It was further explained that should that person then need to call 999 again, the urgency of their call would be assessed with the additional information from the helpline team. This was with a view to reduce attendances at A&E thereby improving waiting times at hospitals and allowing ambulance crews to return to service much sooner.

Mr Litherland explained that they had also implemented several joint-working arrangements with GP surgeries which had the double benefits of both reducing doctors’ waiting lists and redirecting what may otherwise be 999 calls. This worked by dedicated paramedics and nursing staff being based with GP surgeries and seeing patients that, for example, needed an urgent GP appointment or a home visit. He also explained that there was much closer working across the emergency services with a new hub due to open shortly that would house police, fire services and ambulance crews.

Mr Litherland also commented that EMAS were the only ambulance service outside of London to have a sepsis protocol which included the rapid administration of specific medication. He added that cases of sepsis had risen significantly, in part because of raised awareness, and the protocol meant that patients were treated as early as possible rather than having to wait to be admitted to A&E.

Members were shown the most recent statistics which clearly demonstrated improvements in response and treatment times. Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

The Head of Paid Service introduced the Progress and Delivery report for period one and explained it had already been seen by the two policy committees – Corporate Policy and Resources and Prosperous Communities. The minutes from these committees had been shared with Members previously. He informed Members that they were asked to consider the comments from both policy committees and to ensure there had been appropriate challenge to the report.

There was discussion regarding the performance measures used within the report however it was confirmed that these measures had been reviewed and agreed by the P&D Working Group earlier in the year. It was explained that it was not recommended to change measures part way through a year, however, in line with the standard process, the measures would be reviewed again by the P&D Working Group before being agreed in advance of the next year.

Members of Committee noted that there were repeating areas within the report, such as enforcement, markets and the Trinity Arts Centre. It was reiterated that the report was an exceptions report, meaning there were other areas that were not covered within the report as the statistics did not require reporting on.

Further to extensive discussions regarding the market proposals, it was agreed that the next report, regarding the procurement outcomes and future options, would be brought to the Committee for pre-decision scrutiny.

There was significant comment made regarding the enforcement performance figures and Members requested that further details be provided to Committee for greater scrutiny. It was highlighted that there was an enforcement update report due to be seen by Committee in November 2018.

The final discussion item was the Trinity Arts Centre. There was again much praise for the centre and Members highlighted that it was run as a successful entertainment venue.

RESOLVED that having examined the responses given to the report by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and the Prosperous Communities Committee, the Committee was satisfied that the appropriate level of challenge was being made by those committees to the information contained within the report.

Members were asked to consider a report regarding the committee Operating Methodology for the current civic year. Members discussed the details of the call-in process and it was agreed that it would be amended to reflect the Committee’s ability to call-in an item via committee meetings rather than by only in writing. With no further comment it was

RESOLVED that the proposed Operating Methodology for 2018/19be approved, subject to the amendment as detailed above.

The Democratic and Civic Officer introduced the forward plan for all committees and explained that the items selected by C&I were already highlighted.

There was discussion about the items mentioned earlier in the evening although nothing additional was identified for scrutiny.

RESOLVED that the forward plan be noted.

Members of Committee gave consideration to the committee work plan for the coming months. It was requested by the Vice Chairman that, in addition to the information provided by EMAS, an invitation to Thames Ambulance Service Ltd (TASL) was also extended, in view of the services they provided in West Lindsey for non-urgent medical transport. Members of Committee were in agreement with this, and, in addition to the points raised through earlier discussions, it was

RESOLVED that the work plan be updated in line with the items identified by Committee Members.