Agenda and minutes

Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 19 October 2021

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 19 October 2021 be confirmed 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 stage of the meeting.

Matters arising schedule setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 15 November 2021.

With no comments or questions from Committee Members, the Matters Arising Schedule was DULY NOTED.

Presentation by Tracy Pilcher, Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals and Operations / Deputy Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust regarding the John Coupland Hospital, Gainsborough.

The Chairman introduced to the Committee Tracy Pilcher and Angela Shimada of Lincolnshire Community Health Services (LCHS), and welcomed them to the meeting. It was explained that the focus was John Coupland Hospital at Gainsborough, however there were elements of other services that would be touched upon.

The Committee heard that LCHS provided services across Lincolnshire, employing just over 2000 staff. Services included community nursing, services at community hospitals, of which there was four across Lincolnshire, urgent treatment centres, of which there were six including John Coupland, and a range of specialist services at those centres. It was explained that LCHS was only one of several organisations running services out of the John Coupland Hospital and the site itself was owned and run by NHS Property Services, an organisation set up in in 2012 for management of NHS-owned properties.

With regard to John Coupland Hospital, the Committee heard that the focus was on care close to home and providing as many services as possible. There was significant investment into the site, with a capital plan in place to modernise the building as far as possible, improve the theatre facilities and the management of the inpatient wards. It was explained that, out of the site, United Lincolnshire Hospitals also provided outpatient services and there were mental health liaison services provided by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT). Some outpatient services were also provided by LCHS, as well as the Community Nursing teams being based out of the hospital. There were 17 beds available on the ward, with the focus being on rehabilitation, recovery and enablement services for patients from Gainsborough and surrounding areas, although patients from other areas could also be placed on the ward.

A focus of the investment plan was to improve the ventilation system for the hospital and specifically the ventilation system, which had been in place since the hospital was built. It was intended that these improvements and refurbishments would increase the opportunities for outpatient and inpatient services at the hospital, with the improvements to the theatre allowing for more complex surgeries to be undertaken than might be seen in other outpatient settings.

It was highlighted that, rather than being simply patients going to John Coupland Hospital, there were a number of services who working in the community but were based at the hospital, such as community nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. Not only would the plan of modernisation improve services for patients, but also for the staff who worked there. The site was a large employer in Gainsborough and improvements to the building and the services provided there would bring further opportunity to the area.

The Committee heard further details of clinics that were run at the hospital, such as respiratory services, continence, diabetes, stroke services, muscular-skeletal physio and children’s therapy. These services may run monthly clinics or visit patients in their homes, with the focus being on providing care close to home and working closely with primary care services. There were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The Committee heard from the Performance and Programmes Team Manager who explained that the report had been seen at both policy committees and the purpose for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was to assess whether there had been sufficient scrutiny in those committees, and whether remedial action had been identified or requested in areas where it may be necessary. Areas highlighted at Prosperous Communities Committee included outreach programmes within leisure services, long-term empty properties and the increased number of environmental protection requests. At the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee there were also discussions around long-term empty properties and environmental protection requests. At both meetings it was highlighted that this Committee had already received a report regarding the DFG process and there was work underway in this regard.

Members of the Committee enquired further regarding the number of environmental protection requests and it was explained that such requests covered multiple areas, such as noise complaints and fly-tipping. It was also noted that the noted increase could be attributed to people being at home more during the pandemic and therefore noticing issues that previously may not have been reported.

With regard to some of the measures included in the report, it was explained that there was a review of all measures to be undertaken prior to the next financial year, with the involvement of the working group formed by this Committee.

There were further comments in relation to those issues as highlighted by the policy committees, with the Performance and Programmes Team Manager highlighting the information as provided to those committees, such as the ‘zero targets’ for the Homes and Housing portfolio which were aspirational but would be reviewed with all measures prior to the 2022/23 year. In relation to the reduction in customer satisfaction and call volumes, it was highlighted that a review was underway to understand the reasons behind this. The target time of 21 seconds to answer a call was recognised to be an industry standard.

It was confirmed by a Member of the Committee who was also a part of the P&D Measures Working Group, that they would continue to review the best options for targets and measures, taking feedback from other Members of the Committee.

With no further questions or comments, and having been moved and seconded, it was

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

The content of the full Forward Plan for all Committees was NOTED.

Members noted the return of sports development on the work plan, with initial comments as to who would be invited.

With no further comments, the Work Plan was DULY NOTED.