To receive an update from representatives of Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group, Central Manchester Foundation Trust and University Hospital of South Manchester.

The Chairman referred to the decision made by the Committee In Common (CIC) in relation to the Healthier Together programme as to name Stepping Hill Hospital to be the fourth hospital to specialise in general surgery and emergency medicine for patients with life threatening conditions.  The meeting of Council on 15 July had considered a motion on the outcome and has asked the Health Scrutiny Committee to engage with providers on the implementation of the decision. 

Dr Martin Smith gave a brief overview of the Healthier Together Programme Single Service Model. This included how the Model was conceived by 473 clinicians working together and why this service model was favoured by clinicians. Dr Smith went on to describe how the model was developed, went out to consultation and then finally lead to the decision by the CIC on the 15th July 2015.

After the brief description, the Health Scrutiny Committee put forward numerous questions to the health representatives regarding the decision made by the CIC. The Chairman also allowed questions from other interested Members attending the meeting. The questions covered a wide range of topics relating to the decision. 

One of the areas of concern was the additional distance Trafford residents would have to travel for treatment within the Shared Service Model. The Chief Clinical Officer of Trafford CCG explained that the streamlining of processes would reduce the amount of time required for patients to receive treatment.

Further, the Chief Operating Officer of Trafford CCG gave assurance to the Committee that the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) would be focusing on improving ambulance response times within Trafford, with one additional ambulance already placed within the Trafford area. Trafford CCG provided additional assurance by stating that they would closely monitor NWAS’s performance and enforce financial penalties if Trafford response times were unacceptable.

On top of these assurances the health representatives informed the Committee that health organisations within Greater Manchester had been collaborating on the development of a new computer system in conjunction with NWAS. The new system would help paramedics diagnose patients to guarantee they would be taken to the correct hospital for treatment.

Councillors asked what the reasons were for the decision to choose Stepping Hill Hospital over Wythenshawe Hospital. The questions asked varied from the criteria used to make the decision to the difference in standards between the two hospitals. The main reason that Stepping Hill was chosen ahead of the other hospitals was due to the travel times that patients from outside of Greater Manchester had to travel for emergency surgery. The reason that this was the deciding factor was due to how close the hospitals were in all other respects.

Another area for concern was the financial and professional impact the decision would have on Wythenshawe Hospital. The Chief Operating Officer / Deputy CEO of Wythenshawe Hospital reassured Councillors that, whilst the financial impact hadn’t been fully calculated, there would be no major financial impact on the hospital. Due to collaborative working agreements between UHSM and CMFT there would also be no loss of staff at Wythenshawe Hospital.

A number of questions were asked about the effect of the decision on the way that a major accident at Manchester Airport would be dealt with. The Chief Operating Officer of Trafford CCG explained that in such a situation all processes change in order to deal with the accident in the most efficient way. Dr Martin Smith pointed out that the collaborative and streamlined way which services act during such emergencies helped shape the Single Shared Service model.

The Chairman of Healthwatch Trafford asked how the decision made by the CIC would affect previous assurances made as part of the New Health Deal for Trafford. The Chief Operating Officer for Trafford CCG responded that the decision would have no effect on the New Health Deal for Trafford and would continue along the original schedule. The Chief Operating officer pointed out that since the New Health Deal for Trafford came into being there had been a great deal of collaboration between health organisations and integration between health and social care which has greatly reduced the A&E footfall within the Trafford area. 

Members commented on the approach to communication between the relevant health organisations, local authorities and members of the public throughout the development and decision making process.

The Committee discussed the current Public Health Consultation. The Committee members agreed that the Public Health Consultation should be reviewed by the Committee. However, it was noted by the Committee that the consultation would be closed before a meeting could be scheduled.

Resolved:

1) That the representatives from CMFT, Trafford CCG, UHSM and Healthier Together Programme team be thanked for attending the meeting and answering the Committee’s questions.

2) That additional information regarding collaboration between health organisations to be shared with the Health Scrutiny Committee.

3) That Trafford CCG sends Information regarding the reduced A & E footfall across Trafford to the Health Scrutiny Committee.

4) That Trafford CCG share Greater Manchester major accident contingency plans with the Health Scrutiny Committee. 

5) That the Health Scrutiny Committee express its concerns about the proposals and agree to write a letter to the GM Joint Health Scrutiny Committee asking them to monitor the assurances made in relation to Healthier Together.

6) That the Trafford Health Scrutiny write a letter to the Department of Health raising concerns about the timing of the Public Health Consultation.