Agenda item

Purpose: To provide an update on the work of the Select Committee and provide information on the meeting held on 6 July 2010. 

(Councillor David Rendel declared a personal interest in Agenda item 12 by virtue of the fact that his wife was a GP in West Berkshire. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge declared a personal interest in Agenda item 12 by virtue of the fact that she worked for NHS Berkshire West. As her interest was personal and not prejudicial she was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Commission considered a report (Agenda Item 12) on the work of the Healthier Select Committee.

Councillor Geoff Findlay referred to work undertaken with other South Central Health Scrutiny Committees.  This covered trauma management and children’s cardiac and neurological services.  A report was recently provided to this group by the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) on changes to the way in which services were commissioned, as set down by Government. 

The financial pressures felt in Berkshire West were replicated across the south central area.  While funding had not been cut, there were increasing pressures on services causing a huge financial burden.  This was particularly due to the growing elderly population. 

A special meeting of the Select Committee was to be arranged with, among others, NHS Berkshire West as a result of the potential change to GP service provision at Underwood Road in Calcot.  There were plans to redevelop the GP surgery, but NHS Berkshire West had indicated that they were not planning to continue to offer services from that site.  This had led to a public consultation and the Select Committee meeting was to be called as part of that process. 

Reference was then made to the recently published White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ which was out for consultation.  It was queried whether the potentially enormous implications this would bring was to be discussed by the Select Committee, the Portfolio Holder etc with GPs.  This included local authorities taking on the responsibility for public health and it was further queried whether consideration would be given to commissioning services more widely than West Berkshire and Berkshire West. 

Councillor Findlay reported that the advice of the SHA pointed to the possible creation of larger GP surgeries to replace PCTs.  However, no decisions had been taken and meetings with GPs had not been arranged by the Select Committee as this was still at a very early stage.

Nick Carter advised that Officer discussions had commenced in this regard at the Berkshire West Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board.  Local authorities were taking a lead on this work that also included PCTs and other key parties including GPs and the Director of Health.  It was likely that commissioning of services would extend beyond West Berkshire. 

This work was at an early stage and PCTs were to remain for a further 2.5 years, but consideration was being given to having a GP Consortium for each Local Authority.  These were already in existence in some areas. 

It was intended that reports on this matter would be brought to the Executive at a later stage and Nick Carter agreed to establish how the Select Committee could become involved. 

RESOLVED that the update would be noted and Nick Carter would establish how the Select Committee could become involved in the changes that could materialise as a result of the Government White Paper.