To receive feedback from the last meeting of the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

58.1           Members received an update from Councillor Mrs J E Day, the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Committee held on 3 November 2015.

58.2           Councillor Day advised that the Care Quality Commission Inspection Report had been presented to the Committee and had indicated that the overall rating for the Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust was ‘requires improvement’.  Whilst the Committee had recognised the importance for the people of Gloucestershire to be aware of how their health and social services were rated by the Care Quality Commission, it was also important to be clear that it had been recognised that it was a very caring organisation with staff who treated people with kindness, dignity and respect, and who were consistently exceptional at the community hospitals.  The Committee Members hoped that staff morale was not adversely affected by the overall rating.

58.3           The Committee had welcomed the Head of Operations from the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to the meeting to inform Members of progress since the implementation of the Out of Hours Service on 1 April 2015.  It was clear that it had been a challenging time for the service, particularly regarding the staffing of the Primary Care Centres which had been closed on occasions during the period.  The target for the service was that people should not have to travel more than 30 minutes but analysis had shown that the closures had resulted in 15 people having an extended journey.  The Committee had been informed that ensuring that the Primary Care Centres in the main urban areas of Gloucester and Cheltenham were fully staffed was a priority.  As the service was not meeting the National Quality Requirements, and given the Committee’s concerns regarding the delivery of this service, it had been agreed that the Committee would receive a further update in six months. 

58.4           It had been positive to hear that the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust was in discussion with the Council’s Chief Fire Officer to identify options for joint working in Gloucestershire. The Trust was also funding the training of 30 Emergency Care Assistants to become paramedics; the cohort was due to qualify in 2016 and would be followed by another 30.  The Committee was informed that 50% of the new paramedics would be based in Gloucestershire.  The Trust had also been selected by the Department of Health to pilot a new way for ambulance services to respond to 999 calls – Dispatch on Disposition.  This pilot had proved successful and was now being extended to other ambulance services. It was also pleasing to note that the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust was the best performing English ambulance trust for 999 calls resolved over the telephone and for the percentage of patients cared for through alternative healthcare pathways, avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital emergency departments.  The Committee had raised concern about the poor response times in the rural areas, but it was important to acknowledge that the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust was performing well overall against its targets. Going forward it would be interesting to see whether the increase in the number of paramedics and the work with Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service made a real difference on the ground.

58.5           The Chairman thanked the Council’s representative for her presentation and indicated that the update would be circulated to Members via email following the meeting.  It was

RESOLVED          That the feedback from the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee be NOTED.