Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Ian Edwards (Councillor Ray Graham was present as his substitute) and Councillor Phoday Jarjussey (Councillor Beulah East was present as his substitute).  Through the Chairman, the Committee sent their best wishes to Councillor Jarjussey.

RESOLVED:  That all items of business be considered in public.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2017 be agreed as a correct record. 

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting.  He noted that the report of the GP Pressures Working Group was likely to be circulated this year. 

This meeting had been scheduled to enable Members to gain a greater understanding of the issues faced by Heathrow Villages residents with regard to GP access and to establish what action had been taken or planned to address these issues.  Although the Committee could not make any decisions or make any promises about future conduct, the Chairman advised that this would be an issue that would be kept under review. 

Ms Caroline Morison, Chief Operating Officer at Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), advised that Ms Sue Hardy, Director of Estates at HCCG, had given her apologies for the meeting.  HCCG had taken over primary care commissioning from NHS England (NHSE) ten months ago so was now able to control the GP contracts. 

All of Hillingdon's neighbouring boroughs now had delegated primary care commissioning powers which meant that HCCG would be able to work with those CCGs to plan services.  A number of good ideas to support improved access for the Heathrow Villages had arisen out of a procurement process currently underway in the south of the Borough and could be discussed with Members at a future meeting.

It was noted that HCCG did not yet have control of the pharmaceutical budget.  Although many residents in Heathrow Villages did not have easy access to a pharmacy, NHSE had a rigid methodology from which it would not deviate.  This methodology of mapping the population against all pharmacies meant that the pharmacies at Heathrow Airport were counted in the total available in the area to local residents and included those that were airside and completely inaccessible.  Representations had been made to NHSE to advise that, as residents would not specifically go to Heathrow Airport to eat or shop, this methodology did not make sense.  It was suggested that, if NHSE insisted that the pharmacies be included in the total count, then NHSE should be asked to ensure that residents had easy access to all of the pharmacies at Heathrow Airport (including those airside).  If pharmaceutical commissioning were to be moved locally, action could perhaps be taken to address this. 

Members were advised that residents were able to go to pharmacies at Heathrow Airport with their prescriptions but it was highly likely that they would have to return at another time to pick it up as most prescription medication was not kept on site. 

Mr Trevor Begg, Chair of the Primary Care Board at HCCG, advised that part of the new primary care model included pharmacies working in general practice.  However, for Heathrow Villages, a practice location would need to be found first.  HCCG was in the process of testing and piloting online offers which included online consultations and prescribing.  Whilst it was recognised that this type of access would be useful to some patients (such as those that worked shifts), the technology was not quite fit for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

 Consideration was given to the Committee's Work Programme.  It was noted that the Committee's next meeting on 13 February 2018 would be in relation to crime and disorder.  It was agreed that the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service be invited to attend this meeting.  Issues of interest included knife crime, acid attacks, drugs and tower blocks.

It was noted that the GP Pressures review was being revisited so that it could be concluded. 

The report resultant from the Committee's single meeting review of the criminalisation of looked after children would be considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 25 January 2018.

The Community Sentencing Working Group would be considering its draft final report on Monday 29 January 2018.  This had been an interesting review which had gained the interest of other parties.  The final report would be considered by the Committee at its meeting on 13 February 2018 and then taken to Cabinet on 15 March 2018.

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.