Agenda and minutes

External Services Select Committee - Tuesday, 30th October, 2018 6.00 pm, NEW

Venue: Committee Room 6 - Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW. View directions

Contact: Nikki O'Halloran  01895 250472

Items
No. Item

25.

Exclusion of Press and Public

To confirm that all items marked Part I will be considered in public and that any items marked Part II will be considered in private

Minutes:

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

26.

Hospice Provision in the North of the Borough pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting.  He explained that members of the public would not be permitted to speak and that the purpose of the meeting was to gain a greater understanding of the role of each organisation involved in the provision of hospice services in the North of the Borough.  The Committee had a statutory responsibility to scrutinise health service provision within the Borough and, as such, was keen to understand the events that had led to the closure of the inpatient unit at Michael Sobell Hospice (MSH).  As well as looking at why inpatient services at MSH had ceased, Members wanted to establish what action was now being taken to ensure the reinstatement of inpatient hospice services in Hillingdon.

 

The Committee was disappointed that Mr Jeremy Philpot, Director of Strategic Estate Development and Asset Manager at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (THH), had neither attended the meeting nor provided Members with reasons for his non-attendance.

 

Ms Judi Byrne, Chief Executive of Michael Sobell Hospice Charity (MSHC), advised that the charity was keen to establish a way forward.  Whilst the charity had a 40 year history of fundraising to support the hospice, it had never provided service or employed clinical staff.  Ms Byrne stated that the first she had known about the possibility of closure had been when a report identifying concerns about the fabric of the building had been considered by East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust (ENH) in May 2018. 

 

Ms Sarah James, Divisional Hospital Director at ENH, advised that The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (THH) owned the building from which MSH had operated before its closure.  Ms Caroline Morison, Managing Director at Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), believed that THH was responsible for the upkeep of the building in partnership with the leaseholder (ENH).  The level of responsibility attributed to each partner would depend on the terms set out in the lease agreement.  Ms James noted that this was an historic lease arrangement between ENH and THH that had been in place for about 8 years. 

 

Ms Rachael Corser, Director of Nursing and Patient Experience at ENH, advised that ENH provided inpatient and day care facilities for the hospice.  Mr Brewer, Head of Engagement at ENH, advised that ENH had been commissioned to provide the service and that MSHC contributed towards the medical costs.  Ms Byrne stated that MSHC supported the delivery of the service and made contributions to some payroll costs but not clinical staff.  MSHC played no role in the day-to-day running of the service but it was noted that Ms Byrne did attend Heads of Department meetings with a standing item on fundraising for services (although she was not privy to discussions in relation to confidential matters).

 

Ms Corser advised that she had started working at the Trust in January 2018 and that it had been inspected by the CQC in March 2018.  The inspectors had raised concerns about the environment at Michael Sobell Hospice that were significant enough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Minutes of the previous meeting - 10 October 2018 pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2018 be agreed as a correct record. 

28.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 61 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme.  The membership and chairmanship of the GP Pressures Select Panel was noted. 

 

It was agreed that the second meeting to discuss the provision of hospice inpatient services in the North of the Borough would be held at 6pm on Tuesday 11 December 2018.  The Chairman would write to Mr Jeremy Philpot at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (THH) with a copy of the minutes to ask for an explanation as to why he did not attend the meeting on 30 October 2018.  Furthermore, the Democratic Services Manager was asked to investigate referring the lack of consultation regarding the closure of the Michael Sobell Hospice inpatient unit to the Secretary of State.  It was also agreed that a request would be made to obtain a copy of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust’s (ENH) contract for the provision of services.

 

Members were aware that Mr Graham Hawkes, Chief Executive Officer, would be leaving Healthwatch Hillingdon (HH) at the end of November 2018.  It was agreed that they formally write to him to thank him for his hard work during his time at HH. 

 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    a second meeting to discuss hospice inpatient provision in the North of the Borough be scheduled for 6pm on Tuesday 11 December 2018;

2.    the Chairman write to Mr Philpot about his non-attendance at the meeting;

3.    the Democratic Services Manager investigate referring the lack of consultation to the Secretary of State;

4.    the Democratic Services Manager request a copy of the contract for the provision of hospice services in the Borough;

5.    the Committee’s thanks be formally passed to Mr Hawkes for his work during his time at HH; and

6.    the Work Programme be noted.