Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Devi Radia (Councillor Eddie Lavery was present as her substitute).

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

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2020 be agreed as a correct record. 

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 May 2020 be agreed as a correct record.

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting and noted that no one would dispute the need for a new hospital in Hillingdon.  Mr Jason Seez, Acting Chief Executive Officer at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (THH), introduced the representatives present from THH.  He advised that the CQC would be making an announcement on 9 September 2020 regarding the Trust’s management of infection prevention and control measures.  Mr Seez assured Members that he and his colleagues would be happy to attend a future meeting to discuss this matter fully. 

After many years of trying to get a new hospital in Hillingdon, progress was being made through working in partnership with other stakeholders.  It was anticipated that the proposed new hospital would be completed by 2025 and, as such, momentum needed to be maintained.  Given the significant level of repairs that were needed on the current site, speed was imperative. 

Dr Ian Goodman, Chair of Hillingdon Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), advised that, from the organisation’s inception, HCCG had built close relations with Hillingdon Hospital and that it would be important that a whole system holistic approach was taken to building a new hospital that was more convenient for residents.  Progress had already been made with regard to reducing wait times by running paediatric clinics in many GP surgeries, improvements in same day hospital based emergency care and lean discharge planning. 

To reduce the number of patients going to hospital, and deal with them in the community instead, Dr Goodman noted that HCCG had been working with consultants in an advice and guidance capacity.  The Trust had also been working with other acute hospitals to address the backlog of elective care and work was underway with regard to sharing electronic patient records between hospitals. 

Various site options had been considered and narrowed down to two options: the Brunel University site and a new build on the existing Hillingdon Hospital site.  The latter option had been preferred as it could be delivered three years quicker and would cost less.  However, Dr Goodman advised that links with Brunel University would still be strengthened and further opportunities extended. 

Mr Seez believed that a new hospital on the existing site would be achievable by 2025 and that the associated finances could be secured.  It was anticipated that the new hospital would have space for health and social care partners which would reduce disruption to patients.  This would be explored further during the outline business case process.  The THH Board had approved the draft Strategic Outline Case (SOC) which was now being finalised with the regulators before being published in October 2020 – the Committee would be kept updated on the progress of the SOC. 

The regulators would need assurance from the Council that the development had not triggered the need for consultation as there was no substantial variation to the service.  This had also been discussed separately with Healthwatch Hillingdon.  Members agreed that the proposals would not trigger the need for public consultation if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Mrs Jacqueline Robertson, Service Manager – Community Safety Team, advised that, at the time the Safer Hillingdon Partnership (SHP) targets had been set for 2020/2021, it had been difficult to judge the impact of COVID-19 on crime levels.  As such, the 2019/2020 targets had been rolled forward into the current year and would be reviewed as the year progressed. 

Mrs Robertson noted that crime rates had reduced during the height of the pandemic and were now starting to increase again from a low base as restrictions were being lifted.  The following targets were noted:

·         Reduce residential burglary by 1% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had decreased by 35.2% between Q4 in 2019/20 (446) and Q1 2020/21 (289).  It was suggested that this reduction could be related to the increased number of people being confined to their homes during lockdown which made it more difficult to burglarise their properties;

·         Reduce non-residential burglary by 1% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had decreased by 19.7% between Q4 in 2019/20 (122) and Q1 2020/21 (98);

·         Reduce knife crime with injury by 5% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – this figure had reduced by 8.7% between Q4 in 2019/20 (23) and Q1 2020/21 (21);

·         Reduce ASB reported to the police by 5% per annum for the next three years (2020/21 to 2022/23) – there had been 5,976 ASB reports to the police during Q1 2020/21 compared to 2,016 in Q4 of the previous year.  It was thought that a large proportion of these report would be in relation to individuals not abiding by social distancing rules rather than typical ASB reports;

·         Reduce repeat victims of domestic abuse by 5% - all areas and services had seen an increase in reporting.  It had been recognised by the Council’s Domestic Abuse Steering Executive and bodies such as MOPAC that the lockdown would likely give rise to an increase in honour-based violence and domestic abuse (DA).  As such, work had been undertaken with Crimestoppers and a six week media campaign had launched on 21 May 2020 to signpost victims to support and to encourage perpetrators to look at their behaviour and the impact that it had on others.  The campaign also looked to encourage bystanders to speak up through a combination of digital billboards and leaflets and the use of Facebook and Instagram.  All DA services such as the refuge, HESTIA, IDVA service and Richmond Fellowship had continued to provide their services during lockdown although, in some instances, this had been remote provision.  As remote provision had provided a number of challenges, work was underway to revert to face-to-face services as soon as was safely possible.  

During lockdown, a number of charitable organisations had promoted their services to those subject to DA.  Members asked whether consideration had been given to joining up Hillingdon’s efforts to promote the support available in relation to DA with the efforts of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

It was agreed that the Chairman and Democratic Services Manager would look into the CQC report being published on 10 September 2020 in relation to the management of infection prevention and control at Hillingdon Hospital.  Consideration would then need to be given to when Members would meet with representative from the Trust to discuss the matter further.  This could be an additional meeting or, if it could wait, could be included on the agenda for the meeting scheduled for 8 October 2020. 

Members were advised that the review of services at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC) had now restarted.  As such, an update would be requested for inclusion on the agenda for the meeting scheduled for 8 October 2020. 

Members agreed that Network Rail station development would be included on the agenda for the meeting on 12 January 2021.  Councillor Mathers would provide the Democratic Services Manager with more details about the issue so that the scope could be focussed. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    representatives from Hillingdon Hospital be invited to attend a meeting to talk about the recent CQC report on the management of infection prevention and control;

2.    an update on the review of services at MVCC be included on the agenda for the meeting on 8 October 2020;

3.    Councillor Mathers provide details about Network Rail station development so that the issue could be considered at the meeting scheduled for 12 January 2021; and 

4.    the Work Programme be noted.