Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Corthorne had advised that he would be attending the meeting but that he would be a little late. 

There were no declarations of interest in matters coming before this meeting.

The Chair noted that the Adult Social Care Market Position Statement report on 24 July’s agenda had stated, on page 31, that the capital/income ceiling for receiving financial support from the Council in meeting assessed Adult Social Care needs was £223,250 – this should have been £23,250. 

On page 54 of the same report, the capacity tracker had stated that 45% had been utilised by self-funders and 26% had been funded by local authorities and the NHS.  For clarity, the report should have stated that the remaining 29% related to care home beds utilised by people referred by the Council.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

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

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting and noted that a number of the Committee Members had attended a site visit at Michael Sobell House on Monday 9 September 2024 where they had had the opportunity to speak to staff, service users and their families about the palliative care services that were available in Hillingdon.  An anonymised set of notes from this visit, setting out positive experiences and areas for improvement, would be appended to the minutes.

Mr Steve Curry, Chief Executive of Harlington Hospice and Michael Sobell House, recognised that the proposed sale of Lansdowne House had been the cause of public concern.  Lansdowne House was located in Harlington; it had always been a day hospice and provided three main services: lymphoedema service; emotional support and complementary therapy.  In addition, there were services such as the Friendship café and the Legs 11 club. 

Although the building was nice, Lansdowne House was being underutilised (around 30% of its capacity was being used).  It cost around £100k to run the building which was worth about £3.5m.  Mr Curry stated that many hospices were running deficit budget this year so it was important that the charity maximised the use of its assets.  Savings had already been made in relation to staffing levels but there had been a commitment to not cut services.  The proposed sale of Lansdowne House would free up resources to be able to protect services.  Mr Curry advised that he had spoken to Heathrow Airport about buying the hospice but that Heathrow had declined.

Members noted that residents had expressed concerns about the sale of Lansdowne House, how the money raised from the sale would be used and the withdrawal of hospice services in the Heathrow Villages.  Mr Curry advised that interim options had been included in the report to the Committee which included renting space in community buildings and providing services in residents’ own homes.  Once the building had been sold, the charity would know what resources it would have to work with. 

A planning application process had previously been started before Michael Sobell House had temporarily closed.  The planners had been approached again 12-18 months ago but they had not ben prepared to support the application.  Reasons for refusal were complicated and included the proximity of Lansdowne House to a Grade 1 listed church, protected trees and its location on the edge of the green belt.  The increase in the cost of living had meant that the cost of the materials and labour that would be needed for the development had increased significantly.  Furthermore, if the third runway were ever to be agreed, the hospice would be within ¼ mile of the runway and under the flightpath which would not be conducive to the environment that a hospice needed.  As such, it would need to be relocated. 

Mr Keith Spencer, Managing Director of Hillingdon Health and Care Partners, advised that Harlington Hospice was the lead organisation for end of life care in Hillingdon.  He also noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The Chair advised that budgets were being reviewed by the newly appointed Corporate Director of Finance, who would also consider how future financial performance was reported to Members.  As such, there would be no budget report this month.

Consideration was given to the Cabinet Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Forward Plan be noted.

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme.  It was noted that Cabinet would now be considering the Annual Older People’s Plan at its meeting on 12 December 2024.  As such, the Health and Social Care Select Committee would be able to consider and comment on the report at its meeting on 12 November 2024. 

Councillor Corthorne suggested that adult social care be scrutinsed in line with the CQC framework.  It was agreed that the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care and the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health be invited to a future meeting (possibly 9 October 2024 or 12 November 2024) once the CQC inspection report had been published.

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    the Annual Older People’s Plan be considered at the meeting on 12 November 2024;

2.    the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care and the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health be invited to a future meeting (possibly 9 October 2024 or 12 November 2024) once the CQC inspection report had been published; and  

3.    the Work Programme, as amended, be agreed.