Agenda and minutes

It was noted that Councillor June Nelson would be attending the meeting but was running a little late.

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

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2025 be agreed as a correct record. 

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

The Chair welcomed those present to the meeting. 

Healthwatch Hillingdon (HH)

Ms Lisa Taylor, Managing Director at HH, advised that HH had been focussing on completing the work that had been started in the previous year, including projects in relation to GP access, a review of the Pharmacy First scheme and children and young people’s (CYP) mental health.  The CYP mental health project had engaged with more than 500 young people to identify their needs and the barriers to accessing services and support so that improvements could be made for the future.  Targeted work had been undertaken with a range of young people including those from the BAME community as well as those with autism and learning disabilities.  Ms Taylor had been working closely with Ms Kim Rice and voluntary sector partners to implement improvements as well as on the development of Family Hubs and a directory of services.  The final report included key recommendations and would be shared once published.  It was agreed that the Committee would schedule an item on this for a future meeting where they would be able to refer to the report as well as the recommendations of its own review of CYP mental health. 

Ms Taylor noted that the review of GP access had been expanded to cover groups including travellers and asylum seekers and the report would be shared with the Committee once finalised.  The review had looked at the availability and useability of digital appointments and the confusion around the number of these appointments that had been made available.  There had also been some concern about GP continuity and barriers. 

It was noted that some residents had raised concerns about a rumour they’d heard that a staff consultation was underway in relation to the closure of Mount Vernon Hospital.  Ms Lesley Watts, Chief Executive of The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (THH), advised that it was no secret that the Trust had had a deficit of £27m in the previous year and that £34m of unearned income would need to be used this year to balance the budget.  As such, every service would need to be looked at. 

Ms Watts noted that the current waiting time at Hillingdon Hospital was unacceptable so consideration needed to be given to elements such as quality of care, resilience, etc.  Discussions had recently taken place in relation to the Minor Injuries Unit at Mount Vernon Hospital and engagement with stakeholders about its future would be undertaken in due course. 

Dr Alan McGlennan, Chief Medical Officer at THH, advised that costs could be reduced by doing things more efficiently, but that services and processes still needed to be looked at differently.  Changes would largely be prompted by service users but there would also be a need to reduce inequalities.  Members were advised that there needed to be a focussed improvement in relation to Hillingdon Hospital’s urgent care performance (which had not been great) but it was noted that planned care was going well and cancer treatment performance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Ms Sandra Taylor, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, advised that the Council’s other Select Committees had discussed the information that they would like to receive at future meetings in relation to the budget.  A report had been circulated which provided information about the spend and activity within the services provided within the Committee’s remit as well as how the budget would be set.  Ms Taylor noted that the Council was about to close last year’s budget and she would report on the outturn at the Committee’s June meeting. 

Members were advised that the Council worked on a forecasting model which was based on demographic growth, costs, etc.  Since the pandemic, it had become difficult to forecast as the pressure on services had increased so the Council was unable to predict who would want to use its services or when. 

Ms Taylor noted that inner London boroughs were placing residents in Hillingdon care homes (an outer London borough) which created challenges in the care market and with the cost of care locally.  The impact of the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions and national living wage had meant that social care providers had been asking for significant increases in fees.  However, the Council already paid a fair rate for care which had been driven by market forces / demand. 

The Council had been prudent in creating its own care home places and Ms Taylor hoped to be able to go into more detail about this at the meeting on 19 June 2025 as well as the operating model for the future care of Hillingdon residents.  It was important that the Council was able to place residents locally in Hillingdon. 

There were a large number of care providers in Hillingdon (the Borough had the highest number of care home places in London).  The price of care used to be determined by the West London Framework but the Framework fell apart during the pandemic and providers no longer had the appetite for it.  As Hillingdon was an outer London borough and had a lower price per bed, around 50% of care home beds locally were occupied by people from outside of the Borough.

Ms Taylor advised that the savings target for her Directorate needed to address costs in relation to staff and care provision.  To achieve this, she had been working with providers and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) on how this could best be achieved.  Hillingdon adult social care had had some positive outcomes in relation to low spend, providing excellent value for money per head of population.  The reablement services in Hillingdon had been provided at low cost, with 90% of service users needing no ongoing care needs.  However, further efficiencies were still needed. 

Members were advised that the Council had reduced the amount of agency staff being used but that it still had a statutory duty to provide services.  As such, the Council would not be able to go over and above all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

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 agreed that the outstanding updates on the implementation of recommendations from past review be circulated to Members outside of the formal meetings with the exception of CAMHS.  The Committee agreed that it would like an update on CAMHS at either its meeting on 22 July 2025 or 16 September 2025. 

The Chair noted that this would be Councillor Corthorne’s last Health and Social Care Select Committee meeting before he took up the position of Mayor at the next Council meeting.  The Committee wished him well. 

RESOLVED:  That:

1.    outstanding updates on the implementation of recommendations from past reviews be circulated to Members outside of the meetings;

2.    an update on the implementation of the recommendations from the CAMHS review be included on the agenda for the meeting on either 22 July 2025 or 16 September 2025; and

3.    the discussion be noted.