Issue - meetings

Report of Director of Operational Delivery

Purpose of report

To inform the Executive of proposed changes to the health and social care sector, the actions of the Council to date and to consider further Council activity. 

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To note the proposals for change and the actions taken by the Council to date.

1.2         To consider further the specialist advice to the Councils and the emerging Council response to the stage 1 consultation process upon receipt of further information.

1.3         To agree to hold an all member briefing at the end of March 2017 regarding the Council’s intended response to the stage 1 consultation proposals.

Resolved

(1)          That the proposals for change and the actions taken by the Council to date be noted.

(2)          That, having given due consideration to the specialist advice to the Councils, the emerging Council response to the stage 1 consultation be endorsed.  

(3)          That agreement be given to hold an all member briefing at the end of March 2017 regarding the Council’s intended response to the stage 1 consultation proposals.

The Director of Operational Delivery submitted a report to inform the Executive of proposed changes to the health and social care sector, the actions of the Council to date and to consider further Council activity.

Resolved

(1)          That the proposals for change and the actions taken by the Council to date be noted.

(2)          That, having given due consideration to the specialist advice to the Councils, the emerging Council response to the stage 1 consultation be endorsed.  

(3)          That agreement be given to hold an all member briefing at the end of March 2017 regarding the Council’s intended response to the stage 1 consultation proposals.

Reasons

There are fundamental changes proposed for the local health and social care sector, some of which are the subject of a formal consultation process running until 9 April 2017. Of very local and heightened concern are the changes proposed for the HGH where several acute services are to be transferred to Oxford hospitals, more care at home and in the community and increased planned care at the HGH.

Such acute service changes are similar in nature to those proposed in 2007, and which were rejected by the Secretary of State. The Council is therefore taking steps to provide a robust response to these recent proposals, as it did in 2008.

As the stage 1 consultation process runs to 9 April 2017 and the nature of a proposed Council response is only just emerging at this early point in the process, it is intended to hold an all Member briefing toward the end of March 2017 to consider further the Council’s response before it is submitted.

Alternative options

The option available to the Council is not to respond to the consultation process and let matters take their course. This is not proposed as the Horton General Hospital is regarded as a critical piece of the District’s infrastructure, the distance and journey challenges to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford are too great for many of the District residents and it is clear that a significant majority of local people do not support all the proposed changes.