Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence from the meeting had been received from County Councillors Marian Humphreys and Dale Keeling,

Councillor Heather Timms (Rugby Borough Council), Councillor Sharon Dhillon (Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council) and

Dr Shade Agboola.

Councillor Holland declared an interest as a member of the Council of Governors for South Warwickshire Foundation Trust.

The Chair welcomed visitors to the meeting and those wishing to be involved in the community beds review. She clarified the purpose of this scrutiny committee was to look only at the consultation.

To receive the Minutes of the committee meeting held on 27 November 2024.

The minutes of the Committee meeting held on 27 November 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The following public speakers addressed the Committee, with a summary provided of the key points raised by each speaker.

Mr John Dinnie

Mr Dinnie spoke about the information in the consultation, the work with the community hospital association and raising alternate proposals to establish sufficient beds in Shipston, which had not been considered in the pre-consultation. He requested that these be followed up. There was a lack of awareness of this ‘digital’ consultation, the awareness sessions arranged or access the survey. An extension was sought to the consultation period. The Committee was asked to respond on the impact of the proposals. Mr Dinnie expressed the impacts for patients, friends, family the community and local economy. The travel difficulties and isolation of rural living caused stress when compared to the previous fully operational services, which he listed the benefits of. Option A was deemed unacceptable to the NHS and option B was unacceptable to rural South Warwickshire. Working together to find a solution was suggested.  There was no wish to remove beds from the other locations and all should have sufficient beds to reduce pressures on acute services. He touched on the long history of this site which had been sustained by the community. There were ways to return beds to this site, and he gave examples of the previous support the community had provided. The community needed the NHS to work with it to deliver the vision for the site.

Mr Peter Gibbs

Mr Gibbs quoted from data in the consultation document, that 45% of hospital leavers were able to return home thanks to community support services. However, from the testimonies of patients, homecare packages could fail due to logistical difficulties. These were amplified in a rural setting. He provided context on the postcode area centred on Shipston-on-Stour and the surrounding catchment area which comprised some 26 towns and villages with significant housing. He touched on the age profile with 27% of residents being over 65 years of age, the largest proportion of any area in South Warwickshire.  It was believed a reliable home care service for this area was more an aspiration than a reality. He quoted a recent article from an NHS journal which questioned the use of this policy. It was no substitute for rehabilitation beds at Ellen Badger Hospital (EBH). The ICB had been unable or reluctant to provide data for home recovery services. The OSC was asked to ensure its public availability.

Written statement from Dr Manuela Perteghella MP

This was read by Councillor Kate Rolfe and is reproduced at Appendix A to the Minutes.

Caroline Gunn  

Caroline Gunn addressed the Committee as co-Chair of the Friends of Shipston Hospitals and a Shipston resident for over twenty years. She reminded councillors and the ICB that Shipston had a long tradition of giving financial support to the EBH and to other services mentioned by a previous speaker. This started with the original bequest of the land and capital to build and maintain the Ellen Badger at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Up to 30 minutes of the meeting is available for members of the Committee to put questions to the Portfolio Holder: Councillor Margaret Bell (Adult Social Care and Health) on any matters relevant to the remit of this Committee.

None.

Members of the Committee are invited to give notice of questions to NHS commissioners and service providers at least 10 working days before each meeting. A list of the questions and issues raised will be provided to members.

None.

For the Committee to consider the formal consultation on the South Warwickshire Community Beds review.

The Chair introduced this item advising that this consultation was very specific and concerned the rehabilitation beds. Some of the public contributions had raised other aspects which were not being considered as part of this consultation. She was grateful for the point from Manuela Perteghella MP, read by Councillor Rolfe, that it was because of this Committee, that the consultation was happening.

The Chair introduced Laura Nelson, the Chief Integration Officer for Coventry and Warwickshire ICB who gave a presentation and spoke to the submitted report and consultation document.

The report detailed the previous engagement with the Committee on the South Warwickshire Community Beds Review. It provided an update on key milestones, including the submission of the Pre-Consultation Business Case (PCBC) to NHS England (NHSE), the Stage 2 Assurance meeting and the ICB Board’s approval on 6 January 2025 to proceed with public consultation.

The report summarised NHSE’s Stage 2 Assurance Outcome and outlined the ICB’s approach to the South Warwickshire Community Hospital Rehabilitation Bed consultation (SWCHRBC). There were two options under consideration, to provide beds at three or two sites. The consultation period would run until 14 February 2025. The report detailed next steps following the consultation. The Committee was asked to discuss the potential impacts of the proposals and contribute to the feedback process, specifically to:

·       Note for information the contents of the report.

·       Be assured in respect of the progress against the agreed approach to deliver the SWCHRBC.

·       Feedback and comment on the impact of the proposals to support the ICB to shape the future of rehabilitation services in South Warwickshire.

The accompanying presentation slides covered the following areas:

·       Agenda for today – an outline of the presentation.

·       Why do we need to change? This showed the key drivers and the ICB’s commitment.

·       Key objectives of the consultation.

·       What is a bed? A graphic showing the different hospital bed types, uses, equipment and staffing requirements.

·       Bedded support after acute hospital stays. This chart showed the two pathways for care at the patient’s home, or a temporary stay in a community hospital, care or nursing home bed. This consultation concerned community rehabilitation beds in a community hospital, with the transformation work and discharge to assess beds also being highlighted.

·       SWCR Provision. This confirmed the current distribution of rehabilitation beds with the temporary closure of EBH and its redevelopment.

·       Who is using the beds? Data on patient demographic, key usage areas and asking why does distance matter?

·       Why are 35 beds the right number? This was modelled on the shown demand to support 550 patients.

·       Where do people in the beds come from? Data was provided on the top ten locations where patients lived, who had been discharged from each of the hospital sites. It showed a shift over time and reference was made to the transformation work including the ‘home first’ approach.

·       Options for the consultation. The two options with beds being located at two or three sites, their respective advantages and challenges.

·       The ICB’s preferred option  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.