Agenda item

To consider the attached report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting the Scrutiny Board (Health) with a range of information on the consultation being undertaken by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust about its application to become an NHS Foundation Trust as well as seeking the views of the Board on the consultation plan and on the actual application itself.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report providing the Board with a range of information on the consultation being undertaken by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) about its application to become an NHS Foundation Trust and seeking Members’ views on the consultation plan presented and on the application itself.

Appended to the report was the following information:

·  The consultation document (Appendix 1)

·  The Trust’s consultation plan (Appendix 2)

·  A list of more detailed information relating to specific consultation events (Appendix 3)

The Chair welcomed Ruth Holt, Chief Nurse, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, to the meeting to present the report and respond to any specific questions identified by the Board.

In summary, Members made the following comments and raised the following questions:

·  Clarification of the geographical boundaries and whether the LTHT would be reconsidering the proposed boundaries, perhaps to coincide with the Council’s well established Area Committee structure.

·  Clarification on the proposed arrangements for recruiting members and appointing governors for a Foundation Trust .

·  Based on recent events, the Scrutiny Board was concerned that LTHT was not demonstrating an appropriate level of patient involvement and engagement.  It was felt that this did not complement  LTHT’s desire for achieving Foundation Trust status.

·  Clarification as to how residents living in outer areas would feel motivated to become members of the new Leeds Foundation Trust, if they currently accessed healthcare services in other areas, eg Harrogate and York hospitals. 

·  Clarification of how much it would cost to operate the new arrangements for Foundation Trust status.

·  The need to raise the profile and continue to emphasise the importance of the governor role to motivate members of the public to become fully engaged with the Foundation Trust process, in both the short and longer-term.

·  Clarification of the day to day operations of the new Foundation Trust and future relationship with Monitor, the Strategic Health Authority and  the Secretary of State for Health.

·  Clarification as to whether establishing Foundation Trust status was appropriate, at this present time: particularly when considering the current challenges facing the Trust around reconfiguring services etc.

·  Clarification of how the LTHT would potentially change their specialisms and the need for the Board to be kept up to date with any subsequent developments. 

·  Clarification as to whom was the ultimate decision maker within this process.

·  The need for the Board to recognise the importance of this issue and to play a major part in the democratic process, as a ‘critical friend’, and for LTHT to listen to the Board’s views.

The Chief Nurse responded to the issues raised, further outlining the work being undertaken by the Trust in this regard, and agreed to explore a number of the issues raised by the Board.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the contents of the report and appendices be noted.

(b)  That the Principal Scrutiny Adviser be requested to prepare a draft consultation response, summarising the comments made by the Scrutiny Board, for submission to the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as part of the consultation process.

(Note: Councillor Bentley joined the meeting at 2.00pm during the consideration of the above item and Councillor Illingworth left the meeting at 2.10pm during the consideration of the above item.)