Agenda and minutes

CO-OPTED MEMBERS   Councillor J Clark – North Yorkshire CC

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 25* of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 25, notice of an appeal must be received in writing by the Chief Democratic Services Officer at least 24 hours before the meeting.)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

1  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

  No exempt items have been identified on this agenda.

The agenda contained no exempt information.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

No formal late items of business were added to the agenda, however the Joint Committee was in receipt of the following supplementary information:

Agenda Item 8 Access to Dentistry – Letter dated 29^th March 2019 from the Head of Co-Commissioning, NHS England (Yorkshire & Humber) to the Chair of West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Minute 58 refers)

Agenda Item 9 West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance – Reports to the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Cancer Alliance Board meetings dated 30^th October 2018 and 23^rd January 2019 (Minute 59 refers).

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made, however both Councillors Hayden and Smaje wished it to be recorded that they each had a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 9 West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance as they both had close family members living with or recovering from cancer (Minute 59 refers).

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Flynn and Riaz; and from Councillor Greenwood who would join the meeting shortly.

At the discretion of the Chair, a period of up to 10 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations on matters within the terms of reference of the Joint Committee.

No member of the public shall speak for more than three minutes, except by permission of the Chair.

Due to the number and/or nature of comments it may not be possible to provide responses immediately at the meeting. If this is the case, the Joint Committee will indicate how the issue(s) raised will be progressed.

If the Joint Committee runs out of time, comments may be submitted in writing at the meeting or by email (contact details on agenda front sheet).

The Joint Committee received the following statements:

Jenny Shepherd, Calderdale & Kirklees 999 Call for the NHS – Made a representation regarding information contained within the report submitted by West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance. She highlighted treatment deadlines, the social/environmental causes of cancer; the emphasis placed on the ‘cancer of unknown origins pathway’; commissioning of PET CT scanning equipment and the impact of the shortage of radiologists on diagnosis/treatment in the Huddersfield and Calderdale NHS Trusts as areas of interest.

Dr John Puntis, Leeds Keep Our NHS Public - Made a representation on smoking cessation services; highlighting that although smoking was reported to be the main cause of preventable deaths and the reduction of adult smokers was the #1 priority for the Cancer Alliance, Cancer Research had identified a 28% reduction in funding to support smoking cessation services. He sought details of any action the Cancer Alliance could take to ensure cessation services were maintained and to inform the public of the impact of reduced funding.

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 11February 2019

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held 11^th February 2019 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider a report from Leeds City Council’s Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support providing background information and introducing an update from NHS England regarding access to dentistry across West Yorkshire.

Further to minute 10 of the meeting held 30^th July 2019, the Joint Committee received a report from NHS England regarding access to both primary care dental services and unscheduled dental care across West Yorkshire. The Joint Committee was also in receipt of supplementary information in the form of a letter dated 29^th March 2019 from the Head of Co-commissioning (Yorkshire and Humber) NHS England relating to Urgent Dental Care provision.

Following the July 2019 meeting, the Chair of the Joint Committee corresponded with NHS England (NHSE), with additional questions and concerns regarding proposed changes to Urgent Dental Care services in some areas of West Yorkshire. The report referenced the correspondence and responses received at Appendices 1 and 2.

The following were in attendance and contributed to discussions:

-  Emma Wilson, Head of Co-commissioning (Yorkshire and Humber) NHS England

-  Ian Holmes, Director, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership

In introducing the report, the Head of Co-commissioning (Yorkshire and Humber) NHS England highlighted the following key points:

·  The new call handling service for the urgent dental treatment pathway had commenced on 1^st April 2019. NHS 111 provides initial call handling before transferring urgent dental care requests to the Dental Clinical Assessment and Booking Service (CABS) for assessment and signposting to relevant treatment.

·  Additional capacity had been funded to ensure a number of dental practices could provide additional appointments, including evening and weekends, for urgent dental care requests.

·  A second phase of implementation would target particular areas to build capacity in areas of the greatest need.

In considering this issue, several comments were made by members of the Joint Committee expressing disappointment with the way the urgent dental treatment pathway had been implemented. The Joint Committee commented that procurement and commissioning of the realigned service had taken place without reference to or meaningful consultation with the Local Authority’s directly affected by the service change, or the WY JHOSC itself. Additionally, in discussing the report and appendices, Members expressed disappointment over the inclusion of data from 2017 and that no up to date statistics had been provided to support implementation of the new pathway.

The Joint Committee considered the information provided and discussed the following matters:

The three phases to implementation of the new urgent dental treatment pathway, including the 2017 pilot scheme.

The Joint Committee sought information on how data collected during the pilot scheme had addressed the barriers to accessing urgent dental care and informed the development of the new pathway.

Service provision under the new urgent dental treatment pathway

The Joint Committee sought assurance over the continued provision of urgent dental care services across the WY&H footprint, but particularly for those areas already identified with difficulties – Bradford, north Kirklees and Calderdale.

Additionally one Member reported that Wakefield District residents seeking urgent dental care would now be required to travel to Leeds or Huddersfield for treatment; yet knew of no consultation being undertaken. Information was sought on the number of dental practices  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

To consider a report from Leeds City Council’s Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support that introduces a report from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance providing an outline of the activity relating to the identified cancer priority / programme, as part of the overall West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.

The Joint Committee received a report from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance providing an outline of the activity related to the identified cancer priority programmes, as part of the overall West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WYH HCP). The Joint Committee was also in receipt of supplementary information in the form of two reports to the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance Board dated 30^th October 2018 and 23^rd January 2019.

The following were in attendance and contributed to discussions:

-  Professor Sean Duffy, Clinical Director and Alliance Lead, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance (the Alliance).

-  Carol Ferguson, Macmillan Programme Director, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance.

In introducing the report, the Clinical Director and Alliance Lead, West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, emphasised that the Alliance sought to focus on outcomes and service provision within the parameters of available funding, and highlighted the following key issues:

·  The Alliance focussed on ensuring early diagnosis and a consistent approach to subsequent treatment.

·  Collaboration between primary care, specialist services and acute treatment providers was key to providing effective diagnosis and treatment.

·  The Board was provided with information on the Tackling Lung Cancer initiative which successfully targeted resources to areas of deprivation and high smoking levels in Wakefield and Bradford, and promoted healthy living and the use of cessation services.

·  Through greater collaboration the Alliance had successfully accessed additional regional and national funding.

·  The Alliance continued to identify areas which required further focus and funding.

In considering the matter, the Joint Committee had regard to the information provided in the report; and discussions included the following matters:

Local performance against the 62 day cancer waiting time target - The Joint Committee was informed that the 62 day target related to patient flow, rather than diagnosis following initial presentation. Following diagnosis, patients were placed on care pathways specific to their needs. It was acknowledged that patients not on a specific cancer care pathway received a variable service across the Partnership area. Specific challenges to meeting the target in West Yorkshire included a 27% increase in referrals for Prostate cancer since March 2018, resulting in additional pressures in diagnostic and treatment services. The Joint Committee noted a comment that there had also been a specific and unexpected increase in breast cancer referrals which had also increased pressure on the system.

The role and use of ICT innovation and Yorkshire Imaging Collaboration (YIC) to support early diagnosis - In response to a comment regarding the benefits of the new reporting system, the Joint Committee received an example of how use of new technology would enable a GP or dermatologist to send photographic images or scans of a patient presenting with possible skin cancer to the relevant consultant for consideration, in order to promote an earlier diagnosis and allocation to the right care pathway. It was reported that 80% of dermatology practices had taken up the new technology which was now being rolled out to Pathology.

Engagement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

To consider a report from Leeds City Council’s Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support that provides an opportunity for members of the Joint Committee to consider and agree the priorities for developing its future work programme. 

The Joint Committee received a report from Leeds City Council’s Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support on the continuing development of the Joint Committee’s future work programme.

The Joint Committee considered the proposed future work programme and also discussed the following matters:

·  Other matters raised earlier in the meeting that should be reflected in the Joint Committee’s future work programme.

·  The progress update on the proposed sub-committee review of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership Workforce Strategy – A Healthy Place to Live, a Great Place to Work. It was noted that the sub-committee had now met and agreed terms of reference for the Group and the Joint Committee received information on the proposed approach to the review

RESOLVED –

a)  To agree the proposed future work programme (attached as Appendix 1 to the report), subject to the inclusion of other matters highlighted at the meeting.

b)  To note the progress of the sub committee formed to review the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership Workforce Strategy – A Healthy Place to live, a Great place to Work.

c)  That officers continue to develop the Joint Committee’s work programme, based on comments made at the meeting and a revised version be presented for consideration at a future meeting of the Joint Committee

There are no further meetings of the Joint Committee planned for the current municipal year (2018/19). 

Future meetings of the Joint Committee in the forthcoming municipal year (2019/20) will be confirmed as soon as possible. 

In closing the meeting the Chair noted that this was the last meeting of the 2018/19 Municipal Year – meeting dates for 2019/2020 will be provided in due course for consideration.

Additionally, the Chair thanked representatives of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council for hosting the meeting in Wakefield County Hall.

The meeting closed at 12:45 pm