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 or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board. No member of the public shall speak for more than three minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.
Minutes:
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 or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board. No member of the public shall speak for more than three minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.
A member of the public, John Puntis, representing Keep Our NHS Public attended and addressed Board Members, noting the following:
Update on migrant health checks from November 2023
Feedback was agreed to be provided back regarding the processes and impact for migrants accessing health checks and care provisions, and the associated charges, which had been raised as part of the Open Forum at a Board meeting on the 9th of November 2023 but had not yet been received. Whether the Board scrutinised charges by Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust (LTHT) posed against migrants for health checks and care provision, the impact on affordability of care, how often this was reported to the Home Office and how fear of charges were addressed, had been queried. A follow up and a response on this matter was requested.
Inconsistent communications regarding the new Hospitals in Leeds
As previously submitted as part of the Open Forum at the Board meeting on the 21st of March 2024, it was outlined that there was an inconsistency between information contained on the LTHT website and recent comments by the Secretary of State for Health and Care to Parliament regarding the progress of the new hospitals at the Leeds General Infirmary site and the timeline for the programme. The LTHT staff bulletin was also noted to have misrepresented the situation, claiming developments were fully funded and were to proceed. A report from the Director of Finance, considered by the LTHT Board on the 30th of May 2024, stated costs for the development had increased by £250-£300million, planning permission was soon to expire, and the New Hospital Model 2.0 (NHP2) could potentially add a further £25million. The approach of the Department of Health and Social Care and the New Hospitals Programme Communications Playbook was considered onerous, but the Labour Governments support for NHP was welcomed. Clarity on this matter and the number of factors at play, which impacted on the plans to come into fruition, were needed.
Private care provider facilities at St. James’ Hospital
The plans for the new hospitals had referenced private health care provision for cancer patients, with potential impacts on staff clinician retainment and on health inequalities; whether this would lead to a disparity of care was queried. The contents of the Labour manifesto were positive, however, the direction of the NHS to address financial constraints was unclear. This had previously been outlined at the 21st of March 2024 Board meeting and an update was sought.
In response the Chair noted a response had been sent to John Prentis on the 22nd of July 2024, recognising the reply was further delayed due to the sensitivity of the pre-election period for the Local and General Elections. The Chair committed to providing a response on migrant health checks in a timely manner.
The Deputy Chief Executive for LTHT responded, first noting that LTHT was committed to developing the new hospitals and the reference to the staffing issues for the proposed private care facilities were not significant. A full written response regarding the outstanding queries was to be provided back to the enquirer.