Agenda item

To consider a report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which introduces the plans of local NHS Trusts to become NHS Foundation Trusts and seeks the view of the Scrutiny Board in relation to the proposals

(report attached)

  The Board considered a report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development seeking its views on the plans of local NHS Trusts to become NHS Foundation Trusts.  Copies of the consultation documents on the proposals in relation to Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust were appended to the report

  The following people attended for this item:

  Dennis Holmes – Deputy Director Strategic Commissioning – Adult Social Care

  Karl Milner – Director of External Affairs for Leeds Teaching Hospitals

  Brian Steven – Deputy Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust

  Emma Fraser – Head of Performance, Contracting and Business Planning at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  Rob Webster – Chief Executive Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  The Chair stated that a representative of West Yorkshire Ambulance Service was expected, following their request to attend

  The Board was informed of the work being undertaken by the local NHS Trusts to become Foundation Trusts which whilst retaining the primary purpose of providing health care free at the point of delivery, would provide greater local involvement and accountability; be free from central government control; be self-governing and have new financial freedoms to raise capital which could then be reinvested into the Trust to provide new services

  Members were informed that the work towards Foundation Trusts had led to an increased focus on what was currently happening within the Trusts and that changes and improvements would come with Foundation Trust status

  In summary the key areas of discussion were:

·  the pros and cons of Foundation Trust status with details being provided of the increased monitoring and checks and balances which would be needed arising out of the situation at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust together with the possibility of creating the best possible health service for the city; creating seamless, professional integrated services and being an employer of choice

·  the importance of the governance arrangements of the new Trusts

·  staff training and career development across the whole structure, not solely medical staff and the need for proper staffing levels

·  the need for social inclusion in terms of recruitment, with concerns that currently some groups and areas of Leeds were not represented in certain professions amongst hospital staff

·  public involvement in the membership of the Foundation Trusts and the need to broaden this beyond the LS postcode to take into account areas of Leeds with Bradford and Wakefield postcodes

·  that for governance arrangements, Electoral Wards might be more appropriate to align with rather than parliamentary constituencies due to the proposed parliamentary boundary changes and the fact that one constituency includes part of Leeds and part of another area

·  how NHS and private care would be managed; how the two streams of patient care would be segregated and how pressure on patients to opt for private care would be avoided

·  the financial pressures on Foundation Trusts

·  quality, whether this would improve through achieving Foundation Trust status, if so, the reasons for this and how this would be measured

·  the structures which would be in place for engaging and involving the public, beyond Governing Bodies

·  scrutiny arrangements, that this important element would remain, with it being confirmed that this Board would retain its current role and that further scrutiny of the Foundation Trusts would also come from the Governors

RESOLVED –

 i)  To note the report and the information presented

and that the following comments be included in relation to the proposals:

·  the need to include all the postcodes which cover the Leeds area in terms of the membership of an NHS Foundation Trust

·  that local Council Ward boundaries should be used when seeking members to join the Trust

·  the importance of future proofing, particularly the taking on of the new Health and Well-being Boards

·  the importance of integration of Health and Council services in terms of governance arrangements

·  the need for socially inclusive recruitment to reflect the diversity of the population of Leeds in all of its areas

·  the need for quality to be assured

·  the need for clear definition in relation to NHS patients and private patients, including the governance arrangements

ii)  That a further report setting out the Board’s draft consultation

response to the proposals be submitted to the next meeting for approval