Agenda item

Cllr Hanna will provide a verbal update on relevant issues since the last meeting.

There are THREE documents attached this item:

1.    A HOSC report containing recommendations from the Committee on the South Central Ambulance Service’s CQC Improvement Journey, which was discussed during the 08 February 2024 HOSC meeting.

2.    A HOSC report containing recommendations from the Committee on the John Radcliffe Hospital’s CQC Improvement Journey, which was discussed during the 08 February 2024 HOSC meeting.

3. A HOSC report containing recommendations from the Committee on the Director of Public Health Annual Report.

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the Chair’s update having raised any relevant questions.

One matter that has arisen since the previous meeting involves the need for the Committee to agree a future arrangement for ongoing Scrutiny of the NHS’s Oxford City Community Health Hubs Project. It is RECOMMENDED that the Committee DELEGATES to the Chair and Health Scrutiny Officer to establish a small HOSC Working Group to engage in detailed and ongoing scrutiny of this project.

The Chair outlined the following points to update the Committee on developments since the previous meeting:

Ø  A report (containing recommendations from HOSC) had been submitted to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust regarding the South Central Ambulance Service’s CQC Improvement Journey, which was discussed during the 08 February 2024 HOSC meeting

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Ø  A HOSC report containing recommendations from the Committee on the Director of Public Health Annual Report could also be found in the agenda papers.

Ø  The Chair and the Health Scrutiny Officer had requested a written briefing for the Committee relating to the temporary closure of the ADHD referral list, with a view to understanding the reasoning behind the closure as well as the potential impact it could have on those affected.

Ø  The Committee had requested a briefing from Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation trust on the recent CQC maternity inspection at the Horton.

Ø  The Committee made recommendations to the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the parliamentary House Select Committee regarding a new policy issued by the medicines regulator. This policy pertained to anti-seizure medication and medication used for individuals with bipolar disorder called Valproate. As an update to that, the ICB established a task force comprising consultants, specialist nurses, medicines safety officers, representatives from charities and patients with lived experiences. The impact report outlined that there were unavoidable consequences, and current services were ill-equipped to handle the implementation of phase one of the medicines regulatory policy.

Specifically, it was anticipated that approximately 2,855 outpatient appointments would be lost due to the new requirements.

The report further predicted that reduced access would lead to increased mortality and greater morbidity, including emergency situations arising from uncontrolled epilepsy. Notably, this assessment did not encompass the impacts and risks associated with phase two of the policy, which could be even more significant.

Ø  The Chair also paid tribute to the Senior Patient Safety Manager at the ICB for his leadership of this taskforce, and the Committee offered their condolences to his family and colleagues.

The Committee NOTED the Chair’s Update.

The Committee AGREED the following actions:

1. For the Committee to DELEGATE to the Chair and Health Scrutiny Officer to write to the Health Secretary (and copying in the Parliamentary Health Select Committee) to bring the likely impacts of the Valproate Pregnancy Prevention policy to their attention, and to request that until the likely impacts and risks of phase 1 of the policy are assessed and safely addressed, that they allow local systems to delay implementation.

2. For the Committee to AGREE to the establishment of a four member HOSC Working Group, for the purposes of engaging in ongoing scrutiny of the NHS’s Oxford Community Health Hubs Project.

3. For the Committee to convene a public meeting item on medicine shortages, in line with increasing reports of such shortages across the board.

4. For the Committee to AGREE to DELEGATE to the Chair and Health Scrutiny Officer the responsibility to determine an approach to ongoing scrutiny of Oxford University’s Hospital’s Plan B for the expansion of Horton Hospital.