Agenda item

11:40

The paper (JHO9) aims to provide the Oxfordshire Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee with an update on:

1.    Specialist in-patient palliative care and Henley RACU

2.    ICS development and new ways of working

3.    OCCG Annual Report

4.    Thank you to volunteers

5.    Botley Health Centre

11:55

Comfort Break

The Committee had received an update report from the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

The following speaker had been agreed:

Maggie Winters on behalf of Keep Our NHS Public Oxfordshire referred Members to their report entitled “Preventable Hearing Loss in Oxfordshire”, which described the lack of a properly resourced service for ear wax removal.  Most Oxfordshire GPs had withdrawn the service.   Patients were now having to pay to have wax removed privately at a cost of anything between £55 and £100. 

OCCG were procuring a new ear wax removal service but this will apply only to over 55 year olds whose hearing loss is not due simply to the blockage of the ear canal caused by wax build up.  KONHSP believed ear wax removal was best done at the GP surgery.  They asked the Committee to hold OCCG to account for the shortcomings in provision, the potentially discriminatory impact of its procurement policy, its failure to consult with patients and the loss of service for large numbers of people.

Diane Hedges, Deputy Chief Executive, OCCG, introducing the report, emphasised that she wished to make a decision on item 1 in the report on palliative care before the next meeting of the Committee, subject to the outcome of the public meeting to be held on the issue and the substantial change toolkit being completed.

Councillor Charlie Hicks asked, with regard to item 2 in the report on the Integrated Care System (ICS), about the role of Primary Care in population health management given that it held the only registered lists of population.  Diane Hedges responded that the latest guidance was quite clear on the importance of Primary Care and she recognised its pivotal role.

It was agreed that, due to pressure of time, questions could be sent to the Secretary for answer later.

Councillor Freddie van Mierlo asked for more information on ICS as he believed that what was in the report was quite light.  Diane Hedges responded that the guidance had not been received when the report was written.  They now had guidance on what has to be done and what can be decided locally.  An engagement plan was being developed.

The Chair asked if there was a distance that would be regarded as too far for somebody to travel, for example for palliative care.  Diane Hedges replied that there was no specific distance for any service but they had to balance the need for local against the need for quality. 

District Councillor David Turner added that distance to care was a significant issue in rural areas.  Where there was no public transport, voluntary groups were often organised to provide help.  He asked if any grants were available for such services.

Diane Hedges responded that there was a patient transport service for those with a medical need but that they would look to neighbourhood support, voluntary sector and work with local authority partners in regard to public transport for anything beyond that.

Councillor Charlie Hicks asked about OCCG’s approach to deprivation, giving the example that there were three GP practices in Summertown but none in Littlemore.

Diane Hedges replied that they were starting to invest differently on the basis of the Annual Report of the Director for Public Health’s focus on health inequalities.  This could be seen in the approach to the vaccination programme where drop-in clinics were organised where needed.

The Chair noted that for a number of issues the discussion had shown the need for further attention from the Committee such as rural inequalities and more detailed information on ICS.  She also looked forward to receiving the completed toolkit for the proposal on palliative care.

Action: OCCG to complete the substantial change toolkit for the proposals on palliative care.