Cabinet Member: Councillor W. Gareth Roberts
To consider a report on the above matter. (Copy enclosed)
* 11.15 – 12.00 p.m.
Minutes:
(a) A response was submitted on the above matter along with:
·
responses to the
recommendations made by this Care Scrutiny Committee on 21 September 2017
·
A letter from the Chair
of the National Assembly of Wales' Petitions Committee
·
The Report of the
Petitions Committee dated 22 January 2018
(b) The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being welcomed the
report of the Petitions Committee that approved the six recommendations of this
Care Scrutiny Committee made on 21 September 2017.
(c) The Area Director (West), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board referred to
recommendation (i) in Appendix A of the report and
confirmed that the Health Board had achieved the recommendation and the
information had been shared with the Scrutiny Committee.
(ch) In relation to recommendation (ii),
namely the request for an immediate report on the health provision in the
Blaenau Ffestiniog area from an independent agency, a
Member drew attention to the fact that the Petitions Committee noted that 98%
disagreed with getting rid of beds.
During the ensuing discussion, the Committee was in agreement that the
best way forward was to keep to the original brief and ask the Community Health
Council to undertake the task of investigating the health provision in the
Blaenau Ffestiniog area and provide a report of the
conclusions. However, there would be a
need to ensure at the same time that they were prepared to fund this.
(d) In the context of receiving information about the services provided
in the new Memorial Centre in Blaenau Ffestiniog, the
Assistant Director Initial Care explained that a post-project evaluation would
be undertaken to see whether the services had reached targets within the
business plan and this would be reported back to Welsh Government. As part of this work, responses would be
gathered from the service users and if any weaknesses became apparent, a
response could be given.
The Cabinet Member for
Adults, Health and Well-being added that it would be beneficial to submit a
report on the conclusions of the evaluation of services in the New Centre to this
Care Scrutiny Committee, and it was reported further, subject to the results,
that the Care Scrutiny Committee could hold a further investigation.
In response to an enquiry regarding how the residents of Blaenau Ffestiniog and the Blaenau Memorial Hospital Defence
Committee could have an input, it was noted that complaints could be lodged as
part of the procedure, however, it was ensured that a specific engagement
process would be created at the end of the summer term to ask for feedback on
the experiences of the services at the new Memorial Centre since its
opening. It was also added that the
Community Health Council could undertake this process as well.
The Assistant Director
Initial Care was of the opinion that the services were excellent in the new
building which included therapists, pharmacists, services collaborating
together in a more stable way by now as well as the recruitment of a general
practitioner.
In response to the above,
a Member explained that the main grievance was the fact that the residents of
Blaenau Ffestiniog had been deprived of those
services that were available at the Ffestiniog
Memorial Hospital such as in-patient beds, X-Ray provision and a minor injuries
unit.
(dd)
The Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department confirmed that initial
discussions had taken place and was in the process of preparing a work
programme to carry out an accessibility assessment in the Ysbyty
Alltwen catchment area (Recommendation (iv) in
Appendix A).
The Scrutiny Committee
appealed on the relevant Departments to press on with the above as soon as
possible in light of the fact that some residents had experienced difficulties
when trying to reach Ysbyty Alltwen.
(e) In terms of
recommendation (v), namely the need for suitable homes for older people
including a provision of extra care housing in the Blaenau Ffestiniog
area, the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department explained that
relevant departments had been considering adding such provision in the Ffestiniog area in the past. Since then, circumstances had changed and
there may be an opportunity to revisit the situation as part of the review of
housing needs across the entire County.
It was noted that there were gaps to fill in terms of having the right
mix of houses across the County and that all needs would be considered when
prioritising investment. It was added
that data was available by the Health Board of patients who were waiting for
care, residential, nursing homes etc. and it may be beneficial for the Head of
Adults, Health and Well-being Department and the Area Director (West), Betsi Cadwaladr University Health
Board, to discuss the way forward from the current information they had. The Member added the need to discuss with
partners such as Cartrefi Cymunedol
Gwynedd / Cynefin who were eager to contribute to the
provision.
For information, the
Corporate Director noted that initial discussions had taken place with partners
in the housing field including the Health Board, but that there was a lot of
work to achieve in respect of investment and exact locations.
(f) In terms of
recommendation (vi) in the Appendix, namely the recruitment of care and health
staff, the Area Director (West), BCUHB, gave assurance that the matter at hand
had moved on in terms of recruiting generic workers in South Gwynedd, namely in
the Tywyn and Dolgellau areas. If the model was successful, then it was
hoped that it could be rolled-out to other areas within the County. As part of the model, Gwynedd Council would
be the employer, with care workers working closely with the Health Board and
undertaking a training programme of up to 6 months to obtain a medical
qualification for the post. At present,
three individuals had been employed and the effectiveness of the posts would be
monitored before it would be rolled-out further.
The Cabinet Member for
Adults, Health and Well-being reiterated that staff recruitment was a serious
concern and that there was a need for a different mindset,
be that in the form of work packages / salaries, as other elements such as
advertising / collaboration with schools / colleges had failed to attract more
workers to the care field.
Resolved: (a)
To accept, note and give thanks for the report and the above-mentioned
observations.
(b) To approve the
recommendations within Appendix A to the report and to act as follows:
Recommendation (i) - that the
information had already been shared with the Members of the Care Scrutiny
Committee.
Recommendation
(ii): -
invite the Community Health Council to hold an independent investigation into
the health provision in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area
and provide a report on the conclusions, including the impact of depriving the
area of patient beds, loss of the X-Ray facilities and minor injuries
unit.
To ask Betsi Cadwaladr University Health
Board to share post-project assessment data in relation to the effectiveness of
the current health provision (Memorial Centre) in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area.
Recommendation (iii) -
To encourage BCUHB to communicate regularly and effectively with the residents
of the Blaenau Ffestiniog area in relation to
monitoring the provision of local health facilities and services.
Recommendation (iv) - To ask the Head of Adults, Health and
Well-being Department to submit an update of the discussions regarding an
assessment of the convenience and accessibility of health service by means of
public and community transport within the catchment area of Ysbyty
Alltwen.
Recommendation (v) - To ask the Head of Adults, Health and
Well-being Department to submit an update following discussions regarding the
provision of extra care housing.
Recommendation (vi) - To ask the Head of Adults, Health and
Well-being Department to submit an update regarding recruitment including
feedback on a generic worker model.
A request was made for the updates to be submitted to the
Care Scrutiny Committee in relation to recommendations (iii)-(vi) within 9-12
months.
Supporting documents: