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The East Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) is due to meet again on Thursday 10th September. The meeting will be available to view as a webcast using the link below.
The first item HOSC will need to consider at this meeting is one on how the local NHS has dealt with COVID-19 and how it is returning services as far as possible to normal, including plans for the future of services that have been temporarily reconfigured due to COVID-19; restoring planned treatments; and preparing for winter.
Although there has not been a formal meeting of the HOSC in a while, due to the pandemic, the Committee has continued to carry out scrutiny of the local NHS.
Over the past couple of months, the Chair and Vice Chair have been meeting regularly with Adam Doyle, Chief Executive of the Sussex Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), and other Sussex HOSC Chairs to discuss how the NHS is coping with COVID-19 and beginning the process of returning to normal.
The Committee has also been submitting questions to the NHS and a number of responses to these questions are presented in a news item below.
HOSC will be restarting its review of the proposals by the East Sussex NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to close the Eastbourne Station Health Centre.
HOSC considered the proposals to be a substantial variation to services requiring the CCG to formally consult with the Committee under health legislation.
The HOSC review board will be gathering evidence about the proposals in the coming weeks. If you wish to submit any comments or evidence to HOSC, you may do so using the link below. Please submit any comments by Friday 28th August.
The HOSC review runs separately to the NHS public consultation, which the CCG’s Governing Body agreed to restart on 3rd August . You can fill out the CCG's public consultation document on their website.
The Committee will consider whether the final NHS decision on the proposals is in the best interest of health services later in the year.
Below are some of the questions HOSC has been asking the NHS over the past few weeks and some of the responses received from the East Sussex CCG.
- What have been the roles of NHS England and Public Health England in this pandemic?
"The NHS and public health teams work very closely but have distinct roles.
- NHS England, working in partnership with NHS Improvement, is responsible for the planning and delivery of NHS services and care – working through CCGs and NHS trusts. As the Covid-19 pandemic was declared a level four national incident, NHS England has taken a ‘command and control’ approach to support the rapid implementation of the measures necessary to respond to the health emergency.
- Public Health England is responsible for protecting and promoting the health of the population. During the pandemic it has provided advice and developed guidance for government, the NHS and others. Locally, it works through the regional directors of public health in upper tier authorities who will be able to give you more detail on their responsibilities during the pandemic."
- Who has been responsible for the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the NHS?
"In normal circumstances, NHS Trusts are responsible for their procurement of PPE. When international supplies became scarce due to the spread of the pandemic, the Department of Health and Social Care took over responsibility for procurement. This accelerated supply, ensured that trusts were not unnecessarily competing with each other for limited resources, avoided stockpiling, ensured that smaller settings such as GP practices and care homes were not sidelined by wholesalers, provided purchasing power to keep a lid on prices and enabled fair distribution across all sectors."
- What have been the key learning messages from the service delivery in tackling covid-19 and what key changes will be implemented if there is an indication of a second wave of the virus coming back?
"Key learning messages have included:
- What can be achieved with integrated working across organisations and systems
- The value of joint working between the NHS, local authorities and public health
- The need to enable proactive responses, including fast-paced governance progress and quick decision-making
- The power of new digital tools and ways of working
- How to ensure mental health and well-being needs are met during a pandemic, and the importance of prioritising mental health services.
The health and care system is maintaining many of the changes already made to respond to the pandemic so that it is prepared for any second wave. Reflections on what would be different if there are further surges include:
- Local authorities have now developed local outbreak plans to manage any local surges
- Test and trace processes are in place to allow for early identification and management of outbreaks
- Health and care systems are now well-practised in effective joint working arrangements
- Testing capacity and processes for patients and staff are already in place
- PPE supply routes and processes have been secured.
- Infection control and social distancing measures have already been applied across health and care providers, with training undertaken in all care homes
- Tried and tested support plans are in place, led by local authorities, for care homes and for vulnerable people within the population."
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