The decision to call the meeting on Wednesday reflected the concerns of committee members, and other local community representatives, about the planned reconfiguration of wards and beds and the public and stakeholder engagement undertaken so far by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Trust.
The meeting provided an opportunity for committee members to ask questions and for NHS representatives to provide further detail behind the plans and their approach to public engagement so far.
The meeting concluded with the committee agreeing three key recommendations:
- That the trust works together with the committee to put better measures in place to communicate future changes to the committee, and ultimately the public.
- That the timeframe for the reconfiguration be reconsidered to allow additional engagement with the public on the proposals.
- Details of the mitigations planned around the changes to ward 5 at Furness General Hospital highlighted in the Equality Impact Assessment be made public and communicated clearly to the committee.
Commenting on the meeting Cllr Dyan Jones, chairperson of Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “This was a productive meeting about an issue of real public concern. I am pleased we were able to provide a space for an open discussion and for committee members to speak directly to local NHS senior managers. I welcome their attendance, helping the committee reach its recommendations.
“We recognise and understand the financial pressures facing the NHS and that decisions must be made about how to best use the resources available. However, the Scrutiny Committee emphasises the importance of open dialogue and we will continue to encourage the NHS to broaden their consultation to include the public who will be impacted directly by these proposals, as the NHS negotiates the complex choices they need to make. We await a clear plan for greater public engagement on these matters before changes are implemented”.
The Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee is composed of elected councillors from Westmorland and Furness Council. Under the terms of the Local Government Act 2000, the purpose of health scrutiny is to strengthen the voice of local people, ensuring that their needs and experiences are considered an integral part of the commissioning and delivery of health services and that those services are effective and safe. The committee has the power to require information to be provided by certain NHS bodies about the planning, provision and operation of health services and require NHS employees to attend before them to answer questions.