Agenda item

Report of the Director of Policy and Governance (enclosed)

1.    The contents of the report were noted.

2.    Approval that the Chair of Equalities and Well Being (in her role as Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing, Equality and Diversity) will provide updates to the Executive Cabinet and Council as the Sustainability and Transformation Plan develops further and the local Our Health, Our Care programme is published.

3.    Approval that the Executive Cabinet will continue to support local residents in their campaign to protect local health services.

The Executive Leader presented the report of the Director of Policy and Governance that provided an update on the recently published Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) for Lancashire and South Cumbria. It was this item that questions had been submitted against by a representative of the Protect Chorley Hospital from Cuts and Privatisation

The STP sets out the collective challenges facing health and social care across Lancashire and South Cumbria in the coming years. As previously reported to Council, the challenges are significant and relate to budgetary constraints against an increasing demand for services. The funding gap will reach £572 million by 2021 unless changes are made to the system.

The plan identifies the following key objectives that it aims to respond to:

·         To set out a clear direction of travel for the unified health and care system in Lancashire and South Cumbria as the Five Year Forward View has across England.

·         To achieve fundamental and measurable improvements in health outcomes.

·         To reduce health inequalities across Lancashire and South Cumbria

·         To achieve parity of esteem for mental health and physical health across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

·         To ensure greater focus on ill-health prevention, early intervention and self-care where this improves outcomes.

·         To ensure change is supported by a clear evidence base or an evaluation structure where evidence is not available

·         To remove organisational or professional boundaries that get in the way of progress.

·         To make maximum use of new technology when this will improve the quality of care provided.

The plan identifies a series of priority areas for 2016 to 2021 and much of the focus of the STP appears to have similar ambitions to the work that the Council undertook on future governance models, particularly around improving on prevention, early intervention and improving community resilience.

The local Our Health, Our Care programme will be the key vehicle for changes within the local health economy, and Councillors along with the Chief Executive have been invited and have attended engagement events that have provided updates on the programme. It is however important to note that the Council has no role in approving the STP and that the plans are part of the NHS planning guidance.

The Council had recently reviewed and reiterated its position on public service reform and governance models at its Special Council meeting in November and is clear in its desire to maintain and protect public services and ensuring that they retain a local identity and improve democratic accountability. The Council through its Executive Leader and Public Services Reform Board would continue to press for public service reform that maintains and improves locally accountable public services.

Decision:                                                                 

1.    The contents of the report were noted.

2.    Approval that the Chair of Equalities and Well Being (in her role as Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing, Equality and Diversity) will provide updates to the Executive Cabinet and Council as the Sustainability and Transformation Plan develops further and the local Our Health, Our Care programme is published.

3.    Approval that the Executive Cabinet will continue to support local residents in their campaign to protect local health services.

Reasons for Recommendation(s)

Development and changes in the local health economy affects Chorley’s residents, and impact upon the Council’s ambitions with regard to future governance models. It is therefore important that the Executive Cabinet receives updates on the STP.

Alternative options considered and rejected.

To not receive an update, would mean the Council not engaging in wider public service reform.