Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Members in respect of any items of business to be discussed at the meeting.

The Panel is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Panel held on 8 November 2022 and to authorise the Chair to sign them.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Health Liaison Panel held on 8 November 2022 were reviewed by the Panel. The Panel agreed that they were a true record and authorised the Chair to sign them.

a)            Building Your Future Hospitals programme update:

An update on the Trust's plans to build a new specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton and significantly improve Epsom and St Helier hospitals, where 85% of patients will still be seen and treated.

b)           Operational update, including pressures and priorities:

An update on current operational pressures and priorities, including what the Trust has been doing in response to winter pressures and recent industrial action.

The speakers attending shall be:

·                     James Blythe, Managing Director

·                     Alex Shaw, ESTH Chief Operating Officer

The Panel received a presentation (published as a supplement to the agenda) from James Blythe (Epsom and St Helier Hospital Managing Director) and Alex Shaw (Epsom and St Helier Hospital Chief Operating Officer).

The following matters were considered by the Panel:

a)            In response to the presentation’s comment that 13,400 patients attended accident and emergency in December 2022, it was acknowledged that this is an inevitable consequence of a lack of GP appointments, although it was stressed that it is common and not unique for patients to attend A&E in lieu of being signposted elsewhere.

b)            James Blythe reaffirmed that, because Epsom & St Helier are one of the 8 hospitals on the preliminary ‘pathfinder scheme’ (please see presentation for further explanation), the hospital’s completion deadlines are for 2027, rather than the national aim of completing 40 hospitals by 2030.

c)            With regard to the currently unbuilt second multi-storey car park at Epsom Hospital, James Blythe explained that planning permission had been received and options were currently being investigated for offsite parking, including park-and-ride and town centre parking. He stated that it was estimated to be completed in 9 months’ time.

d)            Beyond 2023, the hospital confirmed that there is a 5 year back up maintenance plan for work to complete, within a budget of £130mil. The hospital shall risk assess every piece of required maintenance, which is then used to assess the work’s priority order.

e)            The hospital’s contingency plan for the upcoming junior doctor’s strike was discussed. The relevant staff have checked all rotas that may be impacted and how best to cover them, notably by recruiting consultants, bank workers and other services into support roles, where possible. This includes positioning staff into pharmacies, taking, ward duties, and administrative roles, amongst others. It was also acknowledged that there is a conscious aim to keep elective surgeries in place, but may need to reduce these in the future.

f)             In response to the impact of the rising cost of building materials, the hospital reinforced the importance of a single approach towards design and procurement across the ‘pathfinder scheme’ as a solution to mitigating rising costs, as although funds  have increased, streamlining development will offset these costs. Although, it was noted that the longer these conversations take, it may hinder progress as inflation continues to increase.

g)            It was confirmed that Epsom & St Helier is still in the top 8 priority hospitals, although below those with structural failings that require urgent restoration. 

h)            In response to the impact of the impact of ULEZ costs on travel, the hospital acknowledged the need to increase public transport provisions. Solutions included utilising the £40million levelling up fund, working with the Marsden and Cancer Research UK to improve site transport, however it was also noted that as these plans are for 2027, it is difficult to accurately assess the future situation and need at this point in time.

i)             In response to staff uptake of flu and covid-19 vaccines, the hospital confirmed that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Panel is asked to consider whether it wishes to pass a resolution to exclude the Press and Public from the meeting in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the business involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Panel resolved to exclude the Press and Public from the meeting in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the business would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption would outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information.

To provide the Panel with information on the Surrey Suicide Prevention Strategy.

The summary for this item is recorded in a separate (not for publication) restricted Minute.