Agenda and draft minutes

To receive declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Update

Councillor Bernie Muir, Other Interest: Councillor Bernie Muir declared she is a Governor of Surrey and Border’s Partnership and is a Patron of Mary Frances Trust.

Councillor Kim Spickett, Other Interest: Councillor Kim Spickett declared that she is part of the Malnutrition Pathway.

The Panel is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Panel held on 21 November 2024 (attached) and to authorise the Chair to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting of the Health Liaison Panel held on 21^st November 2024 were reviewed by the Panel. The Panel agreed that they were a true record and authorised the Chair to sign them.

The Panel shall receive and consider an update presentation from the Community Development Manager on the Draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025/28.

The Panel received and considered an update presentation from the Community Development Manager on the Draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025/28.

The following matters were considered by the Panel:

a)            A question was put to the speaker requesting the data on which parts of the borough were experiencing more loneliness than others. The speaker stated they the loneliest areas were Town, Ruxley and Court wards, and were happy to work with the PCN to get a synopsis of this. It was also mentioned that the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment had a chapter on loneliness that can be filtered by division and ward which also includes that data.

b)            It was queried how the new 2025-28 strategy will manifest and what engagement will look like. It was stated that the strategy is still in its draft form, with 2 more cycles left before final publication. That will then be followed by an action plan and delivery plan. Specific details cannot be given at the time, but it was stated there would be considerable effort on the partnerships working to deliver something achievable and holistic for residents.

c)            With respect to loneliness in the Borough, it was stated that Epsom and Ewell had recently been voted the 4^th best place to live in Surrey, though there were statistics indicating that there were ongoing issues. It was stated that there was a continued focus on mental health, and that while focussing on children and young people is imperative, it was important to remember that older generations also struggle with loneliness and mental health too.

The Panel shall receive and consider an Epsom and St Helier Hospitals update paper from St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group.

The Panel received and considered an Epsom and St Helier Hospital update paper from St George’s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group.

The following matters were considered by the Panel:

a)            The speaker disclosed further updates from the hospital that were not mentioned in the report:

a.    It was noted that in terms of planned care, Epsom performs relatively well and has nearly eliminated all 65-week waiting lists within the organisation. Prior to Covid it was extremely rare to wait that long. Currently they are down to around 20 to 30 patients in the whole trust who are waiting more than 65 weeks. They are working to get that down to zero as soon as possible. The Trust have also seen 52 week waits for patients also come down significantly.

b.    The speaker also noted that children awaiting diagnoses of Autism or ADHD has been a challenge across NHS for some time. Working towards lowering wait times for this has also been a focus of the Trust. They have put in significant extra resource and employed more consultants in this area to support children waiting for diagnosis to help them get the care they need. It was noted that the Trust are also performing well in terms of Cancer waits. The most important one is that patients are diagnosed within 28 days and treatment commences within 60 days. The partnership with St. Georges and the Royal Marsden hospitals has been pivotal for this.

c.    The speaker also mentioned that the Trust’s emergency care is under significant pressure. To combat this, they have received extra funding to have additional beds at Epsom hospital. They are under significant pressure due to more people attending the emergency department who then need admitting. It is becoming harder to get people out of hospital, particularly those who need residential or nursing home care. There is a much higher demand for elderly people needing respite care, but they cannot be placed in these establishments due to lack of room. This results in an extra 2 to 3 weeks stay in hospital if a place cannot be found. This is seen across both Epsom and St. Helier. This will be the Trust’s focus over the next year, as well as improving their therapy services to prevent re-admission.

d.    In terms of finances, the speaker noted that the Trust is where it’s expected to be for 2024/25. The challenge now is that the NHS received significant additional funding from Government, but it has been entirely consumed by inflation costs and mandatory wage rises. The Trust are working with colleague hospitals to come up with a plan next year where we are looking to take 1-2% out of the local health care system through efficiency, such as ordering less tests and buying equipment and medication as economically as possible.

b)            A Councillor asked what the issues were from the point of view of the hospital with diagnosing children with Autism/ADHD and whose responsibility would it be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.