Agenda item - Chair's Communications

34.1    The Chair gave the following communications:

We have 2 items on the agenda today. The first item is a presentation on plans to develop the Royal Sussex County Hospital emergency floor, including A&E. I recently had a tour of the hospital and was shown plans to make capital improvements, and I wanted to give the committee the opportunity to explore these also.

I’m sure that members may have all sorts of questions that relate to A&E. I want to keep this session as focused as possible on plans to develop the site and what this will mean for clinical outcomes and patient experience.  There will be opportunities to explore other concerns members may have later in the year, but I’m conscious that we won’t have the time or all the right NHS colleagues in the room to do justice to issues such as the experience of people with mental health issues who present for treatment at the Royal Sussex.

The second agenda item is a paper on the NHS palliative care offer to Brighton & Hove residents. This was something that committee members requested following Jo Harvey-Barringer's presentation to the HOSC last year on the care her partner received in the last weeks of her life. The presentation covers the entirety of the NHS palliative care offer, not just care in hospital.

I also wanted to let members know that Cllr Grimshaw and I recently visited the walk-in centre near Brighton station. We met managers and clinical staff and learnt lots about how the centre works. We were really impressed with what we saw. The walk-in centre is a great resource, and it is important that more people know about it, particularly as a potential alternative to A&E.

I also wanted to remind everyone that April is Bowel Cancer awareness month. Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers, but if it is detected early there are effective treatments available. There is loads of information available online or at your local GP surgery where you can also pick up a self-test kit.

Finally, we have today, as always, lots of NHS colleagues joining the meeting. I just wanted to remind members that many of our guests are doctors or clinicians, and some of them will be taking time out from their clinics to attend this meeting. To make the most of their time I would ask committee members to keep their questions and comments on topic and as succinct as possible.