Agenda item - Chair's Communications

17.1    The Chair gave the following communications:

          Firstly, we have a new member on HOSC. I’d like to welcome Cllr Marina          Ladermacher, who will be replacing Cllr Julie Cattell on the committee. I        hope that Marina enjoys her time on the committee. I’d also like to thank           Cllr Cattell for all her work with HOSC.

          We’re looking at a wide range of issues today. First up is our annual    paper on plans to deal with additional pressures this winter. There will         be a presentation from partners across the health and care system         reflecting the fact that this is a partnership endeavour. There will be a           follow-up paper next summer evaluating how the system performed           across winter.

          We also have a paper on cancer diagnosis and treatment. Improving      cancer outcomes is both a local and a national NHS priority. Brighton &     Hove performance has not always been as good as it might be, and I’m      sure members will be keen to hear where we are currently and what improvement plans are in place.

          Members may also be aware that there’s currently lots of activity in terms       of NHS commissioning arrangements. These are important issues, and I’ve asked NHS Sussex to provide a quick verbal update at this meeting    on where we are locally.

          The Government has recently announced that it intends to do more to           share information on NHS performance with people who use NHS         services. As part of this, we had the first NHS Oversight Framework    dashboard released this summer, followed by the publication of league tables for both acute and non-acute trusts in September. Where this data           shows that local NHS trusts need to make substantial improvements, I      feel it’s important that the HOSC talks to the trusts concerned about their         improvement plans. We’ve got Sussex Partnership here today, and I’ll       invite other local providers to future meetings.

          The last item on today’s agenda is for Sussex Partnership Trust to         explain why they need to temporarily close Chalkhill, their young person        inpatient unit at Hayward’s Heath.

          Finally, I’d like to update members on the correspondence sent on behalf         of the Committee to the Secretary of State for Health regarding the future      of local Healthwatch organisations.

          The Committee’s letter emphasised the importance of the local   Healthwatch role in representing residents’ experiences and ensuring           strong public involvement in health and care services. A reply has now been received from the Department, acknowledging our concerns and outlining the Government’s current position. I will share these with    members for information.

No action is required at this stage, but the correspondence will be kept on file should the matter come before us again.