Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Health presented a report on the arrangements in hand to fulfil the Council’s duties, under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, to commission a fully operational local health and social care watchdog by April 2013.

The Cabinet Member explained that the new local Healthwatch would replace the Local Involvement Network (LINk) as the organisation responsible for representing the views of local residents of all ages, advocating and influencing the delivery and commissioning of health and social care services and actively promoting choice.  Healthwatch would be an independently constituted body and would be able to escalate concerns to a new national body, Healthwatch England.

Following initial discussions at the Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board and its sub-group, the Community and Service User Reference Group, a Healthwatch Steering Group was established to undertake the detailed work to create a local Healthwatch, including the development of a local vision and set of principles outlining the local values.  Arising out of that work, the Healthwatch Steering Group favoured a ‘hub and spoke’ local model whereby a central organisation would be the ‘hub’, networking with other existing local organisations and individuals, the ‘spokes’.  The ‘hub and spoke’ model was considered to offer the most inclusive approach by giving local residents the option of either speaking to a central organisation or liaising with a trusted local organisation or patient group.

The proposals were considered by the Health and Adult Services Select Committee (HASSC) at its meeting on 23 May 2012, who supported the broad principles that had been established and further recommended a model which enabled a local Healthwatch to also have a presence across North East London, as many health services were delivered across borough boundaries.  HASSC also suggested that sharing back office functions would deliver efficiencies in the light of the limited funding that would be made available by Central Government to support local Healthwatch arrangements.

The Cabinet Member for Environment referred to the announcement earlier in the day that the Government was considering intervening in the South London Healthcare NHS Trust due to its funding deficit position, with the possibility that a direction would be issued to close one of the three hospitals in the Trust’s area, and enquired as to the expected role of local Healthwatch bodies in such circumstances.  The Cabinet Member for Health confirmed that local Healthwatch bodies would be statutory consultees on such issues but that it was unlikely that the ability of these bodies to successfully campaign and influence Government thinking would be strengthened.

Cabinet agreed:

  (i)  The proposed “Hub and Spoke” model for delivering local Healthwatch as set out in the report;

  (ii)  In principle, to the procurement of Healthwatch along the lines of the outline strategy set out in the report, whether as a sole initiative or as a joint initiative with the London Borough of Havering and (should ongoing negotiations be successful) also the London Boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest;

 (iii)  To delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and the Divisional Director of Legal and Democratic Services, to determine the procurement method and strategy for delivering the local Healthwatch and undertake the appropriate procurement of a service provider; and

 (iv)  To authorise the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Health, to (a) award the contract upon conclusion of the procurement process; (b) form, establish or participate in such corporate body as may be necessary to create the Healthwatch; and (c) execute or approve the execution of such contracts and any other ancillary legal agreements or documents to facilitate the establishment of the Healthwatch.