Agenda item

1.     Submitted by Councillor Ray Wootten

In response to the recently released NHS document the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) the Council is asked to support the following motion.

1.  That this Council welcomes some of the positive proposals for future healthcare contained in the STP such as the development of Neighbourhood Teams and measures to improve preventative healthcare.

     However, we believe that the proposal for the downgrading of the A&E service provision at Grantham Hospital and, the proposal for the creation of a single maternity unit for the whole county at Lincoln County Hospital, is completely unacceptable and will have a serious and detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of the local residents within the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust catchment area of South Kesteven.

2. That this Council believes that the views of the residents of South Kesteven District Council are of paramount importance in deciding the future direction of healthcare provision in Lincolnshire and, calls on all the NHS organisations within the South Kesteven catchment area to conduct a full and meaningful public consultation on the STP proposals by actively engaging with all South Kesteven residents.

This Council therefore:

1.  Cannot support the Lincolnshire STP in its current form.

2.  Confirms that we are prepared to work with all local NHS organisations to encourage them to adhere to and act upon the views which emerge from the public consultation. 

Decision:

1.  That this Council welcomes some of the positive proposals for future healthcare contained in the STP such as the development of Neighbourhood Teams and measures to improve preventative healthcare.

     However, we believe that the proposal for the downgrading of the A&E service provision at Grantham Hospital and, the proposal for the creation of a single maternity unit for the whole county at Lincoln County Hospital, is completely unacceptable and will have a serious and detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of the local residents within the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust catchment area of South Kesteven.

2. That this Council believes that the views of the residents of South Kesteven District Council are of paramount importance in deciding the future direction of healthcare provision in Lincolnshire and, calls on all the NHS organisations within the South Kesteven catchment area to conduct a full and meaningful public consultation on the STP proposals by actively engaging with all South Kesteven residents.

This Council therefore:

1.  Cannot support the Lincolnshire STP in its current form.

2.  Confirms that we are prepared to work with all local NHS organisations to encourage them to adhere to and act upon the views which emerge from the public consultation. 

A proposition was made that, given the STP had been the subject of many comments and questions earlier in the meeting, the proposer and seconder should have the opportunity to speak, then the proposal be put straight to the vote. This was seconded and, on being put to the vote, agreed.

Councillor Wootten stated that the motion would be seconded by Councillor Charmaine Morgan to demonstrate the cross-party opposition to the STP. Reference was made to the support of local people for protest marches against the night time closure of Grantham A&E held during the second half of 2016 and the number of signatories on a petition against the same issue. He stated that 5 weeks prior to the meeting, only 39% of patients who attended Lincoln County Hospital’s A&E were seen within 4 hours.

Reference was made to a recent application to change the tenancy conditions for flats at Grantham Hospital, with the reason cited as cuts to NHS services, and the withdrawal of that application following publication of the story by the Grantham Journal. At a meeting on 17 January 2017, the Lincolnshire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee had expressed its support for the restoration and continuation of services at Grantham A&E.

Councillor Wootten asked the Council to support his motion to reject the STP to show that elected members were united in their support for local residents who cared about the health service they received. If approved by the Council, Councillor Wootten said that he would forward a copy of the motion to the Secretary of State for Health and the Chairman of the County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Morgan, who seconded the motion, reiterated its cross-party nature. She stated that issues spanned health and social care with GPs struggling to meet demand, pharmacies under threat and insufficient services to meet patients’ needs. She said that any solution must be viable while addressing the needs of patients. She felt that there was little or no intervention from the public bodies that should be challenging proposals and that they were too willing to accept centralisation.  She also commented that the STP document had only been signed-off by NHS representatives, rather than representatives of the wider community. Further reference was made to the number of petition signatories.

Councillor Morgan concluded, stating that the Lincolnshire Health and Care Initiatives’ solutions should be suitable for everyone in the county. Instead she felt that it would make accessing hospitals more difficult, putting more pressure on GPs and creating delays in the treatment of critically ill patients in areas where the population was growing.

The motion was put to the vote and carried.