Agenda and draft minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 15^th October

The notes of the previous meeting on 15^th October were received.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no announcements.

The Chairman of the task and finish group explained to the group the responsibilities of various health bodies:

·         When people were admitted to hospital as an emergency, the charge was not picked up by the CCG

·         NHS England paid for hospital services

·         Hospitals received the majority of funding but much health work was actually done in the community

·         NHS Property (PropCo) looked after buildings such as Horsham Hospital

·         The CCG dealt with planning, GP surgeries and GP numbers

The Chairman of the task and finish group noted that GPs were not keen on a giant surgery hub rather than their own individual surgeries.

There was a discussion around whether Horsham District Council should be involved in Scrutinising health matters.  The Scrutiny Officer mentioned an email that had been received from West Sussex County Council Democratic Services saying that they felt Horsham should not be involved in scrutinising health matters.

It was noted that there was a new person in charge of the CCG and also a new person responsible for NHS England.

The Cabinet Member for Community and Wellbeing noted that there was a problem of different care providers working at Horsham Hospital but no one Trust in overall control.  She also felt that the hospital was under-utilised.  She felt this was an area which the task and finish group should look at.  The group felt that people in Horsham had to travel to Redhill when it would be better if they could be treated in Horsham.  Furthermore, people from other parts of the district such as Billingshurst were being sent a long way away to Chichester or Steyning.  

There was a discussion around the issue of teenage mental health.  It was felt that factors which influenced teenage mental health included peer pressure, social media pressures, body issues and pressure for good grades.

Newspaper articles and information about the CCG were circulated to the group.

The Chairman of the group noted that:

·         The CCG would publish The Sussex Health and Care Plan on 2^nd December 2019. 

·         He wanted to invite a CCG representative to attend a meeting of the task and finish group to talk about it. 

·         There needed to be a discussion with the CCG regarding their role and vision. 

·         The task and finish group might have to go on longer than usual for a task and finish group.

It was agreed that the next meeting of the group would be after Christmas.