Agenda item

To receive a report of the Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordination and Finance Committee’s Scrutiny Task and Finish Group – Emergency Care in North Tyneside.

The Chair introduced a report prepared by the Emergency Care Scrutiny Task and Finish Group of the Overview and Scrutiny Finance and Co-ordination Committee (OSCFC). This Task and Finish Group had been formed in June 2023 specifically to examine matters relating to the provision of emergency healthcare for North Tyneside. This followed a Council motion on this matter, agreed by full Council on 16 March 2023.

The Chair explained that in Councillor Montague’s role as Chair of the OSCFC he had agreed to establish and chair this Task and Finish Group. Taking forward the matters in the Council motion around emergency healthcare through a Scrutiny route would allow sufficient rigour to the examination of the issues in the motion, and also for the findings and recommendations to be properly evidence based. Terms of Reference for the Emergency Care Scrutiny Task and Finish Group had been agreed by the OSCFC at the meeting of the Committee on 12 June 2023.

The Chair explained that the motion agreed at Council on 16 March about emergency healthcare covered important issues for all residents of North Tyneside. It was essential that membership of the Task and Finish Group was open to all non-Executive members. Councillor Montague, as Chair of OSCFC, had confirmed that all members on the Council who are not Cabinet members were invited to volunteer to be part of the Task and Finish group, and every member who expressed an interest was invited to participate in the Task and Finish Group. The Task and Finish group therefore comprised members drawn from the Labour, Conservative and Community Independent groups on the Council. The names of those members are shown in the report on p44.

The evidence, set out in section 3.2 of the report, demonstrated that both regionally and nationally, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is performing extremely well, ranked first in the country for accident and emergency care. On p33-34 of the Task and Finish Group’s report are two tables showing this performance and ranking of NHS Trusts. 

As explained in the report, the Task and Finish Group had met with senior officers from North Tyneside Council, and from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, as well as the Integrated Care Board to scrutinise information relating to hospital location and performance. This was described in the report on p23. As set out in the report, the Chair explained that the model in place had been designed to optimise clinical outcomes by enhancing access to specialist medical staff and a large specialist and emergency care hospital gives advantages that might not be otherwise possible. Medical evidence shows that for some health conditions, earlier access to a specialist makes for much better clinical outcomes for patients. The Northumbria Specialist and Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH) at Cramlington had been designed to deliver optimal standards of emergency clinical care for patients. The Emergency Care Task and Finish Group found that this would be of benefit to all patients attending NSECH, including those from North Tyneside. 

The Emergency Care Task and Finish group had concluded that this information about performance should be publicised to North Tyneside residents. The Task and Finish Group had therefore recommended in their report that performance standards around emergency care should be communicated regularly to North Tyneside residents, led by the Authority working with partner organisations.

The report of the Emergency Care Task and Finish Group had also highlighted a matter around the language used to describe different methods of care. The Task and Finish Group had heard reference to ‘emergency care’ and to ‘urgent treatment’. Some members felt this distinction may not be clear and that communicating this was important because the nature of the treatment determines where and how it is accessed.

The Task and Finish Group report explained that emergency care is for the most serious, life-threatening health matters. This covers things like suspected stroke, severe chest pains, loss of consciousness, and serious head injuries. By contrast, urgent treatment provides medical care for minor injuries and minor illnesses which are not life threatening, including things like sprains, broken bones, minor cuts and bites. The Task and Finish Group report (p21-22) sets out the local NHS sites offering each type of care. 

The Task and Finish Group recommended that some further awareness raising about where to access treatment for which types of medical condition should take place. They recommended that a communication campaign within the borough, involving the Authority and partner organisations, should be arranged. This communication should set out the differences between ‘emergency care’ and ‘urgent treatment’ and when, where and how to access each type of care. In the view of the Task and Finish Group this would help ensure that all residents of North Tyneside know where and when to go for help. 

Finally, the Task and Finish Group also reached some conclusions regarding the matter of transport. Any patient attending the NSECH hospital in Cramlington for emergency care will most likely travel by ambulance, or as a patient in a car, given the serious and life-threatening nature of their condition. Taking this into account, transport for emergency care should not be in issue.

There may however be other reasons why North Tyneside residents need to travel to the NSECH site, such as attending other departments at the site for non-emergency care, such as the fracture clinic, or to visit family members in hospital. The Task and Finish Group found that in these cases, transport may become an issue for North Tyneside residents, particularly where residents rely on public transport. Evidence showed that in 2022/23 journey times on public transport had increased significantly for some North Tyneside residents.

The Task and Finish Group therefore recommended in their report that the Authority, working with partners, should explore what transport options might be implemented to improve accessibility to the NSECH site. This will be important for North Tyneside residents travelling for non-emergency reasons. 

The Chair outlined that the Task and Finish group had appreciated the support provided by officers of the Authority, both those who are based in the Council’s buildings and those operating from Rake Lane Hospital. It also valued the support and help offered throughout its work by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and by the Integrated Care Board. As Chair, Councillor Cox, on behalf Councillor Montague as Chair of both OSCFC and of the Task and Finish Group, wished to commend this report to both OSCFC and Cabinet.

Members of OSCFC stated that they had found the report very interesting and useful. In response to a query from a member, it was confirmed that as set out in the report the views of the public had been sought via work undertaken by Healthwatch. A member said that they wanted Rake Lane Hospital to be open 24 hours a day and that they also wanted Battle Hill Walk-In Centre to be reinstated. The Chair stated that it was her understanding the decision about where, when and how ‘emergency care’ and ‘urgent treatment’ would be delivered was one that was taken by the NHS and could not have been made by the local authority as it is not within the local authority’s powers to make such a decsion. A member commented that they were very happy with the Task and finish group’s work and the supporting evidence supplied.

The Chair asked members of OSCFC to vote on whether they accepted the recommendations of the Emergency Care Scrutiny Task and Finish Group in the report. On putting this to the vote, all members present except one member agreed to accept the recommendations of the Emergency Care Scrutiny Task and Finish Group.

Councillor Bones asked that the minutes record that he had not voted to accept the recommendations of the Emergency Care Scrutiny Task and Finish Group.