Issue - meetings

Janet Spurling, Policy Officer, presented a briefing presenting an overview of the recent guidance for health scrutiny issued by the Department of Health in June 2014.

The guidance emphasised the holistic, wide ranging role that health scrutiny had beyond focussing on specific health services and holding commissioners and providers to account:-

-          The primary aim of health scrutiny was to strengthen the voice of local people ensuring that their needs and experiences were considered as an integral part of the commissioning and delivery of health services and that those services were effective and safe

-          Health scrutiny should be outcome focussed, looking at cross-cutting issues, including general health improvement, wellbeing and how well health inequalities were being addressed, as well as specific treatment services

-          Health scrutiny also had a strategic role in taking an overview of how well integration of health, Public Health and social care was working

The briefing also drew attention to:-

·           Health and Social Care Act 2012

·           Local Authority (Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Board and Health Scrutiny) Regulations 2013

·           Powers and duties

Local Authority powers

Local Authority requirements

Reporting and making recommendations

Powers and duties for the NHS

Wider range of “responsible persons” as service providers

Providing information

Local Healthwatch

·           Consultation and involvement on Service reconfiguration

Duty to consult

Responding to consultation

Referrals to the Secretary of State

Resolved:-  That the content of the briefing be noted.