Agenda and draft minutes

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 January 2025 as a true and correct record of the proceedings and to be signed by the Chair.

Resolved:-

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2025 were approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

The following declarations of interest were made:-

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public or the press.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

There were no items on the agenda that required the exclusion of the press or members of the public.

To consider a presentation in respect of the development of the Same Day Emergency Care Centre at Rotherham Hospital.

The Chair welcomed the Managing Director, Bob Kirton and the Chief Operating Officer, Sally Kilgariff, TRFT to the meeting and invited them to introduce the presentation.

The Managing Director, TRFT explained that they had recently taken up the role previously occupied by Michael Wright who had regularly attended the Commission’s meetings, having undertaken the same role previously at Barnsley. They were now in their third month of getting to know and understand the Trust and were working closely with partners through the Health and Wellbeing Board, Place Partnership and Rotherham Together Partnership.

The Managing Director, TRFT outlined their intention to set out the plans for the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Centre, which was essentially an extension of the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre (UECC) at the hospital.

They explained that the UECC was set up in 2017 and had proved very successful. The opportunity was presented to obtain some national funding through NHS England following a rigorous process that concluded in December 2024, which was pursues by the Trust with the support of the Board due to increased attendance at the UECC.

The Managing Director, TRFT explained that TRFT felt it was important to engage with the Health Select Commission at an early stage to offer an opportunity to influence the development of the SDEC in a way that reflected the needs of Rotherham people.

They described that the SDEC represented a £7 million investment through the national Additional Capacity Targeted Investment Fund (ACTIF), which aimed to increase urgent emergency care capacity and same day emergency care capacity within departments and the associated benefits to patient flow.

The Managing Director, TRFT summarised the practical purpose of the SDEC, and explained that when a patient presented at an emergency department, health professionals often knew what the patient needed but struggled to deliver the care required within the available space.  The SDEC provided the additional space needed to deliver care in one location, which reduced the need for costly and time-consuming admission which did not always deliver optimal patient experience.  Ultimately, its purpose was to support Urgent and Emergency Care demand, improve timely access and patient outcomes.

The SDEC implementation had also offered the opportunity to unlock additional benefits which addressed issues elsewhere within the Trust such as pre-op assessment, sexual health and the fracture clinic.

The Managing Director, TRFT explained that the Trust had had to move at pace to secure the capital, considerations around workforce and clinical models were simultaneous workstreams. They explained that staff engagement was undertaken, patient engagement and public engagement which took place the day prior to the Health Select Commission meeting. They outlined some of the areas of discussion from the public engagement event including accessibility for people with neurodiverse needs and dementia, the toilet facilities and kitchen facilities etc.

The Managing Director, TRFT explained that the aim was for the SDEC to open in June 2025, whilst the overall project comprised of a number of phases.  The Chief Operating  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To consider a presentation in respect of steps being taken to address elective care waiting times in Rotherham Hospital.

The Chair invited Bob Kirton, Managing Director, TRFT and Sally Kilgariff, Chief Operating Officer, TRFT to introduce the presentation.

The Managing Director, TRFT explained the purpose of the presentation was to illustrate planned care waiting times. They wanted to emphasise that the Trust recognised the personal impact on individuals on waiting lists, and acknowledged that whilst the presentation contained a lot of numbers, they remained focussed on recognising that each number represented an impacted individual, and that each individual impact was felt more widely through family members, colleagues, employers and so on.

They described the data provided within the presentation as an overview of the operational context of referrals into TRFT, but added that every aspect of planned services delivered were measured.

The Managing Director, TRFT felt that it was important for Councillors to note that there had been significant increases in waiting lists post pandemic, which was a national issue.  In addition, the impact of industrial action in 2024 had impeded ability to reduce waiting lists.

Their intention was to provide an overview of the current waiting list, an overview of current performance in relation to the referral to treatment standard (RTT), which was the national 18 week standard, but also the diagnostics six week standard. The national ask of the NHS at the time of the meeting was not to have anyone waiting over 65 weeks for treatment, and an updated on TRFT’s position in relation to that would be outlined, alongside details of initiatives planned to improve quality and delivery of patient care.

With respect to elective and diagnostic referrals, the key point to note was the volume of referrals to the Trust, which for 2025 was approximately 9 ,000 a month in the year to date. That was higher than 2024 and significantly higher than prior years.  The same level of increase was seen in diagnostic referrals as well, all of which exerted pressure on the service.

From an improvement initiative perspective in respect of referrals, the teams were digitally working clinical triage at the point of referral.  Where specialist advice could be provided this was done, and the Trust linked up with primary care and others to provide that advice and support. This was intended to ensure that TRFT was also optimising outpatient clinical clinic capacity. A comprehensive review was also underway to ensure processes aligned with the Trust access policy, and national policy to ensure that high quality care was delivered to the patients who needed it most. Things were increasingly evening out since the pandemic, but during that period there was the need to prioritise patients based on clinical need.

There was a range of public health initiatives that were integrated to improve demand management and patient outcomes. GPs held frustrations with certain pathways such as orthopaedics, where ongoing opiate prescriptions were required for pain management whilst awaiting treatment.  The ‘Waiting Well’ initiative was one of the mechanisms intended to address those frustrations, which considered the offer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

To consider the Health Select Commission’s work programme for 2024/2025.

Resolved:-

That the Health Select Commission:

1.  Approved the work programme.

2. Agreed that the Governance Advisor was authorised to make any required changes to the work programme in consultation with the Chair/Vice Chair and report any such changes back to the next meeting.

The JHOSC meeting scheduled to take place on 12 March 2025 was cancelled. As such, there are no minutes or recommendations to receive on this occasion.

Members were advised that the JHOSC meeting scheduled for 12 March 2025 was cancelled.  The meeting dates for the next municipal year were to be confirmed.  Relevant updates and copies of minutes would be shared following each meeting held.

To consider any item(s) which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There was no urgent business to discuss.  However, the Chair reminded members that Quality Accounts were expected imminently and requested that any members interested in reviewing and responding to Quality Accounts that had not already made themselves known to the Governance Advisor do so at the earliest opportunity to ensure their inclusion in meeting arrangements.