To consider such other business as, in the opinion of the Chair, should, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.
Minutes:
Dissolution of the Council’s Partnership with Northumbria Healthcare/
Proposed Partnership for 0-19 Public Health Services - Consultation
The Chairman agreed to consider this item as urgent business following concerns raised by a member arising from discussion of the above reports at the Health and Wellbeing OSC on 2 August 2021.
The Chairman had invited the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Adult Wellbeing and representatives from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The Leader had to leave the meeting early for personal reasons and the Cabinet Member was unavailable. Professor Alan Richardson, Chairman of the Trust and Claire Riley, Executive Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at the Trust were in attendance.
The Chairman advised the Committee that members had previously been briefed on the Council’s position regarding the proposal to dissolve the partnership but felt that it was necessary for them to have the opportunity to ask questions of the Trust.
· The Vice-Chair voiced her concern that the Leader of the Council was not present and it had been her preference that the Leader and Portfolio holder be available to take questions from the Committee, which would offer members a balanced view, rather than hearing only from the Trust.
· Members raised concerns about the conflicting information received to date from both parties regarding who wanted to terminate the partnership. The Partnership had been highly regarded for many years and the reason behind the termination had not been made clear.
· Members suggested there were numerous risks to the termination of the partnership, but questioned particularly the corporate and financial risk to the Council. Financial analysis had been requested from the Council at the meeting of the Health and Wellbeing meeting on 2 August 2021.
· members voiced concerns about the value of the partnership and felt the termination was going to affect patients and residents in Northumberland.
In response, Professor Alan Richardson, Chairman of the Northumbria Trust
informed the Committee that he had been pleased with the partnership, proud of what had been achieved and wanted the arrangements to continue, but the Trust’s Board had reluctantly chosen to terminate that partnership due to governance issues and concerns regarding future progress. He stated that he wanted to meet with the Council to explore how the arrangements could continue, particularly as the staff of both organisations worked well together.
In the absence of the Leader and the Portfolio Holder the Chief Executive Officer sought permission of the Chairman to address the Committee and to direct questions to the representatives of the Health Trust. The Chairman agreed.
Mrs. Lally also voiced concerns that officers had been left to answer question regarding this when the Leader and portfolio had been invited to attend the meeting. Referring to Professor Richards comments, she sought clarification on whether the Trust was withdrawing their notice of termination to the Partnership, as there had been no indication of this recent meetings with Executives of each organisation. Since the formal notice of termination in February, the Council have worked with services and staff to ensure a safe transfer for future arrangements. The matter of governance had been raised privately with the Trust’s board and confirmed that the Council had robust measures in place to comply with governance issues.
During meetings with the Trust, Mrs. Lally had proposed innovative models based on a more community based approach within services, which had been well received by the Chairman, however shortly after the notice of termination was received which came as a shock. There had since been numerous joint meetings which discussed the termination and mapped out how services and staffing was going to look going forward, how the Council would meet statutory functions and what the financial implications would be.
Mrs. Lally was therefore clear that discussions had already been had with the Trust culminating in the current position and expressed doubt as to the effectiveness of further discussions. She reported that informal Cabinet met on a weekly basis and the Leader had been fully briefed on the arrangements and supported them. The Council continued to assess risks and were focussed on putting in place arrangements to ensure a smooth transfer of services.
Members expressed concern at the appropriateness of the Trust, having issued a notice of termination, then in this public meeting declaring that it did not want the termination to have taken place. It was felt that there were other mechanisms that could have been used to prevent the termination. Members also felt that the Committee needed to be confident that the senior personnel in the partnership were able to work collaboratively.
Professor Richardson confirmed that he attended the meeting to answer questions from members. The Trust regretted issuing the notice, but it was due to differences in the direction the partnership was going and that there was no assurance of working collaboratively moving forward. The pride of the partnership and work carried out with the Council was reiterated. He stated that not all of the Trust’s work was centred around hospital beds and work had been done in the Community also. The suggestion that the notice could be withdrawn would be a matter for the Board, but he felt it would respond strongly by questioning whether the progress that it had originally sought, could be achieved.
Members noted that patients and residents had received a holistic approach to health and social care and expressed concern that services may diminish if the partnership was terminated.
Mrs Lally reiterated that the Trust has received repeated reports concerning governance at board meetings and any concerns were on oversight on the Trust’s behalf. She was disappointed that discussions appeared to reflect badly on staff who worked in the Services. In response to suggestions that elected members had not been fully informed regarding issues around the partnership, she stated that a Council report was presented to, and supported by, the previous administration which included the requirement of a fund for Adult Social Care transition. The Health and Wellbeing OSC had received reports regarding staff transfers and the terms and conditions. Until the transfers had been finalised the financial analysis would not be able to be finalised.
Although the Committee was disappointed that the Leader and Cabinet Member had not been available to respond to the issues raised, members agreed that it would be desirable if the partnership could continue. Councillor Oliver therefore proposed the following recommendation, seconded by Councillor Beynon:
“that the Cabinet be recommended to direct officers of the Council to meet officers of the Trust to determine whether a practical solution can be achieved to salvage what is an excellent relationship”
and on being put to the vote:
For – 7
Against – 2
was agreed.
RESOLVED that
(a) the information provided by the representatives of the Trust and the responses provided by the Chief Executive be noted, and
(b) the Cabinet be recommended to direct officers of the Council to meet officers of the Trust to determine whether a practical solution can be achieved to salvage what is an excellent relationship.