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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE IN ROOM 135, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS AT 10.30 AM ON MONDAY 10 JANUARY 2000 Present: Dr J Hendron (Chairman)
Apologies: Ms P Armitage In Attendance: Mr G Martin Mr D Harkin
Dr J Hendron took the Chair.
1. Additional Agenda Item Agreed: As an additional item on the agenda the Committee will ask the Minister to comment on the severe problems currently affecting the acute health sector in Northern Ireland.
Mr Berry withdrew from the meeting at 10.44 AM and the Minister and her officials entered at10.45 AM. 2. Presentation by the Minister on Maternity Services in Belfast Additional Panel Members: Mr Clive Gowdy, Permanent Secretary The Chairman welcomed the Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brún, to her first meeting with the Committee and asked her to explain the background to the maternity services proposals and give a summary of the consultation process to date. The Minister welcomed the opportunity to speak to the Committee, as she was most keen to hear Members' views, which would help to inform her decision on maternity provision. The Minister stated her aim is to reach a decision that will provide the best maternity service possible, and that this will inevitably involve forging a closer partnership between staff on both sites. She emphasised the importance of making an early decision as any further delay will impede the delivery of services and affect staff morale. Also, the siting is part of a wider plan for services -for example, the new cancer centre - and must be resolved before a decision can be reached on the usage of the spare capacity in the City Hospital Tower Block. The consultation process ran from July 1999 to November 1999 and the unprecedented level of responses, in excess of 5000, evidenced its comprehensive nature covering a broad range of arguments. The Minister underlined her commitment to implementing a decision that will provide equality and fair treatment for all, and referred to the PAFT appraisal which concluded that neither long-term option would disadvantage either community. Finally, the Minister advised Members that she aimed to reach a decision within a matter of weeks (after visiting both sites) and was therefore seeking written comments from the Committee by 20 January.
There followed a question-and-answer session, which is summarised in Annex A.
3. Update on the Acute Services Crisis by the Minister The Minister advised that the services had been under very severe pressure in the last few weeks given the sustained demands placed on them, and, while these had shown some signs of diminishing, overall difficulties remained. A number of factors had contributed to the problem. First, the flu epidemic had led to unprecedented levels of patients. And, of course, staff are not immune to illness, with staffing levels down by as much as 30% in some hospitals over the recent period. The demographic trend showing a continuing rise in the elderly population will inevitably affect the demands on the service and this will have implications for long-term funding and strategy. The Minister ordered that immediate measures be taken to help tackle the beds shortages, including the deferral of non emergency operations, the opening up of day palliative wards for in-patients, deployment of agency nurses and extra shifts for staff. The winter months always bring particular demands and the Minister acknowledged the m£7.6 allocated by her predecessor in recognition of an increase in pressures overall. In order to get the best possible feedback, the Minister has asked the Boards to examine how they spent their allocation of the extra funding; what precisely the extra demands were; and what lessons were learnt. If necessary, the Minister will find the extra money to meet the cost of the recent emergency measures from the Department, but she will be seeking the Executive's approval at its meeting on Tuesday 11 January to set aside the funding from its general budget. She will be also bidding for greater resources in terms of the long-term health provision. The Minister emphasised the need to look at the overall picture for the longer-term needs as the problem is not just one of resources. Accordingly, as part of a review of HPSS, she has commissioned the Chief Medical Officer to undertake a review of the availability and use of intensive care beds, and the Chief Inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate to review Care in the Community.
The Chairman thanked the Minister and her officials for their presentation, and they left the meeting at 12.22 PM.
4. Date and Time of Next Meeting Agreed: The Committee will next meet in Room 135 at 1.00 PM, one hour ahead of the scheduled time, on Wednesday 12 January to allow time to discuss a written comment on maternity provision by the Minister's deadline of 20 January.
DR J HENDRON COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN |
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