Present:
Dr J Hendron (Chairman)
Mr P Berry
Mr T Gallagher (Deputy Chairman)
Ms C Hanna
Mr A McFarland
Ms M McWilliams
Ms S Ramsey
Mrs I Robinson

Apologies:
Rev R Coulter
Mr J Kelly

In Attendance:
Mr G Martin (Committee Clerk)
Mr D Harkin (Assistant Clerk)
Mrs K McFerran (Executive Support)
Mr G Neill (Administrative Support)
Ms J MacReynolds (Management Trainee)

Dr Hendron took the Chair at 2:07pm.

Private Session

1. Chairman's Opening Remarks

i. The Chairman welcomed Mr Graeme Neill, Committee Administrative Support, and Ms Jayne MacReynolds, NHS management trainee seconded to the Committee, to the meeting.

ii. The Chairman noted the excellent report and summary by the NI Cancer Registry on the survival rates of cancer patients in Ireland from 1993 to 1996, which was launched at Belfast City Hospital yesterday. A copy of the report will issue to all members.

On a related matter, the Chairman advised members that he had met with Dr Anna Gavin, who had requested a brief meeting with the Committee to discuss the threat to cancer registration currently posed by the need to have informed patient consent.

Agreed: The Clerk will liaise with Dr Gavin to offer her a slot at next week's Committee meeting.

iii. The Chairman reported briefly on the launch of the Hospital Campaign for the Rural West by The Hospitals Review Steering Group, which he had attended yesterday in the Long Gallery. The aim of the campaign is to secure a new area hospital in Omagh to serve the needs of the 150,000 plus population of the Rural West.

iv. The Chairman reported on his meeting yesterday with Ms Jo Daykin, Northern Ireland Drugs Strategy Co-ordinator, which he had set up following the recent drug and alcohol-related deaths of three young men in West Belfast.

While 36 three-year projects are currently being funded with £5.5m until March 2002 to tackle the problem of drugs, Ms Daykin had emphasised the need for continuity of funding for worthwhile projects. She further explained that while an additional £6.3m one-off budget from the Home Office for innovative projects was clearly welcome, she would like to have some flexibility in the usage of some of the funds to sustain current successful drugs projects or alcohol/solvent misuse projects. Ms Daykin will forward a list of the specific criteria for qualification for such funding, and has requested the Committee's support in lobbying the relevant Minister for more flexibility on the matter.

Agreed: The Chairman will write to the relevant NIO Minister, Mr Des Browne, to ascertain whether there is any room for manoeuvre on expenditure in relation to the above budget.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The minutes of the meeting of Wednesday, 4 July 2001 were agreed.

3. Matters Arising

i. Mr Andrew Hamilton will represent the Department on the PFI/PPP Inter-Departmental Working Group. The Clerk has arranged a Departmental briefing by Senior Officials for the Committee on the implications of PFI/PPP funding arrangements at the meeting on Wednesday, 12 September.

ii. The Chief Inspector of Social Services, Mr Paul Martin, has prepared a briefing paper on the inspection of residential care homes, which will be forwarded immediately to the Committee on Ministerial clearance.

iii. A substantive response from the Executive is expected soon to the Committee's letter regarding haemophilia.

iv. Following the Ministerial response to the Committee's query about the current level of funding from the Department for the Rape Crisis Centre, further concern was raised in relation to the serious impact that this was having on the service, which is reported to be becoming increasingly hard-pressed.

Agreed: The Clerk will initially write to the Rape Crisis Centre to request a report on how the lack of funding is impacting on services and other problems faced by the organisation.

4. Subordinate Legislation

Question put and agreed to:

That the Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee has considered the following Statutory Rules:

No. 296 - Food Protection (Emergency Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2001 and No. 299 - The Road Traffic (Health Service Charges) (Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

and, subject to the Examiner of Statutory Rules being satisfied as to their technical correctness, has no objection to the Rules.

5. Future Work Programme

Agreed: The draft Future Work Programme was agreed. The Clerk will additionally invite regional representatives of Marie Curie Cancer Care to provide oral evidence on the Inquiry into the Delivery of Cancer Services in NI. He will also confirm with the Ulster Cancer Foundation that its Patient Forum is representative of the four HSS Board areas.

6. Primary Legislation

The Committee noted the draft primary legislative programme for the year 2001-2002. This will include the Children (Leaving Care) Bill; Protection of Children & Vulnerable Adults Bill; Personal Social Services (Amendment) Bill; Health and Personal Social Services (No.1) Bill; and Health & Personal Social Services (No.2) Bill.

Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Department to express concern at the very tight timescale proposed for the HPSS (No.1) Bill.

7. Acute Hospitals Review Group Report: The Way Ahead

Agreed: The Clerk will prepare a draft paper on the Report's key points and a press statement for consideration at next week's meeting. This will include an emphasis on the need for urgent movement on the Hayes proposals for new streamlined organisational structures in the health service, with a phased implementation timetable and corresponding funding commitments.

8. Consultation Documents Received During Summer Recess

Agreed: The Clerk will prepare draft Committee responses to OFMDFM's consultation paper on a Victims' Strategy and the Department's consultation document 'The Employer of Choice: Caring for Staff - Caring for Services', which deals with developing a Human Resources Strategy for the HPSS. The Committee will consult the Assembly Research Team in formulating its response to the former paper.

9. Synopses of Written Responses to Inquiry into Delivery of Cancer Services in Northern Ireland

The Committee noted the summary of 30 written responses, which had raised a wide range of issues.

10. AOB

i. The Clerk will write to accept an invitation from Belfast City Hospital for the Committee to visit the hospital on a mutually convenient date.

ii.A request from the Joint Committee on Health and Children in Dáil Éireann to defer its visit planned for September until October was noted.

iii. Agreed: The Committee will not comment on the inquiry by the Assembly's Education Committee into early years provision. The Clerk will write to thank that Committee for the opportunity to input into the inquiry.

iv. Agreed: As the Committee was concerned about the NI Fire Service's performance, based on comments made in the recent inspection report by the HM Fire Service Inspectorate, the Clerk will initially invite responses from the Chief Fire Officer and the Fire Service Trade Union. He will enlist the Committee's Assembly Researcher to provide a critical examination of the performance of the Service.

v. Agreed: The Clerk will arrange an informal lunchtime Committee meeting with the Junior Doctors' Committee of the BMA. He will request from the Department an update on the implications for the health budget of the recent legislation affecting hospital doctors' working hours contracts.

vi. Ms McWilliams urged that all future Committee meetings should be held in public session, where possible.

vii. Concern was expressed that the Committee had not been given details on the extra funding that was recently made available by the Department to the four HSS Boards for the drugs Embrel and Remicade, which help combat rheumatoid arthritis. The Clerk has already written to the Department on this matter.

viii. Members expressed concerned about the decision to withdraw the drug Beta Interferon from the NHS for new patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, as a result of advice from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.

Agreed: The Clerk will write to the Department to voice members' concern and to request an explanation for the rationale behind the decision, which differentiates unfairly between existing patients (who can continue to be prescribed the drugs) and new cases.

ix. Agreed: The Committee will consider at next week's meeting a letter to the Chairman from the dermatology consultants at Belfast City Hospital urging support for a prompt Ministerial decision on the centralisation of dermatology.

x. Agreed: Following a recent decision by the health secretary, Mr Alan Milburn, to reverse the government's policy on allowing UK patients to seek NHS treatment in other EU states, the Clerk will write to the Department to request more information on the ruling's applicability to patients on waiting lists in Northern Ireland.

11. Date and Time of the Next Meeting

The next Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, 12 September 2001 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings.

The meeting ended at 3:40 pm.

DR J HENDRON
COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
September 2001 `

4 July 2001 / Menu / 12 September 2001