Terry Hallworth reports on the Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Governing Body meeting on 10th February

Update to Terry’s report

On 11th February Richard Dunne, Kirklees Scrutiny Officer, emailed that the draft Consultation Document and Questionaire will be publicly available on the Kirklees Council’s Joint Health Scrutiny Committee Webpage on 12th February (not the 15th as Greater Huddersfield CCG reported), along with the Agenda.

If you want to address the JHSC, tell Richard Dunne and he will put your name of the list of deputations. Further info from Richard Dunne is that the consultation will not proceed until this meeting has taken place.

The CCGs will be releasing the final draft of the Consultation Document on 12th February.

The CCGs and Joint Health Scrutiny Committee will have a public Scrutiny meeting on the 22 Feb, in the Council Chamber at Halifax Town Hall at 3.45pm

The Governing BodyChair, Dr Ollerton, and Carol McKenna, the CCG’s Chief Officer, will then sign off the document. That seems to presume no alterations will be necessary.

Consultation will then start on 27th Feb and will be for 14 weeks

They went into detail about what, where and how the CCG was going to consult but couldn’t or wouldn’t answer how they were going to advertise it.

A GP asked about how the elderly and infirm would be consulted as they had no internet and couldn’t get out. The condescending answer was:

‘We’ll ask their carers or get Community Champions (whatever they are) to contact them or maybe telephone them.’!!!

Someone asked:

“And what about the homeless?”

‘Hmmm we need a reach out group for them’

It all sounded a bit ad hoc.

The GP’s seemed to be asking more pointed questions about the consultation. Maybe that was because I said they were all toeing the party line without any dissent and their patients were losing trust in them and wouldn’t forget. They just weren’t as cock sure about everything.

I think they sense this is a subject people are actually taking an interest in.

The Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Governing Body meeting  was actually very interesting today and their attitude was remarkably different.

About 20 members of the public attended. Which is not a bad turn out.

A petition was handed over but only a small one from Salendine Nook Post Office.

Where’s the evidence for Care Closer to Home?

I asked what evidence the CCG had about the financial and patient care effectiveness of Care Closer to Home. McKenna quoted NHS England and the Francis report. I said they were apparitional not evidence. She appeared flustered when I asked for the documents and evidence and said she would send them by email. I’ll give it a week.

When I asked how Care  Closer To Home was going to cope with people being pushed out of hospital and into Care homes when care homes are closing, they answered that I should address that question to the council.

Lol. So much for integrated care!

Heart attack and stroke patients to go to Leeds

They have admitted that both heart attack and stroke patients would now be transferred to Leeds

Chair eventually shut up and listened

At the start of the meeting I told the CCG Governing Body that as they had said they would not be answering questions, I would take the allotted question time  to make a statement.

I managed to do this even though the Chair, Dr Ollerton, kept trying to stop me – but eventually he shut up and listened.

This is my statement

“The CCG has stated that it wishes to consult with the population and our representatives, the Council. But to-date you have treated both with disdain and contempt.

At the Kirklees Joint Health Scrutiny meeting on the 29th January you did not bring the Consultation Document for Councillors to scrutinise, but insulted the intelligence of the committee by bringing consultation questions that they should be asking you!!!.

A week later you gave the Scrutiny committee 8 hours to read and comment on the 60 page Consultation Document.

At no time has the Consultation Document been disclosed to the public.

This is not consultation but a dictatorial stance and both the councillors and public see it for what it is.

Is this the way you intend to proceed with the consultation?

The public are asking how many of the GPs who sit on the board will be at the consultation events. I suspect none.

I remind you there are 40,000 in the Lets Save Huddersfield A&E group. That’s 40,000 people who are unanimously against these proposals. Are you hoping the other 100,000 of the Huddersfield population will come out and support you?

That’s 40,000 who have already voted against your proposals and to-date not one in support.

I have yet to see a single dissenting vote or voice from the GPs and that smells of collusion and foregone decision making.

If the health systems in Huddersfield and Calderdale are in crisis then be open and honest and treat the public as adults.

Don’t refuse to answer any questions that challenge you.

Be open with the decision making data and stop hiding behind jargon and gobbledygook.

You say you want to engage with the public but apparently only on your terms. When the public want to engage with you that is another matter. All this gives a lie to wanting to listen to the public and give them what they want.

The people and patients are now voicing their distaste and distrust of the GP’s that sit on this board. Do you think your patients will simply forget if these proposals are forced through?

They will not.”

The last statement about distaste and disgust of the GP’s really rattled some of the GP’s who wanted to respond, but Ollerton shut them up.

The CCG also answered my and some others’ questions – but not all.