[Councillor David Palmer arrived at
5.05pm.
Councillor Jo Rayner, Cabinet Member for
Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs arrived at 5.10pm.]
[Councillor Jo Rayner declared a non-pecuniary
interest as she worked at West Suffolk Hospital].
The Chair agreed to bring this item forward on
the agenda to enable the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and
Community Hubs to be present to present the Mildenhall Hub post
implementation report.
Councillor Margaret Marks, the Council’s
appointed representative on the Suffolk County Council Health
Scrutiny Committee presented report number OAS/WS/23/004, which set
out what was considered at its meeting held on 25 January
2023. The primary focus of the meeting
was:
-
The East of England Ambulance Service.
Attached to the report were the following
appendices:
-
Appendix 1 – Report from Councillor Marks
-
Agenda Item 5a – East of England Ambulance Service
-
Agenda Item 5b Evidence Set – East of England Ambulance
Service
Councillor Marks informed the Committee this
was her last report to the Committee sitting on the Health Scrutiny
Committee. In addition to the report,
Councillor Marks updated the Committee on Hospitals at Home and the
phlebotomy work she had been helping Councillor David Palmer with,
in Brandon, which Councillor David Palmer thanked her for at the
meeting. She then referred the Committee to the report.
The Committee considered the report in detail
and asked questions to which Councillor Marks provided
comprehensive responses. In particular
discussions were held on phlebotomists and training to take blood;
how the EEAST intended to improve the current service; Hospital at
Home; and how the Health Scrutiny Committee followed up
recommendations with the various health providers.
In response to a question raised clarifying
what phlebotomy was, Councillor Marks explained it was taking
bloods for testing. Staff were trained
in a day on how to draw blood, but they did not stay very long in
the job because staff were on the lowest pay scale, and it was all
they did. However, it was a good
starting point to get a foot on the career ladder in the
NHS. Most GP surgeries were unable to
keep up with demand, meaning patients then had to travel to another
facility to have their blood taken.
In response to a question raised on the EEAST,
Councillor Marks explained there was no straight forward answer on
how to improve the service. The
failings of the EEAST service were due to other parts of the NHS
system. An ambulance cannot discharge a
patient from the ambulance if a hospital has run out of beds,
unless discharging patients at the other end of the NHS
service. More work needs to be done on
early prevention and not on strategies, which Councillor Jo Rayner
(Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs) fully
supported.
The Chair thanked Councillor Margaret Marks
for her reports, knowledge and passion put into representing West
Suffolk Council on the Health Scrutiny Committee.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the report presented by Councillor Margaret
Marks. ...
view the full minutes text for item 213.