Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following items raised by members of the public:

(a)       Petitions: To receive any petitions presented by members of the public to the full Council or to the meeting itself;

(b)       Written Questions: To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12noon on the (insert date) 2017.

(c)       Deputations: To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the (insert date) 2017.

15.1    There was a Public Question from Linda Miller. Ms Miller asked:

I would like to ask this committee if they are concerned:
· that the number of treatments the CCG is proposing to remove from NHS provision has increased from 39 to 107, and that the list is now open-ended
· that, when told a particular procedure is not available, patients will face a choice: pay and go private, or go without, which will greatly increase health inequality.
· that “noting” what NHS England and the CCG are doing to our NHS may not be an adequate response if we want to prevent the creation of a two-tier health service.

15.2    The Chair responded:

“The HOSC is interested in the Clinically Effective Commissioning initiative and has been following its development for several months.

We have noted the expansion of CEC, but it is important to recognise that the majority of procedures added are in tranches 0 and 1, where the NHS is recalibrating its approach to ensure that treatment is consistent and most importantly evidence-based. We recognise that CCGs are focused on ensuring that all policies are based on robust clinical evidence.

As you point out, we do not yet have details of the later tranches of CEC. Whilst there is little point in speculating about what this might involve, we are committed to undertaking robust scrutiny of any plans to substantially change services. To this end we intend to form a joint committee with HOSCs from East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey which will examine any substantial change plans in depth and in public.”

15.3    Ms Miller asked a supplementary question:

Treating people according to need and not ability to pay is one of the founding principles of the NHS – and we expect our Councillors to support our right to             free treatment for all.

We would like to know how many people were referred for these 107 procedures in the last year, and exactly what changes are being proposed, so we can thereby estimate how many people are going to be affected by these cuts every year.

How many people need to be denied treatment for a change to represent a Substantial Variation in Service triggering a formal consultation?

15.4    The Chair told Ms Miller that a written answer to her question would be provided.