Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brian Lewis-Lavender and Hayley James.

None.

A panel member pointed out that the reference to Cabinet contained more detail than was discussed at the meeting. The Chair said officers had to align the Panel’s comments with the relevant council savings.

RESOLVED

The minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting

The Director of Public Health gave an overview of the report stating that physical activity is good for physical and mental health and helps to prevent long term conditions and has a positive impact on dementia.  We need to convey important messages such as it is never too late to get more physically active and that even a little activity leads to gains start with in health.

Merton has developed a self assessment tool which benchmarks how the borough is performing against the latest evidence on how to get more people physically active and showed good progress in a number of areas.  The Director said they would welcome support from the panel to make a bid to Sport England for some funding that can be used to identify local priorities and to provide more opportunities for Merton residents to be more active.

A panel member said they are part of a local organisation providing a range of services to the local community including physical activity and queried why it is so difficult to get funding for physical activity. The Director of Public Health said funding is a big challenge; we need to also use our existing resources more effectively by linking up different projects and signposting people between services.

A Panel member asked what practical steps are being taken to improve physical activity for fifty five plus age group. The public health commissioning manager reported that the NHS health checks programme is a prevention programme that supports residents between 40 and 74 years of age and includes a discussion and signposting onto physical activity programme. So far over one thousand people have benefitted from the programme.

A panel member asked how we engage with the voluntary sector. The Public Health Commissioning Manager said we work with the voluntary sector in a number of programmes including the befriending scheme and the Exercise for Life programme.

A panel member asked if we are conducting education programmes. The Director of Public Health said education is important but it is also essential to provide opportunities to people engage with physical activity so we will be working with the community to find out their needs.

A panel member queried the effectiveness of the NHS health check programme based on their personal experience.  Although they met the criteria they were not contacted and had to make their own appointment. This is a cause for a concern as many members of the community may not be proactive in this regard. The Public Health Commissioning Manager said It is a five year rolling programme and feasible that those towards the end of the programme have not yet been contacted and that the public health team have take up figures by each GP practice and would be able to monitor the success of the programme.

 A panel member was concerned that the council are withdrawing funding from community organisations that provide essential preventive services including physical activity exercises. They queried if there is any NHS Funding to provide services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Professor Andrew Rhodes, Chair of the Children’s, women’s diagnostics therapies and critical care division, gave an overview of the report stating that they suspended the Urogynaceology services in June last year as there were concerns about the safe running of the service.  A consultation was conducted with patients and staff and this is still on-going and they are still actively listening to all views.  A proposed decision will be taken to the Trust Board in March.

Professor Rhodes apologised on behalf of the Trust for the consultation. They recognise mistakes have been made and many lessons have been learnt from the process which will inform future consultations.

The purpose of the current consultation is to determine if the service should be re-configured and re-opened or closed. They need to address if there is safe provision for the nine hundred patients, it was agreed that they should be referred to Croydon because they have the required expertise, people had the option to go to other areas if they wanted to.

The Chair allowed the following speakers to address the panel;

Barbara Bohanna  - lead of the women’s campaign group which includes 22 Merton patients

In June people were informed that the service would be discontinued. The consultation was carried out in a shambolic way as the decision to end it was already taken before the consultation began. People had five days to respond to the consultation. People felt demeaned especially as phone calls were not answered or responded to. Patients were discharged back to their GP and they were deprived of the service. One patient who was dealing with incontinence had to take her three children on the bus to access the service at Croydon hospital.

Stephanie McPherson – Sulaman

The campaign has received 26,000 signatures to keep the service open, the service is a sham and people were given five days to respond to the consultation. It has also come to light that this service is stretched at Croydon so people are being referred to Purley hospital which is an even further travelling distance for most people. The Clinic at Croydon was set up in an emergency and is next to a Sexually Transmitted Infection clinic, which is inappropriate. Councillors are called upon to ask St George’s to keep clinic open.

A panel member asked if Croydon has the capacity for patients and specialist staff the run the Urogynaecology Clinic. Professor Rhodes said Croydon is well placed to run the service and is the only Trust in the sub region with a quality stamp accreditation.

A panel member asked why the consultant post was not re-advertised if the Trust was unable to appoint the first time. The consultation has clearly been a disgrace, and would like clarification about who has been involved in the decision making process.

Professor Rhodes said there has been a problem with the service and a difficulty in recruiting quality staff. The Trust was advised by an external colleague that the service was not safe. Attempts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The work programme was noted.