The Scrutiny Health & Social Care Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider several key issues, including waiting times for children's blood tests at Croydon University Hospital, winter resilience planning, and an update on the Adults Living Independently Transformation Programme. The committee was also scheduled to receive updates from Healthwatch Croydon and review the Cabinet's responses to previous scrutiny recommendations.

Children's Blood Test Waiting Times at Croydon University Hospital

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to receive a presentation on paediatric blood test waiting times at Croydon University Hospital. The report pack indicated that workforce pressures, including long-term sickness absence and staff turnover, had reduced the service to a single paediatric phlebotomist, leading to recruitment challenges and a backlog of appointments. Recovery actions were planned, including substantive recruitment, interim phlebotomy capacity, and temporary administrative support. The report also noted that while improvements had been made, available service data could not precisely quantify the total number of children affected or provide a full retrospective waiting time analysis.

Winter Resilience Planning Update 2026/27

A report was scheduled to provide an update on winter contingency plans for 2026/27. The plans were developed following a One Croydon Winter Summit and focused on prevention, early intervention, and supporting residents to remain independent at home. Key areas of focus were scheduled to include coordinated flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, strengthening neighbourhood-based care through multidisciplinary working, expanding care closer to home, and improving discharge processes. The report also highlighted a shift towards broader seasonal resilience planning, acknowledging pressures from heatwaves and other seasonal events beyond winter.

Adults Living Independently Transformation Programme

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the performance progress of the Adult Social Care and Health Directorate's Adults Living Independently transformation programme. A second programme health check, conducted by Newton, was scheduled to assess the sustainability of delivery, performance against key indicators, and the embedding of new working practices. The report indicated that overall programme performance remained strong, with projected benefit delivery exceeding budget expectations and savings ahead of target. A particular focus was scheduled for the older people service, examining residential and domiciliary care performance indicators. The report noted that while frontline practice had improved, performance within Older People Localities remained below target across all key performance indicators (KPIs).

Update from Healthwatch Croydon

A verbal update was scheduled to be provided by Healthwatch Croydon, covering their current projects. This was expected to include an overview of the Healthwatch England Hospital Discharge project and findings from their Community Pharmacy Project. The Community Pharmacy Project had gathered feedback from residents, highlighting high overall satisfaction but also concerns regarding medicine shortages, awareness of services, and communication about waiting times. Healthwatch was expected to recommend clearer communication regarding pharmacy services and improved public awareness campaigns.

Cabinet Response to Scrutiny Recommendations

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to review an up-to-date list of responses from the Cabinet to recommendations previously made by the Sub-Committee. This report serves as a standing item to ensure the Sub-Committee can monitor the Cabinet's responses to its recommendations, including details of accepted, partially accepted, or rejected recommendations, along with implementation plans.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2026-2027

The Sub-Committee was asked to note the most recent version of its Work Programme for 2026-2027. Members were also scheduled to consider whether any other items should be provisionally added to the work programme as a result of discussions held during the meeting. The report indicated that the lines of enquiry for some items were yet to be confirmed and that there were opportunities to add further items.