The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss St George's Trust performance, the annual Healthwatch report, adult social care and care technology. The committee agreed to set up a task and finish group on violence against women and girls.

St George's Trust Report

Kate Slemeck, Managing Director, and Lucinda Uthridge, Site Chief Medical Officer, from St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust presented a report on the trust's performance and other key issues.

Key discussion points:

• Maternity Services: Councillor Norman Marshall raised concerns about instability in leadership within maternity services. Ms Slemeck said an appointment was imminent for a group chief midwifery officer, and they were advertising for a site director of midwifery at St George's.
• Queen Mary's Hospital (QMH) Enhanced Primary Care Hub (EPCH): Councillor Geoffrey asked about the future of the EPCH at Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton. Ms Slemeck confirmed that the function and scope of the EPCH is under review, including potentially reabsorbing St George's staff into the Urgent Treatment Centre in Tooting. She said that no final decision had been made and that the Trust is committed to involving staff, patients, and communities in any proposals. Councillor George Crivelli noted that the unit is currently appointment only, and asked whether it could be considered to allow walk-ins. Ms Slemeck said that it could be considered, but it is currently commissioned to be an appointment-only service.
• Finances: Councillor Caroline de La Soujeole asked about the trust's £14 million deficit. Ms Slemeck confirmed that this was in line with their agreed deficit plan with NHS England, with an expected £40 million deficit for the year.
• Complaints: Councillor Geoffrey asked for more information about the number and nature of complaints. Ms Slemeck agreed to provide further information, noting that the top complaints tend to be around administrative processes, care and respect, and communication.
• Trevor Howell Ward: Councillor Geoffrey noted that Trevor Howell ward was mentioned twice in the report, once in relation to falls prevention and once in relation to infection prevention. Ms Slemeck said she was not aware of any particular problems with the ward.
• Carmen Birthing Centre: Councillor Crivelli raised concerns about proposals to move the Carmen Birthing Centre, saying that it may well be taking away a choice and a service that is available to women giving birth. Ms Slemeck said that no decision had been made, but that the centre is significantly underused and there may be more effective ways to continue to offer choice to local people.
• Corridor Care: Stephen Hickey, Chair of Healthwatch, asked for more detail on corridor care. Ms Slemeck said that the trust does not nationally report on corridor care, but they do collect their own data. She said that corridor care has come about as a result of ambulance handover change times, and that the trust is focused on reducing it to a minimum.
• Stillbirths: Councillor Geoffrey asked for an annual figure of stillbirths or neonatal deaths. Ms Slemeck agreed to include that in the next report.
• High-Intensity Users: Councillor Crivelli asked about plans to address high-intensity users of the emergency department. Ms Slemeck said that the trust has a high-intensity users group and that they are working with community partners to support people in their homes and give them better alternatives than coming regularly to EDs.

The committee noted the report for information.

Healthwatch Wandsworth Annual Report 2024-2025

Stephen Hickey, Chair of Healthwatch, introduced the Healthwatch Annual Report and noted that the government has announced that Healthwatch is to be abolished and its functions moved into the NHS and local authorities. He noted that this would require primary legislation and that there is a question mark about how that's going to proceed. He also noted that it will be a significant change in terms of independence.

Key discussion points:

• CQC Rating: Councillor Geoffrey congratulated Healthwatch Wandsworth on the good result of the CQC inspection.
• Awareness of Healthwatch: Councillor Crivelli asked how well-known Healthwatch is, saying that he thought not enough people knew about it. Mr Hickey agreed, saying that it's a general problem with lots of the organisations in the health service.
• Penny Dash Report: Councillor Graham Henderson said that he found the Penny Dash report very thoughtful and that he thought it was very important that there is a truly independent patient voice in the healthcare and social care system.

The committee noted the report for information.

Verbal Update on the CQC's Local Authority Assessment of Adult Social Care

Claire Tew, Assistant Director of Assurance and Innovation, provided a verbal update on the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) assessment of adult social care, noting that Wandsworth Council has been awarded a 'Good' rating.

Key discussion points:

• Outstanding Rating: Councillor Crivelli asked whether the council thought it could reach an outstanding rating. Ms Tew said that their ambition would certainly be to try and aim for that outstanding score.

Care Technology Service

Claire Tew, Assistant Director of Assurance and Innovation, introduced the care technology report.

Key discussion points:

• Compassion vs Gadgets: Councillor Marshall asked about balancing compassion versus gadgets. Ms Tew said that the technology doesn't take away the human at all and that most of the people receiving care tech, it will be in addition to other services.
• Other Boroughs: Councillor Geoffrey asked if any other boroughs are offering these kinds of services. Ms Tew said that expansion of care technology is very well established now nationally.
• Budget: Councillor Geoffrey asked if the budget of £550,000 was based on the expected number of people who could benefit from the care technology. Ms Tew said that the budget investment is the additional investment over above some current investment that we already have in the service.
• Integration with NHS: Stephen Hickey asked whether this is in parallel with or how integrated it is with what may be happening in the NHS as well. Ms Tew said that one of the ambitions of the strategy is to join up more with NHS partners across all the settings of care in the health sector.

The committee noted the report.

Work Programme

Councillor Lizzy Dobres, the chair, introduced the report on the work program and outlined the plan to set up a task finisher group on violence against women and girls.

Key discussion points:

• Age Group: Councillor Geoffrey asked what age group the task and finish group would be focusing on. Councillor Dobres said that they were not going to limit it at this stage and that all women and girls are going to be in the scope of this review.

The committee noted the report for information.