Agenda and minutes

1.1      RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 9 and 26 March be agreed as accurate records of the meetings.

2.1       The following non-prejudicial declarations of interest were declared:

Councillor Pauline Morrison – Borough Member of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority

Councillor John Muldoon - Lead Governor of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Councillor Paul Bell -Governor of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and member of the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Councillor John Paschoud – Member of the King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

3.1      The Chair welcomed the witnesses from the London Ambulance Service, London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police to the meeting.

            London Ambulance Service (LAS)

3.2         Graham Norton and Andrew Bell gave evidence to the Committee and the following key points were noted in relation to spending figures:

·           The organisation’s actual gross revenue expenditure for 2012/13 was £303.5m; for 2013/14 was £302.3m; and for 2014/15 was £317.7m.

·           The gross budgeted revenue expenditure for 2015/16 was £325.6m.

·           The actual gross capital spend for 2012/13 was £9.7m; for 2013/14 was £6.9m; and for 2014/15 was £15.9m.

·           The gross budgeted capital expenditure for 2015/16 was £20.7m.

·           Capital investment had increased as the service was investing in its fleet to ensure it had the right number of vehicles that were the right average age. Capital funding was also sometimes rolled forwards.

·           The gross budgeted revenue expenditure for 2016/17 and 2017/18 and the capital budgeted spend for the same years was not yet available as it was still being finalised.

3.3         It was noted that there had been a large reduction in staff recently (due to high attrition rates) and a recruitment programme was currently taking place. There had been a loss of qualified paramedics across the country as demand for paramedics had increased due to the wide range of work areas they were now employed in. This was presenting some performance challenges as demand for ambulance services was continuing to rise. In response to a question from a member of the Committee it was noted that paramedics did not receive comparable grants to nurses to cover the costs of training (paramedics need a paramedic science degree) but a case was being made to Health Education England in relation to this.

3.4         The current recruitment programme was focussing on Australia and New Zealand in particular, although there was also some recruitment activity taking place in Dublin. Australasia was a good source of new recruits as there was an oversupply of paramedics, their qualifications were recognised here, they spoke English and they were very keen. This meant that the cost of the recruitment exercise was worth it and 200 new paramedics had recently been recruited in this way. The recruitment process in Australia and New Zealand was as rigorous as in the UK and all recruits were tested before starting work. Staff retention was a key focus of the Trust in a bid to reduce attrition rates.

3.5         In response to further questions from the Committee the following key points were noted:

·         The LAS currently had no concerns about the A&E Department at Lewisham. Many hospitals were under pressure at the moment but Lewisham was still delivering and there had been fewer diversions recently, possibly as a result of campaigns to reduce inappropriate 999 calls and the provision of telephone advice to turn away less appropriate calls.

·         The 111 service was run separately from the 999 service with a separate control room in Beckenham although the control rooms were linked enabling effective triage.

3.6      RESOLVED:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.1      RESOLVED: That a referral be made to the next Mayor and Cabinet meeting recommending that the Mayor requests a full briefing on Forest Hill Station’s second fire appliance and the relevant Mayoral Direction.