Agenda, decisions and minutes

Resolved: that Councillor John Muldoon be confirmed as the Chair and Councillor Coral Howard be confirmed as the Vice-Chair of the Select Committee.

Resolved: that Councillor John Muldoon be confirmed as the Chair and Councillor Coral Howard be confirmed as the Vice-Chair of the Select Committee.

Resolved: the minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a true record.

Resolved: the minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a true record.

There were no interests declared.

There were no interests declared.

There were none.

There were none.

Resolved: the committee thanked the officers for their presentations; noted the information presented; and agreed to receive an update in 6 months.

Before inviting officers to introduce the item the Chair noted the committee’s thanks to council officers, NHS staff, the voluntary sector, and everyone else who has been involved, for their tireless work during the Covid pandemic to support those in need.

Sarah Wainer (Director of System Transformation) introduced the item by outlining the current position of the health and care recovery plan and noting that a full review of the plan is in progress and due to be completed by the end of July.

Ben Travis (Chief Executive, LGT) then gave a presentation on the recent experience and current situation at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

1.1  It was noted that at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic there were around 300 Covid positive patients across the trust’s two sites (University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital). At the peak of the second wave there were almost 500 Covid positive patients across the sites.

1.2  These pressures created significant challenges around bed capacity, oxygen, and workforce in particular, with many colleagues needing to self-isolate or getting Covid themselves. Non-urgent service were also stood down and staff redeployed to deal with the unprecedented levels of pressure.

1.3  Mortality in the first wave (of those patients admitted to a bed) was 29.5% overall. In the second wave this reduced to 18.5% reflecting the work the whole system put into getting to grips with Covid.

1.4  The trust is staying vigilant about the likely possibility of a third wave in the late summer but is not expecting a similar experience to the first or second waves.

1.5  There are currently around 2,500 people that have been waiting more than a year for treatment. This is a significant challenge for the trust and a rigorous clinical prioritisation process has been agreed across southeast London to provide timely treatment to those most at risk.

1.6  Extra clinics are also being provided and some of the longest waiting patients are being moved to nearby trusts if they have shorter waiting times. There are plans to write to everyone on the waiting list to give them a realistic idea of when they will receive their treatments.

1.7  More virtual appointments are being made available, but the majority of patients are still being seen face to face. Around 25-30% of appointments are currently virtual.

1.8  It was also noted that emergency attendance at UHL (and across London) has increased significantly since January, but that more people are now being seen within the four-hour target. Lewisham and Greenwich Trust is currently seeing more patients within the four-hour target than any other trust in London.

1.9  The Trust has recently moved to an online booking system for blood testing services. This was intended to support infection prevention measures but has also presented operational challenges and caused frustration for some residents. The trust is improving the platform and the process for urgent requests but also noted that there has been a 40% increase in requests since April.

1.10  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Resolved: The committee agreed its work programme for the year ahead.

Resolved: The committee agreed its work programme for the year ahead for submission to Overview and Scrutiny Business Panel on 20 July.