Lancashire Health scrutiny councillors asked to support STPs

Health scrutiny councillors in Lancashire are being asked to approve STPS..

The Department of Health & NHS England have paused STPs for a twelve week public consultation as from last Friday 2nd March, yet today, Monday 5th March at county hall Health scrutiny councillors are being asked to approve them..

An email has been sent to councillors on the committee explaining the pause for National public consultation and councillors have been asked to defer any support and agreement until after the consultation...


Dear Health Scrutiny Councillor
Subject: The Department of Health & NHS England have paused STPs for a twelve week public consultation as from last Friday 2nd March, yet on Monday 5th March at county hall you're being asked to approve them....questions need asking (see below)

A letter to the Commons Health Select Committee in February from the health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the details of exactly how Accountable Care Organsations (ACOs) will work, including the contract terms involved, need to be made clear before more work is done [1]. *Sustainability & Transformation Plans are eventually to become ACOs. Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) is the latest name for ACOs used confusingly in Monday's scrutiny agenda item 5. There are also currently two legal challenges to the validity of ACOs via judicial review.

That hasn't however stopped those pursuing STPs at local level from trying to get agreement from other partners such as scrutiny councillors like yourselves.

Based on the above, please read page 43 of the Agenda item five titled "Current Lancashire and South Cumbria (STP) Level activity" and  ask the following questions at Monday's Health scrutiny committee then call for deferral until after the public consultation on ACOs which started last Friday 2nd March and ends in May 2018...

QUESTION 1: The public consultation about Accountable Care Organisations (ACO's) started at the parliamentary Health select committee only last Friday 2nd March and lasts twelve weeks, yet bullet points (a) and (d) on agenda item 5 is asking us to 'support' action that enables rollout of STPs across Lancashire & South Cumbria, including five ACOs (now called Integrated Care Partnerships or 'ICP' for short). Why are we today being asked to support and hence approve these ACOs/ICPs when public consultation on them has only just started?

QUESTION 2: Agenda item 5: The item on STPs appears to have been included as bullet points under the banner of health inequalities and life expectancy. Whilst this area is generally supported, worryingly, bullet point (f) states that due to declining funds and resources "short term demand management initiatives are likely to be prioritised over strategies to address inequalities".

What exactly does 'demand management' mean? Does this not indicate that 'demand management' - which many see as rationing of healthcare and medicines - will take precedence over strategies that deal with healthcare inequalities and how funds are distributed across communities classed as deprived areas?

QUESTION 3: Do other members not agree, that if we as scrutiny councillors support Agenda item 5 we will be agreeing to something the public and MPs do not understand and have as yet not commented on. Yet bullet points (a) and (d)are  asking us to make a judgement on these ACOs without knowing all the facts. Are we expected to do that whilst consultation has only just started?

MOVE: Consultation about what Integrated Care Partnerships/STPs/ ACOs has only just started. To make a decision to support them as in Agenda item 5 at today's meeting would pre-empt the outcome of the ongoing consultation. I/we move that a decision on supporting agenda item 5 titled "Current Lancashire and South Cumbria (STP) Level activity" be deferred until NHS England and the department of health have completed their public consultation to enable us to make a better informed judgement on what exactly we are supporting.


-- Ends --

ACOs Paused for consultation
[1] http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/News/service-reconfiguration/Page-4/hunt-to-pause-accountable-care-roll-out-after-mps-voice-great-deal-of-concern

Health Scrutiny Agenda for Monday 5th March

SUPPLEMENTARY (OPTIONAL)

Agenda item 5 also finishes stating: "These actions will also address the priorities set by the Health and Wellbeing Board".

What are these 'priorities' of the Health and Wellbeing Board? How do these 'priorities' affect the public? and are the Health & Wellbeing Board aware of the pause for consultation before going ahead with STPs/ACOs?

attached: Agenda reports pack (see page 43 onwards)