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Health Service Forum South East
Minutes of a regular meeting of the Health Service Forum S.E. held at 7.30 p.m.on 10th June 2008 in the Larkfield Centre
Contents
Alistair Watson, Chairman, SPT
Elected Members of Health Boards
Welcome
Margaret Hinds welcomed our guest speaker Alistair Watson, Chairman of SPT, who spoke on the Access to Healthcare Plan developed in 2007 in conjunction with the health boards, CHCPs, local authorities and community transport providers.
Alistair Watson, Chairman, SPT
The objectives;
l ensure best use of the range of transport resources serving healthcare facilities to improve the quality and efficiency of transport provision
l promote awareness of travel choices
l promote improvements to transport infrastructure and services
l provide accessible, accurate and timely transport information
l promote travel plans and active travel
l enhance accessibility for people from rural and remote areas
l take account of the inter-relationship between land-use planning strategies and access to healthcare facilities.
Over the past year several projects have been developed:
l The Hospital Evening Visitor Scheme which covers Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, East Renfrewshire CHP and South Lanarkshire CHP and serves six hospitals. SPT provide the call service facility, booking and management.
l Traveline and patient appointments; This project has identified how the NHS could make better use of the Traveline system to provide a personal travel plan for each patient and issue the plan along with an hospital appointment. A pilot scheme will be launched in autumn 2008 in North Glasgow.
l New South Glasgow Hospital complex; SPT has been involved in some aspects of the planning of the new South Glasgow Acute Hospital through responses to the Transport assessment prepared as part of the outline planning application for the complex. They also have worked with the Health Board in the preparation of a travel plan for the site which encourages patients (approx 750,000), staff (approx 11,000) and visitors where feasible to access the hospital by foot, cycle or public transport.
Mr.Watson is informed that within three years of the completion of the new South Acute Hospital traffic could increase by 96%. He wants a meeting with the Health Minister, operators and comunities to replan the whole of the Glasgow network.
What is needed is a transport system on the hospital grounds that is frequent, reliable and clean. The SGH needs a bus station as does the Victoria ACAD. Lobbying our MSPs was suggested. With traffic volume increasing at 8-9% annually the road system around the new complex simply will not cope with traffic. There could be tailbacks of traffic for miles around the hospital. Vast amounts of money are needed to create new transport networks and our politicians do not seem to have the enthusiasm for this. There is only six years before the new South Acute Hospital should open and in 2014 the Commonwealth Games will definitely take place - a very short period of time for major planning and execution of a new road system!
Recently public meetings have been held in Govan to discuss the parking in streets around the SGH to avoid parking charges on site. The GG&C Board did not carry out an assessment of what vehicles would be displaced from the hospital site when charges were introduced. The Board has always maintained that parking off site is not their concern. Mr. Watson is of the opinion that all developers should be required to produce a traffic management plan when applying for planning permission.
Gartnavel hospital will be served by a new three-platform station at Hyndland East at a cost of £40 million.
The SPT continues to meet the Health Minister and Greater Glasgow & Clyde Board to discuss the above issues.
Margaret Hinds thanked Alistair Watson for his informative presentation and the frank answers to questions from members.
Apologies
Apologies were received from David Smith, Irene Addie, Dorothy Walls, Douglas McGregor, Betty Milne, May McClelland
Minutes
The draft minutes of the 13 May 2008 were accepted as a correct record and the adoption proposed by James Sandeman.
Matters Arising
The vast majority of outpatient clinics for SW residents will be provided at the new South Acute Hospital. We wonder how the Health Board is going to staff the clinics at the SGH and those at the ACAD and inpatient surgery and some day surgery at the SGH. One of the driving forces behind the acute strategy was the lack of expert staff.
Correspondence;
1) A letter was sent to the Larkfield Centre asking if we could give a report at their AGM on 23rd June. No reply
2)
A letter was sent to the Chief Exec. of NHS Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon and the Chairman of GG& C Board asking who is going to have the ultimate responsibility for controlling the work and cost of the New South Acute Hospital. No reply
Scanners at the Victoria ACAD
Will these be used between 9 am and 5 pm five days a week? What will happen to these very expensive machines after hours? Will they be available for hire to, for example, BUPA, Sainsbury’s, and Royal Bank of Scotland?
The Royal Bank of Scotland is donating a state of the art scanner to Lothian Health Board and 25% of the usage will be given to Royal Bank employees. We wonder if the bank will contribute to the wages of the radiologists and radiographers and to the maintenance of the equipment? Will any of their staff who are found, as a result of their scans, to be in need of treatment, jump the NHS queue?
Elected Members of Health Boards
Nicola Sturgeon, Minister for Care and Well-being is committed to having elections of members of health boards and the Forum endorses this decision.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer presented a balance sheet to the end of June showing a sum of £2416.76 in the bank.
Molly Taylor
Margaret Hinds spoke of the death of Molly Taylor, a long-standing member of the Forum and a staunch supporter of our campaigns. Molly died two weeks ago in the Mansionhouse Unit ward S1 and received great care from the staff during her stay. The members agreed unanimously that donations totalling £50 should be shared by the Mansionhouse Unit and the Friends of the Beatson. The decision was taken in conjunction with the wishes of Molly’s family.
Next Meeting
The Forum will have a recess in the months of July and August and we look forward to seeing members return with renewed vigour on Tuesday 9 September 2008 at
7.30 p.m. in the Larkfield Centre.
