SSONHS/38 Degrees Joint Meeting: Minutes (12/11/12)
Summary of Action Points:
-Ali to circulate 38 Degrees CCG petition.
-Sat 24th Nov – Meet at 12 at town hall to do petition work. Julie Crookes to organize other activities at Hunters Bar area.
-Dec 6th – All to attend next CCG meeting, ‘show of feeling’ outside. Meet outside NHS building on Prince of Wales road in Darnall, 1.30pm.
-Jon to draft letter to Sheffield CCG asking it to prioritise NHS provision,referring to its constitution, the related 38 Degrees guidance and theprevious statementfrom Tim Moorhead (chair of Sheffield CCG)
-Ali to keep finding info on Minor injuries Unit – future actions to be planned.
-Tom to draft formal response to proposed closure of dementia wards. To start petition. Future actions to be planned soon.
-Members to do a demo outside Terry Stevenson lectures on 22nd Nov if possible. To be arranged on email list.
-Members attending from Trades council to circulate events and to work on union contacts.
-Next planning meeting on Mon 10th Dec, 7pm, Victoria Hall.
Full Minutes:
Welcome: Jon chaired the meeting and introduced how the joint meeting had come about. Julie gave further details on how the CCG meeting had been arranged through 38 degrees. Finally, Ali introduced Sheffield save our NHS (SSONHS) and talked about a few of its activities over the last couple of years.
(Item 1): Clinical Commissioning group (CCG) and Any Qualified Provicer (AQP) Discussion:
-Jon gave us a quick update on the state of the CCG in Sheffield. Although it’s not quite at the operational level it will be soon. The CCG has told SSONHS it wants to use public sector service providers where possible but the government’s AQP ruling means they have to consider private sector as well. –The CCG has started to look at providing services for 3 community areas and has allowed private sector organizations to ‘bid’. The private sector companies will be announced on Fri 16th. CCG will be go public in official capacity from 14th Jan.
-Contributions from the floor announced the formation of a CCG watchgroup in north Derbyshire, who so far have been struggling to find facts. Ali passed round the 38degrees CCG document and contact info to the North Derbyshire group.
-Julie highlighted how campaigners in Hackney had used 38degrees to force their CCG to sign up to a list of demands from the 38 degrees website.
-Ali mentioned the next CCG meeting -6th Dec and suggested campaigning around that as well as the private sector AQP providers the CCG will be announcing soon.
-Contributions from the floor asked if there was a way of one of us becoming a member of a CCG. Jon clarified that we will not be able to become formal members but can attend all the public meetings as well as lobby members on an individual basis if we want to.
-Contributions from members of Barnsley SONHS spoke of the success of the Keep Our NHS Public postcard campaign in targeting specific GP surgeries, a direct action campaign worth considering.
-Contributions from the floor emphasised how we should be concerned with ‘conflict of interests’ from members of the CCG eg: bribes from pharmaceutical companies. Make this focus of our scrutiny.
-Members attending from the trades council were concerned SSONHS were taking an anti-union stance after Jon’s initial welcome described us as Un-affiliated. This was quickly cleared up by Jon and other union members attending the meeting. More work will be done in the future to get unions on board with our campaigning.
-Action Points for CCG campaigning:
-Next CCG meeting on the 6th Dec at the NHS building on Prince of Wales road from 2pm. Members will meet outside the meeting at 1.30 as a demonstration of feeling about the CCG. Press will be contacted and invited to attend.
-Ali will send round the petition from 38 degrees, which may be used on the 6th and presented to the CCG.
-Following suggestions from Barnsley SONHS we will meet at 12 midday on Sat 24th outside the town hall to do some petitioning and street work around the CCG issue. More demos at other locations (eg: hunters bar will be arranged).
(Item 2) Cuts watch
Minor injuries unit (MIU): -Ali reported on rumours that had been circulating about the closure of the minor injuries unit at the hallamshire hospital. Andrew Cash the chief exec of the teaching hospitals trust has yet to confirm details but has said the service may not be reprieved. The service will definitely exist until March but otherwise no details have surfaced yet. Ali suggests we should raise alarms before the decision is made. Although jobs will still exist and be re-deployed, no clinical reason to shut the MIU
AP – Public petition to be arranged for DEC, after more details surface consider a public meeting in JAN and step up activity.
NHS Direct: -Jon briefly mentioned that it looks like Sheffield amongst other places around the country will be losing their NHS direct service. More details to follow.
Dementia Respite centres: Tom gave a summary of what’s happening to three dementia respite units across the city that are currently run by the council and the NHS. The council has proposed the eventual closure of three of the homes with day services possibly being re-located in community settings and the introduction of personal budgets for carers. To summarise briefly there will be job losses and a loss of overnight respite centres in the city, as well as the physical loss of two purpose-built dementia centres.
-Contributions from the floor suggested drawing on documents done by the pensioners national convention which heavily criticised the use of personal budgets.
-AP: Tom to draft a formal response to council from SSONHS. Petition to be continued and future actions to be decided soon.
Other Cuts: - Lucy highlighted rumours of potential ward closures at the Nether edge mental health hospital, it seems elderly mental health wards under particular threat. There have also been rumours that services will close and may be merged with wards at the Northern General Longley centre (Eg: Daleside and Hawthorn).
General contributions:
-Recent comments from government suggest that not even the tories believe that the public sector cuts will succeed, as they haven’t anywhere in the world so far.
-All agreed that this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as cuts to services are concerned and we all have lots of work to do.
-All agreed on sentiment that these cuts aren’t financially necessary but are part of an ideological attack on the public sector. About privitisation.
-Also have to be aware of attacks on the working conditions and agenda for change on staff who are still at work in the NHS.
-Perhaps a march round the city should be planned in the near future.
-On 22nd Nov, Terry Stevenson will be talking at the medical school at hallamshire, 6.45. Lots of NHS management will be there so would be good to do a stall outside. Details and arrangements to follow.