How you can help us Leeds and West Yorkshire public meetings

West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/about

ICS made up of 5 ‘Places’ – Bradford and Craven; Calderdale; Leeds; Kirklees; Wakefield District

Each ‘place’ will have an integrated care board committee to make decisions, similar to the West Yorkshire integrated care board (e.g. ‘Leeds Committee of the West Yorkshire ICB’ https://www.healthandcareleeds.org/about/committee/)

ICB Chair – Cathy Elliott; ICB Chief Exec – Rob Webster

Papers are published on line 5 days before the meeting

Members of the public can ask a question at the beginning if they attend in person or can watch video link and have their question read out for them. See link below for submitting question which has to be done 24 hours before meeting; papers made available 5 days beforehand and question has to relate to something on the agenda. https://www.westyorkshire.icb.nhs.uk/contact/submit-question

 

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Board https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/meetings/partnershipboard

Public can ask questions at the beginning of the meeting in person, or submit questions as for IC Board.

Chair: Councillor Tim Swift (leader of Calderdale Council)

Vice-chair: Cathy Elliott

 

Leeds Health and Care Partnership https://www.healthandcareleeds.org

Leeds Committee of the West Yorkshire ICB https://www.healthandcareleeds.org/about/committee/

“The Leeds Committee of the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board will make decisions about the best way to allocate resources across the city to have the biggest impact on improving health outcomes and people’s experiences and reducing inequalities.”

Chair: Rebecca Charlwood; ICB Accountable Officer: Tim Ryley

Meetings every two months. Public can ask questions at the beginning in person.

 

Leeds (Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles) Scrutiny Board

https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=1090&Year=0

“The boards are made up of elected councillors, and on some boards, co-optees. The boards may require the attendance of senior councillors, council staff or NHS staff at their meetings and whilst they do not make decisions, they aim to influence those who do by making public recommendations based on the evidence they have gathered, about how services can be improved for local residents. Purpose of this board is to focus on services for adults and public health services to monitor progress towards improving health, lifestyles and quality of care across the city; and providing oversight of integration and partnership working within and between the council and health bodies. The Board will also oversee the active lifestyle related functions and activity across the city”.

Monthly meetings. Public cannot ask questions but can apply to chair in advance to make a deputation. Leeds KONP wrote to previous chair saying Board needed to let public speak, in line with arrangement for other committees, but no response (then covid intervened).

Chair: Abigail Marshall Katung (Lab); Email Abigail.MarshallKatung@leeds.gov.uk

West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Board https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=1056

“The joint committee brings together West Yorkshire authorities to provide an overview of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Plan and the work of the various boards that form part of the overall governance arrangements for the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership“.

Access to the Meeting: streamed live on Calderdale Council’s YouTube site.

http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/council/councillors/councilmeetings/index.jsp

This allows members of the public to view the meeting proceedings as they take place. If you have a question you wish to ask on a particular item, please inform the Chair and Calderdale Scrutiny Team ahead of the meeting. For help, advice and information about the meeting contact: Senior Scrutiny Support Officer: Mike Lodge; Email: Mike.Lodge@calderdale.gov.uk

Uncertain if face to face meetings have restarted or plans to restart?

Chair: Abigail Marshall Katung. Colin Hutchinson is a member (retired ophthalmologist; sits on KONP steering group; chair of Doctors for the NHS; Labour councillor).

Website does not seem to have meetings after 2020 so may be out of date; meetings about 3 monthly. Public can submit questions prior to meeting; before covid, these questions could be put in person.

 

Leeds Health and Wellbeing Board https://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=965

“The Health and Wellbeing Board helps to achieve our ambition of Leeds being a healthy and caring city for all ages, where people who are the poorest, improve their health the fastest.  We are a group of senior representatives from organisations across Leeds, including Leeds City Council, the NHS, the community sector and Healthwatch, which represents views of the public.”

Chair: Councillor Fiona Venner (Lab.)

 

Healthwatch Leeds; https://healthwatchleeds.co.uk/

“Making your voice count in health and social care services in Leeds. We are here to help you get the best out of your local health and care services. We bring your feedback to those who plan and deliver services in Leeds.”

CEO Hannah Davies; team of 9 people. No public meetings, but Leeds KONP has had informal meetings with Hannah on occasions and have a good link with her.

We tend to think of Healthwatch as being somewhat tokenistic and mainly involved in doing surveys that are not much taken notice of. In some areas KONP groups have found Healthwatch to be a good campaigning ally. It is a pale imitation of Community Health Councils, without the same powers. https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2020

https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2731

https://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5208

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n798

 

New: West Yorkshire Voice

https://www.wypartnership.co.uk/get-involved/west-yorkshire-voice

“As a Partnership we have asked Healthwatch (the independent health and social care champion) across West Yorkshire to develop a network of people, groups and organisations to feed directly into decisions about health and care. The network is called West Yorkshire Voice and will be developed in partnership with local people to ensure it is accessible to all groups of people and is inclusive and reflective of our communities”. 

There is an application form to become a member available at the above link.

 

John Puntis/Leeds KONP/27/03/2023

 

Join us in October – it’s a busy one

NHS NEWS and developments kicked off by John

The Tories are resorting to blaming everyone but themselves for NHS shortfalls They have been stoking people’s frustration about difficulties getting face to face appointments with GPs and GPs are being subject to verbal and even physical attacks. In fact GPs provided 5m more appointments this August than last and are doing about 50% of consultations face to face while their numbers are shrinking, demands are increasing and they are doing mass vaccinations.
The big story on health at the Tory Party Conference was the introduction of a review of NHS management led by a retired military General, along with Linda Pollard, Chair of Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust. Roy Lilley has noted in his blog that managers in the NHS make up about 4% of the workforce which is significantly lower than the average in Commerce and the military! The Government were also at pains to point out that they can’t solve everything ( like the fuel and food shortages ! ) and social care and health care starts at home.

A report from the Health Foundation have suggested that the NHS needs 1.1m more staff at a cost of £86bn, more than twice the amount on offer. Currently it has 94,000 vacancies, including almost 10,000 doctors and 40,000 nurses and the Royal College of Radiologist s note that radiology is now short-staffed by 33% and needs at least another 1,939 consultants to keep up with pre-COVID-19 levels of demand for scans. John noted that there is nothing in the Health and Care Bill on workforce planning.

Emergency departments are getting overwhelmed already and a spike in flu is expected this winter on top of Covid. There is a full page spread in the YEP today re Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust which notes that A&E attendances in August were up 20% compared with August ’19 and admissions from A& E are significantly up. Dr. Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said ( reported in the Guardian 25.9 ) that the NHS is short of 15,000 beds it needs to cope with emergency care admissions, ambulances were queuing to unload patients and people are being held in corridors again.

5.6 million people are waiting for treatment . Leeds Teaching Hospitals trust reports 70,000 waiting as of August and of those 3,000 had waited more than a year. LTHT was seeing 70% of patients within 14 days of a suspected referral for cancer, well below the 93% standard set. In Nottingham they have been forced to adopt a priority list for chemotherapy.

People in deprived areas are twice as likely to wait more than a year for planned treatment, according to recent research from the Kings Fund.

More people are paying for private treatment. A recent survey found 20% of people on the waiting list were opting to go private and private hospitals like Spire have announced record profits. Some people who can’t afford to go private are paying out money for over the counter painkillers and physiotherapy to try to alleviate pain and slow down the loss of mobility.

Acute readmissions to hospital are up. In West Yorks numbers of delayed discharges are also up.

Vocare, The private provider of the 111 service across south west London ( since 2016) is having its contract retendered after its performance was deemed ‘well below acceptable levels’. However the parent company ‘Totally’ owns ‘Greenbrook’ which has just taken over the Kings College Hospital, London Urgent Care Service, despite opposition.  
The Health and Care Bill is due to have its second third reading on 3rd November KONP is holding a series of seminars on the Bill. 999 for the NHS are targeting marginal constituencies, including Pudsey.

Update on recent events
Five of us attended a lively “Justice for Simba” demonstration in Sheffield on 18.9, organised by Medact, migrants organisations et al. We were calling not just for charges for Simba’s treatment to be dropped but for all charging of migrants for NHS treatment to stop. Simba hasn’t got official status but has lived in the UK for over 10 years , married and had children here but was still charged something like £9.000 for critical care.

Leeds KONP had a substantial contingent at the march at the Tory Party Conference last Sunday 3rd and made a splash with our KONP banner, flags and a national banner we had made for the campaign for a National Care Support and independent living Service. John made a musical contribution in the PCS Samba band.ct Action Plan

October Action Plan

Sat 8th October 11.30am near accessorize on Commercial St ( about 100m from Boots going towards Briggate )

First of a series of Leeds KONP stalls
Focus on the health and Care Bill and building capacity in the NHS , particularly staffing.

Week beginning 10th October

Sort postcard / flier advertising the 4th December protest/ shout out for the NHS

Invite speakers for public meeting 3.11. John happy to chair do intro .
Alison happy to speak about her experience as a junior doctor, impact of staff shortages etc.
G and John to draft copy and
Marc working on a drawing for the front

John to ask Louise Irvine GP to speak
Gilda to ask Ian McAleer if he would speak re mental health and Alison Treacher
from Care Workers organise

Friday 15th October
Starting 7pm at junk food café Kitson Rd Middleton around 7pm

Sat 16th 10/ 10.30 Chapeltown Road, Norma Hutchinson park opposite Northern School of Dance – Spanish Climate campaigners walk into Leeds Light night en route for Glasgow / COP 26.

Meet Spanish walkers and protest re climate inaction with live music , stalls, speeches etc then food at the Sikh temple at 12 before joining the walkers a little way en route to Harrogate.
All who can meet and greet the walkers in Leeds City Centre. If anyone from south Leeds can walk in with them from Middleton that would be good.

Gilda will bring climate banner and flags. Please carry flag if walking through Chapel Allerton and Moortown.

Wed October 20th
6.30 – 8pm Leeds KONP meeting on Zoom

Need to agree and sort prep of material for the Pudsey stall. Also advertising our public meeting and Decc 4th event on social media, writing to LP branches etc, poss fliering at Leeds and Beckett Universities as wel as at the hospitals

Sat 23rd October 11.30 – 1pm in Pudsey
KONP stall in Pudsey centre on Church Lane, outside Greggs next to the bus station

Tuesday 26th October
7.30 – 9am outside A& E at LGI

Leafletting staff re migrant charging – Patients not Passports. John to seek fliers from Medact

Wed 3rd November

Leeds KONP Public meeting

All Enthuse people to publicise and join our Dec 4th Big Up Our NHS event. ( temporary title ! ) Ask people to post requests for postcards on chat or e mail.

6th November 12 noon in millennium Square then march and rally

National /international day of action on Climate change to coincide with start of COP 26

All Support protest in Leeds. Encourage support from Yorkshire HCT and try to form a health block – aiming to get a new climate banner made. Take postcards.

Sat. 20th Nov. 11.30
Leeds KONP Street stall
Venue tba

Wed 1st December
Leeds KONP mtg

Sat 4th December
Possibly 11-1pm
By the little roundabout outside A&E at LGI

Invest in the NHS – Free fair, health and care

Just before Xmas – could do Xmas cronies version 2 and/or carol singing

We’re not stopping in our fight to stop the privatisation of the NHS and there’s no reason for you to either!

Join us tomorrow and onwards:

Tomorrow 19^th March 11.30 -1pm KONP stall in Headingley outside Sainsbury’s

Wed 23^rd March  6.30 – 8pm . Leeds Keep Our NHS Public meeting – all welcome 6.30 – 8pm in O’Neill’s pub, Great George St.

Saturday 2^nd April 2pm KONP stall outside Boots in the City Centre ( Commercial St. / corner of Trinity)

Wed 6th and Thursday 7^th April from 8.15am support junior docs picket lines at LGI and Jimmys – more details to follow soon

Friday 8^th April flashmob  choir practice:   5.30 until 6.45 at The Quaker Meeting House on Woodhouse Lane but might move and morph into a more general get together with some discussion and music.

Wed. 13^th April 6.30 -8pm  Leeds Keep Our NHS Public meeting – all welcome 6.30 – 8pm in O’Neill’s pub, Great George St.

Sat 16^th April assembling 11.30 outsisde Leeds Art Gallery. Yorkshire March for the NHS

 

Join us in November and December

• Wednesday 18^th November 6-7.30pm, Leeds KONP meeting, O’Neills, Great George Street
• Friday 20th Nov. 6-7.30pm – “flashmob” choir practice at the Quaker Meeting House, Woodhouse lane
• Saturday 21st Nov 2pm Stall in town outside Virgin
• Tuesday 1st Dec 7.30pm SuperDoc John Puntis talking NHS at Café Economique,  Seven Arts
• Sunday 13th Dec 2pm Dickensian Special with costumes & songs , near Virgin
• Wed 16th Dec 6pm Dickensian Special with costumes & songs, Dortmund Square