To discharge the Council's functions concerning scrutiny of the National Health Service.
A full description of the responsibilities and activities of this committee can be found in Article 7 of the Constitution.
What happened at the last meeting ?
See Committee Minutes and Agendas for more information
| Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Labour | Non Aligned Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stuart Barker - Ch | Leonard Ford | Richard Westlake | Mary Turner |
| John Clatworthy | Anne Fry | ||
| Roger Croad | Gordon Hook M.A. | ||
| Andrew Leadbetter | Alan Hosking | ||
| James McInnes | Jennifer Jenkins | ||
| Vanessa Newcombe - VCh | |||
| Joe Tucker | |||
| Eileen Wragg B A Comb Hons |
Additional Members:
| East Devon District Council | Councillor C Drew |
| Exeter City Council | Councillor V Dixon |
| Mid Devon District Council | Councillor M E Squires |
| North Devon District Council | Councillor P Daniel |
| South Hams District Council | Councillor J Squire |
| Teignbridge District Council | Councillor Mrs Cook |
| Torridge District Council | Councillor A Symons |
| West Devon Borough Council | Councillor P Sanders |
| Devon Association of Parish Councils | Councillors R Hawes and J T Pennington |
At the first meeting of the Council’s Health Overview/Scrutiny Committee on 15 January 2003, proposals were discussed for drawing up its first annual work plan.
It was agreed to hold a "Planning Forum" on Wednesday, 19 March 2003 at County Hall, Exeter.
A wide variety of representatives from local authorities, health trusts, Community Health Councils and the voluntary sector was invited to attend and to contribute proposals for investigations by the Committee over the following year.
The Committee met on 21 March 2003 to decide a programme based upon the contributions received at the forum, agreeing to investigate the following themes in 2003/04:
| Topic | Remarks |
|---|---|
| The voluntary sector's contribution to health | Reductions in NHS services tend to increase the dependence on the voluntary sector, which is expected to fill the gaps without adequate resources to do so. NHS organisations must sign voluntary sector compacts by April 2004. |
| Access to NHS dentistry | To be co-ordinated with the investigation being undertaken by Cornwall County Council. To explore concerns that a shortfall is leaving patients no choice but to use private practices. The investigation would consider the implications of the paper "Options for change; an opportunity for collaboration by all PCTs in the south west peninsula to secure accessible and appropriate dental care for all residents of the Devon and Cornwall peninsula." |
| Rurality/Health inequalities/access to services | developing shared definitions across partners to support work to achieve equity in health service provision. The issue of 'Access to Services' is to tie in with rural deprivation, regeneration and community planning issues. The Committee to also investigate costs involved with providing health services to a sparse population. |
| Health/social care involvement in mental health | exploring partnership working between the health and social care sector to provide deliver mental health care services |
On 19 December 2002, the Department of Health published regulations to govern local authority scrutiny of health services.
On 20 May 2003, the Department published its 59 pages of guidance on local authority overview and scrutiny of health and a report on the guidance was submitted to the Health Overview/Scrutiny Committee's meeting on 5 June. At the same time, it issued protocols for concurrent working between Overview/Scrutiny Committees and CHCs.
On 30 October 2003, the Department of Health published A Guide to the NHS for Members and Officers of Health Scrutiny Committees.
Back to top