No apologies for absence were received.

The Chairman informed Members of the Sub-Board of a change of Membership as Councillor Billings had now become a Cabinet Member and Councillor Yvonne Twelves had agreed to take his place as a permanent member of the Sub-Board.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Twelves to the meeting as a new member and recognised the valuable contribution she would make to the work of the Sub-Board.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board held on 17 August 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Board held on 17 August 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive a verbal update on delivery of the capital programme and re-design of the hospital together with an update on delivery of the new community diagnostic centre.

(Note: presented by the Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Transformation and Partnerships and the Building a Brighter Future Programme Director, Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust).

The Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Transformation and Partnerships

together with the Building a Brighter Future Programme Director, South Devon NHS Foundation Trust provided Members with an update and presentation on the delivery of the capital programme and re-design of Torbay Hospital together with an update on delivery of the new community diagnostic centre in Torquay.

Members were informed that 40 hospitals would benefit from the £20 billion investment in the new hospitals programme which included Torbay.  The focus at present was on site enabling and it was confirmed that other site developments taking place included a new radiotherapy building; new endoscopy unit and new theatres.

In addition, Members were informed that the new community diagnostic centre would have a significant impact on the ability of the Trust to reduce waiting times for such areas as point of care testing, ultrasound, scans and other tests.

Members received responses to the following questions:

·         Would a standardised supply chain limit opportunities for local suppliers to become involved?

·         Would the new electronic patient records system improve the time taken to forward patient records to GP’s?

·         How long would it take to work through the business case for the site enabling plans?

·         Would 150 more hospital beds be delivered?

·         What does “de-conditioning” mean?

·         By the end of 2026 would the programme be short of secure funds?

·         Was the proposed opening of the new community diagnostic centre in 2024 feasible?

·         Given the new mobile breast screening unit, had the old unit been decommissioned?

·         Would the temporary endoscopy unit be retained once the main unit was built?

·         Would lead in times for cancer diagnosis be reduced?

·         How could communication with the public and communities be improved so that they understood what was happening?

·         Would pressure on GP’s be relieved?

·         How long were the current delays in respect of GP’s receiving patient records following patient discharge from hospital?

·         Would the functionality of the electronic patient records system enable patients to book into the community diagnostic centre rather than going through the hospital call centre?

·         Had the increase in work been mapped in terms of workforce development and had schools and colleges, for example, been approached and informed of plans so that they could work towards a clear training path?

·         Had Torbay Hospital been considered potentially as a teaching hospital?

In accordance with Standing Order B4.1 Councillor Steve Darling addressed the Sub-Board and asked the following questions:

·         When would treatment of the first patient on site happen?

·         Had there been any slippage in delivery of the business case?

·         How would Nightingale Park contribute to achieving Net Zero as a whole?

·         What reassurances could be given that hospital staff would not be poached to work at the diagnostic centre?

·         What reassurances could be given that hospital funding would be protected and not used against the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) crisis affecting many schools across the United Kingdom?

·         Was the diagnostic provider a not-for-profit company?

·         What targets were there in place in terms of plans to support care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To receive an update on the implementation of the actions of the Sub-Board and consider any further actions required (as set out in the submitted action tracker).

The Sub-Board noted the submitted action tracker.  The Senior Democratic, Overview and Scrutiny Officer provided the following updates:

·         Update on Minute 30: The Medical Director for Devon Mental Health, Learning Disability and Neurodiversity Provider Collaborative would be attending the Sub-Board meeting on the 21 December 2023 to speak about psychiatric medication supervision;

·         Update on Minute 25: Member Briefings had been arranged for 16 November 2023 (Adult Social Care Strategy) and 20 December 2023 (Governance with the ICO);

(Note: Prior to consideration of the item in Minute 9, Councillor Steve Darling declared a non-pecuniary interest as his wife previously worked for the NHS and his son currently works as a medic at Torbay Hospital).