Hillingdon Council External Services Select Committee Meeting 9th July 2019
Firstly, thank you to all supporters of the Michael Sobell Hospice who attended the meeting and to those who watched the live streaming of it. Also, thanks to those who were unable to attend but continue to offer their support.
At the previous meeting on 28th February 2019 the Chair of the committee Councillor John Riley was pleased to be able to say that the Hospice could re-open and the aim was for that to happen this summer.
The meeting on Tuesday was the fourth such meeting and Councillor Riley expressed disappointment that the workings of the NHS had caused things to stall. That disappointment was also expressed by the charity and by others who attended.
The aim of those meetings is still to reopen the In Patient Unit in the original Michael Sobell Hospice building. This we support in full.
It was reported that the current delay is due to process within the NHS.
East and North Hertfordshire CCG (ENHCCG) is the Co-ordinating Commissioner for Michael Sobell House.
Michael Sobell House is utilised by a number of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across Hertfordshire and London with Hillingdon CCG and Herts Valleys CCG being the largest users of the service.
Following the changes made by East and North Herts Trust to the delivery of palliative care services at the Mount Vernon Hospital site, Hillingdon CCG advised East and North Herts NHS Trust (ENHT) of their commissioning intentions for future service development plans for End of Life Care in Hillingdon. This was done prior to the Select Committee meeting held on 28th February.
You will recall that ENHT have publicly stated that they will not reopen the existing facility without tens of millions of pounds being spent on it.
IMPORTANTLY a meeting will be held today 11th July which will be attended by ENHCCG, Herts Valleys CCG, Hillingdon CCG and ENHT to agree the next steps in relation to the service provision at Michael Sobell House. This meeting was referenced by Councillor Riley at the meeting on 9th and he expressed his hope that the decision taken in today’s meeting will enable that clinical service provision to be transferred to Harlington Hospice
Councillor Riley asked if the Charity would write to Hillingdon CCG and ask them to make that letter known to all the attendees at the meeting today. On behalf of the charity I wrote that letter yesterday which included the following paragraphs:
“Please advise ENHCCG that there are no services at all being provided for end of life palliative care at Michael Sobell Hospice that are not cancer related. Please also advise them that following due process and in accord with OJEU rules Hillingdon CCG have appointed Harlington Hospice who are rated by the CQC as “good” in all areas and that we support that appointment.
Can you also advise them that the community at large have managed to have a petition signed by more than 10,000 people to get the services reinstated and have attended in large numbers each of the scrutiny meetings”
We shall update all of our supporters when we are advised of the outcome of today’s meeting.
Michael Breen
Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
