Agenda and draft minutes

This meeting will be filmed for live and / or subsequent broadcast on the Council’s website.  The whole of the meeting will be filmed, except where there are confidential or exempt items, and the footage will be on the website for 12 months.  A copy of it will also be retained in accordance with the Council’s data retention policy.

If you attend and make a representation to the meeting, you will be deemed to have consented to being filmed.  When admitted to the Council Chamber you are also consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for livestreaming and / or training purposes.  If you do not wish to have your image captured, please contact Democratic Services prior to attending the meeting.

If there are any technical difficulties with the livestreaming, the meeting will still proceed.

The Chair announced to those present that the meeting would be livestreamed.

The evacuation procedure was noted.

There were no interests declared.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 21 April 2026.

Consideration was given to the minutes from the Committee meeting held on 21 April 2026.

AGREED that the minutes of the meeting on 21 April 2026 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Senior University Hospitals Tees (UHT) personnel will be in attendance to outline performance against the NTHFT quality priorities for 2025-2026 and inform the Committee of the emerging priorities for the next year.

Senior University Hospitals Tees (UHT) personnel were in attendance to provide the annual presentation to the Committee on the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (NTHFT) Quality Account, a document which NHS Trusts had a duty to produce each year.

Marking the second full cycle since the formal creation of UHT as a hospital ‘group’, 2025-2026 had seen a move to produce the first UHT Quality Account (the draft of which had been shared with the Committee prior to this meeting and was included within the papers) reflecting on performance against the joint 2025-2026 quality priorities for both NTHFT and neighbouring South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STHFT).  It was emphasised that the Committee’s focus would remain on the achievements and challenges of the North Tees and Hartlepool offer.

Led by the UHT Deputy Chief Executive / Chief Strategy Officer, and supported by the UHT Deputy Director of Quality, UHT Deputy Director of Nursing, and STHFT Compliance Manager, the presentation opened with the new UHT approach to the Quality Account and its purpose in providing assurance on quality, safety and patient experience.  With a reminder of the spread / composition of local services and the nine shared quality priorities for 2025-2026 (covering the three key headings of ‘Patient Safety’, ‘Clinical Effectiveness’, and ‘Patient Experience’, NTHFT-related elements included the following:

·       Patient Safety & Learning from Incidents: The Trust had no medication-related ‘never events’ (serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if healthcare providers have implemented existing national guidance or safety recommendations) and had seen a 50% reduction in time-critical medication omissions.  A unified incident reporting system (Healthcare Guardian) was now live across UHT.

·       Medication Safety & ePMA: Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) 2.0 (to improve the range of medicines administered) was now fully embedded at NTHFT, and there had been successful pharmacy recruitment in Lipid Clinics (further recruitment would support medicines reconciliation performance).  Guidance had been produced to support high-quality discharge letters, and UHT-wide medicines dashboards were intended to assist with the availability of data and benchmarking.

·       Infection, Prevention & Control: There was now enhanced respiratory IPC support, improved audit and compliance structures, and a reduction in C Difficile infections (CDI) – 59 against a threshold of 66.  Both Trusts within the UHT footprint had developed IPC pathways and care plans within electronic patient records for CDI and MRSA, and undertook weekly healthcare associated infection (HCAI) reviews.  C Difficile reduction remained a priority for 2026-2027.

·       Learning from Deaths and Mortality: NTHFT had recorded 1,198 deaths during 2025-2026.  53 case record reviews were conducted, and no deaths were judged more likely than not to have occurred due to care issues.  To further understanding, there had been an increase in resource for the UHT Learning from Deaths Team, the appointment of a Medical Senior Mortality Lead, the introduction of a single UHT Learning from Deaths framework, and combined reporting reflecting on insight from the Medical Examiner, child deaths, and the lives and deaths of people with a  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/13/26

Progress report for the previously completed Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Access to GPs and Primary Medical Care.

Presented by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) Head of Commissioning – Neighbourhood Health South, and supported by the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Director of Public Health, this was the second progress update following the Committee’s agreement of the Action Plan in July 2024.  Developments regarding those outstanding actions linked to the Committee’s recommendations were highlighted as follows:

·       Recommendation 1 (All relevant health bodies (North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), Cleveland Local Medical Committee (CLMC), Hartlepool & Stockton Health GP Federation (H&SH), NHS Trusts, and general practices) engage regularly and constructively around the issues raised as part of this review to ensure that patients are approaching / receiving care from the most appropriate services based on need): Whilst the previous Stockton Place-Based Committee had now been stood down and replaced with new governance arrangements (following a requirement for the NENC ICB to reduce running costs), there continued to be regular and constructive engagement between system partners in relation to general practice issues – this included the progression of temporary list closures (Melrose Surgery and Dr Rasool), and an in-hours closure to allow staff to attend a colleague’s funeral (Densham Surgery).  A central General Practice, Pharmacy and Optometry Team had also been formed (hosted by the ICBs Newcastle / Gateshead Neighbourhood Health Team) – this would support the implementation of consistent and timely processes in respect of general practice issues and responses to contractual changes which were required to be reviewed, approved and enacted.

Regarding the action which sought to improve links between local Planning Services functions, SBC Public Health and the NENC ICB in terms of new housing developments and the potential impact of these in relation to health service demand / pressures, the Tees Valley Strategic Estates Group continued to be held on a bi-monthly basis (chaired by the ICBs Strategic Head of Estates), with good attendance from a range of system partners (the new requirement to co-produce a ‘Neighbourhood Health’ plan by the 28 May 2026 was also highlighted).  Specific NENC ICB links to both SBC Public Health and SBC Planning Services were noted, with the NENC ICB also part of the Tees Valley Care and Innovation Zone (TVCHIZ) Estates & Facilities Workstream which brought partners together to maximise the use of current assets for the delivery of Neighbourhood Care services and identify any gaps where investment may be required for new builds.

·       Recommendation 2 (All relevant health bodies continue efforts to increase public / patient understanding about accessing the most appropriate services (including in the context of the Pharmacy First initiative), using all available communication mechanisms (both print and digital) and links through local community networks (e.g. community partnerships), to ensure key messages are reinforced): The NENC ICB continued to have a strong social media  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/14/26

Consideration was given to the minutes of previous Health and Wellbeing Board meetings which took place in January 2026.

AGREED that the minutes of Health and Wellbeing Board meetings which took place in January 2026 be noted.

CHAIR’S UPDATE

The Chair had no further updates.

WORK PROGRAMME 2026-2027

Consideration was given to the Committee’s current work programme.  The next meeting was due to take place on 23 June 2026 where anticipated items would include a response from Norton Medical Centre to its latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, the latest CQC / PAMMS quarterly report, the PAMMS Annual Report (Care Homes) for 2025-2026, and a regional health scrutiny update.  It was also intended for a draft scope and plan for the Committee’s next in-depth review of Protection of Property to be presented for approval.

AGREED that the Chair’s Update and Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee Work Programme 2026-2027 be noted.