Minutes:
(i) At Item 11(3) the Council received a Motion in the names of Councillors Margaret Davine and Victoria Silver in the following terms:
“This Council notes:
· that the cross-party Commons Health Committee has urged a rethink of the proposals contained in the Health and Social Care Bill;
· that on 4 April, Andrew Lansley was adamant that there would be no changes to the Bill; yet within 24 hours of his statement David Cameron intervened to put the Bill on hold to allow more time for consultation.
This Council welcomes this decision and believes that the proposed implementation of GP commissioning will overload doctors, thus resulting in services being outsourced to private providers over which local people will have no control. This is in total contravention of David Cameron’s election promise that ‘we will cut the deficit not the NHS’.
This Council further notes that many health professional bodies are opposed to these proposals, which have been introduced with undue haste.
This Council therefore calls on the Government to think again and drop its current proposals and enter into discussions with all those concerned to find a way forward to preserve and enhance the NHS, bearing in mind the need for accountability.
This Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, all three Harrow MPs, the London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow informing them of the above motion, and asking them to use their good offices to deliver the above outcome.”
(ii) There was an amendment in the names of Councillors Barry Macleod-Cullinane and Mrs Lurline Champagnie, which sought to amend the Motion as follows:
“This Council notes:
· that the cross-party Commons Health Committee has urged a rethink of the proposals contained in the Health and Social Care Bill;
· that on 4 April, Andrew Lansley was adamant that there would be no changes to the Bill; yet within 24 hours of his statement David Cameron intervened to put the Bill on hold to allow more time for consultation.
This Council welcomes this decision and believes that the proposed implementation of GP commissioning will overload doctors, thus resulting in services being outsourced to private providers over which local people will have no control. This is in total contravention of David Cameron’s election promise that ‘we will cut the deficit not the NHS’.
This Council further notes that many health professional bodies are opposed to these proposals, which have been introduced with undue haste.
This Council therefore calls on the Government to think again and drop its current proposals and enter into discussions with all those concerned to find a way forward to preserve and enhance the NHS, bearing in mind the need for accountability.
This Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Health, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, all three Harrow MPs, the London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow informing them of the above motion, and the following information:
1. Harrow Primary Care Trust (PCT) was rated as the sixth worst PCT in the country in 2010 (138th out of 144) by the Health Service Journal, with the second worst competency rating.
2. Despite receiving 5% extra funding from the previous government, Harrow PCT needs to make some £57 million of cuts over the next year to tackle its own financial mismanagement. Harrow PCT's outgoing chief executive (and second within 15 months) said in February 2011 that its financial problems were "probably bigger than any other PCT in London".
3. Harrow PCT has already cut £2 million out of mental health services, vital to some of Harrow's most vulnerable residents, and is now looking to cut IVF and other services.
4. Harrow PCT abruptly closed the Pinner Village Surgery in 2010 without proper consultation and weak justification, inconveniencing thousands of Harrow residents.”
(iii) Upon a vote, the amendment at (ii) was lost.
(iv) Upon a further vote the substantive Motion, was agreed.
RESOLVED: That the substantive Motion, as set out at (i) above, be adopted.