Joint Scrutiny Committee
Referral to the Secretary of State - This is the letter and rererral document sent to the Secretary of State for Health on the NHS decision following the "Your health, Your future" consultation.
Welcome to the website of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy. This site aims to inform you about the work of the committee, help you to get involved and enable you to voice your opinions on the plans for the future of local healthcare. It also contains a range of useful resources. The committee is made up of councillors from Enfield, Barnet, Haringey and Hertforshire councils and is not part of the NHS.
Joint Scrutiny Committee Report
This is the report of the Joint Scrutiny Committee of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey and the Hertfordshire County Council to the NHS Consultation document ‘Your health, Your future’.
Download the Joint Scrutiny Committee Report
What is the joint scrutiny committee?
The committee consists of eleven elected councillors, together they represent each of the local authorities affected by the clinical strategy, including some parts of Hertfordshire.
The councillors involved are:
| Barnet Council | Haringey Council |
|---|
| Councillor Richard Cornelius | Councillor Gideon Bull (Vice Chair) |
| Councillor Linda McFayden | Councillor Emma Jones |
| Councillor Hugh Rayner | Councillor Martin Newton |
| | |
| Enfield Council | Hertfordshire Council |
|---|
| Councillor Vivien Giladi | Councillor David Cullen |
| Councillor Anne-Marie Pearce (Chair) | Councillor Terry Price |
The committee has been established because local NHS organisations are required to consult local authority scrutiny committees when considering a substantial variation in how their services are provided. In this situation local authorities are able to work together to appoint a joint scrutiny committee (for a set period) to examine and provide their views on the consultation proposals, document and process.
What will the joint scrutiny committee do?
- It will assess the quality of the consultation being carried out by health bodies
- It will consider the impact on residents of the proposals for Chase Farm, Barnet General and North Middlesex University Hospitals and primary care as set out in the BEH Clinical Strategy consultation paper
- It will assess if the proposals will bring service improvements
- It will respond to the NHS bodies leading the consultation:
- On the impact of the proposals on the health of patients and carers
- On the extent to which the public have been consulted and their views listened to
For more details see full
Terms of Reference
 Barnet General Hospital |
 Chase Farm Hospital |
 North Middlesex Hospital |
What can the joint scrutiny committee do?
- The committee can consider whether it has been properly consulted during the consultation process on the strategy
- The committee can consider whether the NHS has taken into account public views by involving and consulting the public effectively
- The committee can consider whether the proposals for change put forward are in the interest of the local health service
- If the committee concludes that the consultation has not been adequate (e.g. consultation with the public has not been sufficient or the proposals would have a detrimental effect on the health of local patients), it can refer the whole process to the Secretary of State for them to examine further.
How will the joint scrutiny committee complete its work?
The committee will hold a number of meetings, in public, during the consultation period. These will be based on issues of particular importance to the public. During the meetings the NHS will be asked to explain the options available and provide evidence that services will improve. Experts will also be called to attend each meeting and give their views on the impact of the proposals for change put forward by the NHS.
Following these meetings the committee will then produce a report of their findings which will be sent to the NHS.
Members of the committee may also visit local healthcare facilities to learn more about current services and listen to the views of staff, patients and the residents who are affected.
When will the committee do its work?
The committee will meet during the period of formal consultation on the proposals. Timescales for the consultation are set out below:
28th June – Consultation process is launched
4th – 6th July – Consultation summaries delivered to homes in Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
19th October – Consultation period ends
16th November – NHS publishes evaluation of consultation responses
What is the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy?
The strategy will set out how health services will be delivered locally in the future. It is informed by the national NHS policy which promotes a shift of acute services to community settings (e.g. GPs), thereby providing health care closer to people´s homes.
Work on the strategy is being led by:
- Barnet Primary Care Trust.
- Enfield Primary Care Trust.
- Haringey Primary Care Trust.
- South East Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust.
The strategy is a plan for the next 5 to 10 years, which will affect healthcare provision for residents in Enfield, Barnet, Haringey and Southeast Hertfordshire. The local NHS is now holding a consultation on a number of different options for how services could be provided within the boroughs of Enfield, Barnet and Haringey.
How will the final decision be taken?
The NHS will make the final decision on how healthcare is delivered locally, and then implement plans over the next 5 to 10 years. The decision should be based on clinical evidence and demonstrate that it has been informed by effective consultation with the public, and that services will improve and be sustained.
