A MEETING of the COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF GOSPORT was held in the Council Chamber at the TOWN HALL, GOSPORT on WEDNESDAY, the FIFTH day of OCTOBER 2005 at 6.00PM.

 

The Mayor (Councillor Burgess) (P) (in the Chair);

 

The Deputy Mayor (Councillor Mrs Cully) (P);

 

Councillors Allen (P), Mrs Batterbury (P), Mrs Binfield (P), Bone, Carr (P), Carter (P), Mrs Champion, Chegwyn (P), Clinton (P), Cully (P), Davis (P), Dickson (P), Edgar (P), Edwards (P), Farr (P), Foster (P), Gill (P), Hayward (P), Hook (P), Jacobs (P), Kimber (P), Langdon (P), Philpott (P), Redrup (P), Rigg (P), Mrs Salter (P), Searle (P), Smith, Taylor (P), Train (P), Mrs Wright (P) and Wright (P).

 

Also in attendance: Honorary Aldermen Foster and O’Neill.

 

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Apologies for inability to attend the meeting were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bone, Mrs Champion and Smith.

 

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RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Extraordinary and Ordinary meetings of the Council held on 29 June 2005 be confirmed and signed.

 

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At the invitation of the Mayor Councillor Edgar reported on recent meetings in respect of the immediate future and funding of the Royal Hospital Haslar and the delayed Private Finance Initiative redevelopment of the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham.

 

At a meeting in London the Minister of Health, Lord Warner, was informed of the serious concern throughout our area regarding the loss of millions of pounds worth of Ministry of Defence funding in the Royal Hospital Haslar after 31 March 2007.  The Minister was left in no doubt that there were many unanswered questions of transition and other difficulties following the MOD’s termination of funding. The Minister promised to take these issues away with him following the meeting. 

 

Councillor Edgar had also attended two meetings on 5 October. The first meeting was in the morning at Winchester where Hampshire Local Authorities and other bodies were addressed by Sir Ian Carruthers, Chief Executive, Strategic Health Authority (SHA). Councillor Edgar represented Gosport Borough Council at the meeting. Sir Ian explained the rationale behind a document entitled ‘The Implementation of Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS in Hampshire and Isle of Wight’. In Question Time reference was made to a past article in The Echo, ‘NHS Crisis Even Worse Than You Thought’. The NHS was in significant debt, and the authorities under the SHA were now facing various repayments of these debts totalling approximately £160m, which had to be paid back over the next two years.

 

After 31 March 2007 revenue funding for patients at the Regional Hospital facility at Haslar would cease. The Hospital also retained thousands of pounds worth of capital equipment and unless money could be found to operate it, this would also be lost to the NHS. This extra demand on funding had not been mentioned by Sir Ian in his press statements or in his address to the meeting.

 

Councillor Edgar asked the question, ‘could a guarantee be given that Haslar would continue to meet patient demand after March 2007?’ The answer from Sir Ian was ‘No I can’t and other ways would have to be found to treat patients’ – Councillor Edgar emphasised that Haslar was a busy Regional Facility.  In his reply Sir Ian gave the impression that Councillor Edgar wanted to reopen the whole Haslar debate but all that was required was an answer as to what happens to the thousands of patients who are treated at Haslar each year when MOD funding ceased.  Sir Ian did not appear to understand the role of the Haslar Task Force and the Gosport Borough Council’s support for the health modernisation agenda. Councillor Edgar proposed to see Sir Ian with GBC documents that had been produced over the years, showing the Council’s positive stance on Health and he was sure Councillors would back him on this.

The meeting accepted the options for the amalgamation of Hampshire Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s) in the document ‘The Implementation of Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’. Councillor Edgar reminded members at the Council meeting that the Council had supported a vote of No Confidence in the Fareham and Gosport PCT therefore the Haslar Task Force and the Council was likely to favour the option of one PCT for Hampshire.

 

He felt that with one PCT covering a wider strategic area the Council’s argument with the NHS in 2000 that the proposed new model of health care for the residents of Gosport and South Fareham, subject to Ministry of Defence approval, should be based in the Royal Hospital Haslar would have been honoured. He felt a PCT co-terminus with the County of Hampshire’s boundary was a good option. He requested Councillors to e-mail him with their views on this issue. If he did not receive any comments he would assume that Councillors were happy to support him on the one County PCT, which he felt would look at health issues more strategically.

 

Helen Masters, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust PFI Regional Director, addressed the second meeting on the afternoon of 5 October regarding the latest situation with the QA PFI. This was a formal meeting of the Portsmouth City Council Health Scrutiny Committee. She indicated that the PFI bid for QA would be signed on 21 October 2005. She went through a similar statement that had previously been reported for previous failed signings of PFI bids over the past 18 months. Councillor Edgar pointed out to the meeting that it was extremely annoying when, despite these repeated promises over many months, major project works still failed to commence.  This had caused the public to have a loss of confidence in the project. The preliminary ‘Start’ works adjacent to QA Hospital had stopped ready for the signing of financial closure on 21st October. It was reported that the Hospital would be up and running in 42 months.   Councillor Edgar advised the meeting that Haslar was still a busy regional facility and said that the public deserved a guarantee that it would continue in operation after March 2007 if needed. Unfortunately that guarantee was not forthcoming.  However, Helen Masters did say that negotiations were continuing between the Hospitals Trust and the MOD regarding some services continuing at Haslar.

 

It was disappointing that both the SHA and the PHT were reluctant to admit that Haslar may continue to be needed after the MOD withdraws its funding of the site.  The Save Haslar Task Force and the Borough Council had always held the view that some facilities would have to remain at Haslar in support of the new hospital at QA. This was especially true in the short to medium term in order to meet the escalating demand for hospital treatment in our area.

 

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(A)       Question No 1 standing in the name of Councillor Mrs Salter on the Council’s relationship with Enterprise was answered by the Leader of the Council.

 

(B)       Question No 2 standing in the name of Councillor Redrup on the artificial cricket pitch in Gosport Park was answered by the Chairman of the Community and Environment Board.

 

(C)       Question No 3 standing in the name of Councillor Redrup on the issue of new Hackney Carriage Licence plates since de-limitation was answered by the Chairman of the Policy and Organisation Board.

 

(D)       Question No 4 standing in the name of Councillor Redrup on the number of Hackney Carriage Licence plate-holders going out of business since de-limitation was answered by the Chairman of the Policy and Organisation Board.

 

(E)       Question No 5 standing in the name of Councillor Davis on the costings for the Explosion! Museum was answered by the Chairman of the Policy and Organisation Board.

 

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