Agenda item

The Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing moved and Councillor K Warnell seconded, a motion as follows:

The Council recognises the conscientious commitment of staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and notes with extreme concern their current recruitment needs and physical infrastructure needs.

Staff shortages, including a nurse vacancy rate of 25 per cent, have left wards struggling to cope with the number of patients.  The A & E Department also struggles to deliver the national four-hour standard.  Two other local hospitals have changed into Urgent Care Centres which deal only with minor injuries.  This creates an additional demand for services on PAH which deals with both major and minor injuries, life threatening chest pains, and head injuries.

Many parts of the physical infrastructure at PAH are beyond its designed life and it is unable to accommodate patients in a manner appropriate for a 21^st Century health facility.  Indeed, water ingress and sewage egress, in some vital areas, present a real risk to the integrity of the hospital.  

The Council believes that urgent investment is required now to address the challenges faced by the hospital, and that there needs to be a commitment for the provision of a new hospital.  A new hospital, as part of a health and wellbeing campus, should provide adequate services for East Herts, Harlow and surrounding areas.  This is to ensure that the residents will benefit from emergency and GP services, physiotherapy units, social care, a new ambulance hub, and a training centre for nursing and healthcare.

The Council resolves, together with Mark Prisk, MP for Hertford and Stortford, to urge the Government to:

(A)       ensure that the Princess Alexandra Hospital is treated as a priority case for investment to address its current physical infrastructure challenges;  

(B)       support the hospital Trust in working with other public sector and private sector bodies to develop a business case for the investment necessary to achieve a new hospital as part of a health and wellbeing campus; and

(C)       instruct NHS England and NHS Improvement to work positively with the health economy, and with the Councils of West Essex and East Hertfordshire, to deliver a plan to secure financially sustainable, appropriate and sufficient access to health services for the communities served by PAH and the West Essex CCG.

The Leader of the Council spoke in support of the motion and referred to similar motions that had been adopted by neighbouring councils in Harlow, Epping and Broxbourne.

Councillor D Andrews questioned whether the Council was in a position to instruct the NHS on anything and proposed an amendment by substituting the word “encourages” instead of the word “instruct”.  This was seconded by Councillor C Woodward.

Various Members spoke in support of the motion and it was suggested that the wording of the motion was, in fact, to urge the Government to instruct the NHS.  Councillors D Andrews and C Woodward agreed to withdraw their proposed amendment.

Councillor P Boylan referred to the final paragraph of the motion and suggested that communities served by East and North Herts CCG should be added.  He proposed, and Councillor C Woodward seconded, an amendment by adding “and East and North Herts CCG” at the end of the final paragraph of the motion.

After being put to the meeting, and a vote taken, this amendment was declared CARRIED.

After being put to the meeting, and a vote taken, the substantive motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that the following motion be adopted:

The Council recognises the conscientious commitment of staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and notes with extreme concern their current recruitment needs and physical infrastructure needs.

Staff shortages, including a nurse vacancy rate of 25 per cent, have left wards struggling to cope with the number of patients.  The A & E Department also struggles to deliver the national four-hour standard.  Two other local hospitals have changed into Urgent Care Centres which deal only with minor injuries.  This creates an additional demand for services on PAH which deals with both major and minor injuries, life threatening chest pains, and head injuries.

Many parts of the physical infrastructure at PAH are beyond its designed life and it is unable to accommodate patients in a manner appropriate for a 21^st Century health facility.  Indeed, water ingress and sewage egress, in some vital areas, present a real risk to the integrity of the hospital.  

The Council believes that urgent investment is required now to address the challenges faced by the hospital, and that there needs to be a commitment for the provision of a new hospital.  A new hospital, as part of a health and wellbeing campus, should provide adequate services for East Herts, Harlow and surrounding areas.  This is to ensure that the residents will benefit from emergency and GP services, physiotherapy units, social care, a new ambulance hub, and a training centre for nursing and healthcare.

The Council resolves, together with Mark Prisk, MP for Hertford and Stortford, to urge the Government to:

(A)      ensure that the Princess Alexandra Hospital is treated as a priority case for investment to address its current physical infrastructure challenges;  

(B)      support the hospital Trust in working with other public sector and private sector bodies to develop a business case for the investment necessary to achieve a new hospital as part of a health and wellbeing campus; and

(C)      instruct NHS England and NHS Improvement to work positively with the health economy, and with the Councils of West Essex and East Hertfordshire, to deliver a plan to secure financially sustainable, appropriate and sufficient access to health services for the communities served by PAH and the West Essex CCG and East and North Herts CCG.