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Full Council

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SHREWSBURY TOWN COUNCIL
Riggs Hall
The Library
Castle Gates
Shrewsbury
SY1 2AS

To All Members of the Council

Dear Councillors

You are hereby summoned to attend the Extraordinary meeting of the Shrewsbury Town Council scheduled to take place at St Chad’s Church on Tuesday 4 October at 6.00pm, in order to transact the following business.

Please note that this meeting will be filmed and broadcast live. If you do not wish to be shown on camera could you please sit in the gallery which is away from any cameras.

Helen Ball
Town Clerk

Meeting Agenda Items

  • 1ROLL CALL

  • 2APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

  • 3DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CODE OF CONDUCT

  • 4PRESENTATIONS REGARDING A PROPOSED HEALTH AND WELLBEING HUB FOR SHREWSBURY

    (i) Introduction from Councillor Kate Halliday, Chair of the Town Council’s Health and Wellbeing Hub Working Group.

    (ii) Presentation from the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System.

    (iii) Presentation from Shropshire Council.

  • 5PUBLIC QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

    To receive any questions from Members of the Public, notice of which has been given in accordance with the Town Council’s Standing Orders i.e before 4.00PM on Monday 3 October 2022,

  • 6SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

    Standing Orders will be suspended to allow for any new questions from members of the public (maximum 30 minutes).

  • 7QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM COUNCILLORS

  • 8TOWN COUNCIL RESPONSE TO THE PROPOSED HEALTH AND WELLBEING HUB FOR SHREWSBURY

    (i) To consider the Councils way forward in relation to the proposed Health and Wellbeing Hub for Shrewsbury

    (ii) To consider the following motion:

    Motion from Councillor Kate Halliday, seconded by the Labour Group:

    Shrewsbury GP services would benefit from investment in their buildings and this would be welcomed by Shrewsbury residents. However, the Shrewsbury, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System proposal for a health and wellbeing hub, to replace most south Shrewsbury neighbourhood surgeries, has been controversial and poorly received by many residents in Shrewsbury for a number of reasons including:

    • The scale of the proposals – it is by far the largest of the 6 pilot sites in England identified for the ‘Cavell Centre’ initiatives at 45,000 patients (the smallest being 15,000 and the next largest being 35,000). It also represents by far the largest merger with 6 practices closing their current premises (with the smallest of the six pilots being 1 and the next largest being 3 practices merging).

    • The proposal which will represent a significant change to local health services, appears to have got very far into the process without consulting the public or elected representatives, despite this being an experimental pilot with no evidence that the model will be effective.

    • The fact that the ICS stated in July that Shropshire Council would be funding a bus route to the preferred site but on being questioned Shropshire Council has said in September that it will not fund a bus route to the site. This suggests a lack of planning and coordination on the part of the ICS. The public are now not sure if they will be expected to get to the proposed site without public transport, or whether the ICS will cover the costs of public transport. Without public transport many patients without cars will find it difficult/ impossible to access their GP.

    • The Project Initiation document (PID) was completed in July 2021. This document outlines the strategic case for change for investment and is usually made available to the public to scrutinise, but this has not happened, despite requests from the Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub Working Group Chair.

    • The fact that it is not clear whether or not there will be options offered to the public in the (now delayed) consultation. Other areas in Shropshire and beyond have had the option to upgrade existing medical practices, build new, smaller practices locally to meet the needs of growing populations but this has not so far been offered to Shrewsbury residents.

    • The listening and engagement exercises to date have provided only the positives of the proposals, with few options to raise questions or concerns. Many residents and councillors have found out about developments in the project via the press. Consultation with the public could have been better.

    This council resolves to:

    Write to the ICS stating that:

    a. A range of options should be included in the consultation when it occurs, including the option to upgrade the existing surgeries involved in the project that are able to extend, and to provide a new ‘normal sized’ surgery to meet the needs of the growing populations around Oteley Road.

    b. That it is unacceptable to go ahead with proposals to site that have no adequate public transport for staff, patients and their families. The ICS will also need to ensure that there are good active travel access to the site, and negotiate this with Shropshire Council before any decisions are made.

    c. They must ensure that there is good communication with residents and councillors about the future consultation, including in writing to patients via the post.

    d. The PID should be made public.