Some totally timely topics in the latest issue of the report from the PEC/ NHS Wandsworth Management Team meeting (link opens in PDF). This is personal feedback from Andrew Craig in his role as the Lay Member  on the PEC.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Plan

Local data shows a clear link between deprivation and cancer mortality with the more deprived Wandsworth wards (Latchmere, Queenstown, Northcote) having higher rates than the rest of London. The action plan covers

• Smoking cessation
• Obesity control
• Increasing physical activity
• Alcohol reduction
• Cancer screening
• Raising awareness
• Sun protection and early detection of skin cancer
• HPV vaccination

More work is needed with users of cancer services and those who were identified as being at risk. To be successful, these programmes, Andrew argues, must be engaged with users – for example finding out what young people in particular know and understand about skin cancer risks.

Swine Flu and the provision of antiviral drugs in Wandsworth

Swine flu seems to have well and truly arrived in Wandsworth and the PEC queried why drugs like Tamiflu could not be obtained from ordinary chemists rather than two designated health centres and one chemist in Tooting? If things get worse, the PEC wants to see these drugs available in all pharmacies in normal hours as well as a convenient out of hours service.

Money

NHS Wandsworth (NHSW) has a surplus at the moment of £6.3million. This gives NSHW some financial headroom to plan for the future. But government rules mean that any surplus has to be spent and not used to help out in a future with less money. So a deficit looks likely after 2011/12 and people will have to use the money they do get more efficiently. The NHSW board is discussing the future strategy needed to cope at their meeting on 29th July.

Other Business

The committee considered a report on user and patient engagement in the groupings of GP practices known as clusters where the situation is very mixed. A reminder was needed that involving patients was not an end in itself – there needed to be a purpose and some results.

NICE Work on Lower Back Pain

NICE is the body that issues advice on how best to treat people and a recent May publication gave guidance on lower back pain. The PCT has to act on such guidance and provide the services that do seem to work and decommission those that do not. The clinical effectiveness group will look at the NICE guidance and advise the PCT on what it needs to do.

For a copy of the full report of the meeting, go to the NHS Wandsworth website featuring Board Reports. All the PEC Lay Member reports can be found on the Resources menu under Health & Social Care.