Councillor Ketan Sheth (Lab) 
It’s a testing but all-too-familiar mix: funding cuts from central government, skyrocketing demand for local services, a growing population, tough choices, and communities vulnerable as they recover from the pandemic.
There was a lot of national media commentary and coverage about the role of the NHS at the General Election, which was unsurprising given all the commitments major political parties …
Many members of health overview and scrutiny committees will feel that their role is a complex task. In my experience, this area of scrutiny becomes even more demanding when there is a joint committee, involving a number of local authorities, to scrutinise health services across a large area.
The term ‘winter pressures’ is a phrase we hear regularly during that busy season, as hospitals struggle to meet demand – but what does it mean in practice? That’s what my scrutiny committee wanted to find out when we discussed this issue earlier in the year.
More people than ever have diabetes and are at risk of type 2 diabetes. If nothing changes, warns Diabetes UK, more than five million people will have the condition in the UK by 2025.