BOROUGH chiefs are being urged to be ‘open about the good news’ being made in health and social care.

Cllr Lynn Riley, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Conservative opposition, is pushing for health and wellbeing board meetings to be broadcast online.

The member for Frodsham believes it is just one way that residents should be kept informed about how the council is working together with local NHS bodies to ensure they get the care they need.

“I spent quite a bit of my time over Christmas talking to residents who are really quite worried,” she said.

“They are older residents who are quite bothered and frightened because all they hear is that they are going to be on a trolley, that they are not going to be cared for when they are unwell.

“I think we need to start saying something a bit more reassuring. We are doing great work here but we are not talking about it – and that needs to change.”

The health and wellbeing board is made up of councillors from across the political divide, plus CWAC officers and representatives from the borough’s NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, housing trusts, Healthwatch and Cheshire Fire and Rescue.

At Wednesday’s meeting, members discussed spending £2,000 a year to use CWAC’s webcasting service to broadcast the meetings.

Conservative councillors proposed an amendment to this year’s budget to set aside funds publicising the work of the borough’s health partnership, but this was rejected.

Cllr Riley insists she ‘fails to understand’ why CWAC and its health partners wouldn’t want to shout about the work they are doing together at a time when pressure on the NHS has dominated the headlines.

And she believes it would be ‘political conspiracy’ if future meetings are still not broadcast to a wider audience.

“We don’t spend anything on talking about the great work we do together and then we don’t understand why people are a bit confused about the care they receive,” Cllr Riley

“Why does a Labour leader not want to talk about the positive work that she is doing with our partners in health? I think it’s because it will spoil her next Labour leaflet that says ‘NHS cuts’.

“If you ask any member of the partnership around the table if their budget has been cut – which we do at scrutiny – the honest answer from chief executives at health trusts is ‘no’.”

At Wednesday’s meeting members of the health and wellbeing board considered trialling online broadcasts for their meetings in the next civic year, which begins in May.

Cllr Samantha Dixon, CWAC leader, reminded the committee that it doesn’t currently have a budget, and costs would have to be agreed between all parties.

She added that the cost of webcasting would be more than £2,000 a year if the meetings are held in several locations across the borough as they currently are, rather than just at the council’s headquarters in Chester.

Tracy Bullock, chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “£2,000 is not a vast sum of money but we are all operating in challenging times.

“For any other expense we would consider if it is a must have, a should have or a could have, and at the moment only must haves get the investment. For me, webcasting is a ‘nice to do’.”

But Dr Chris Ritchieson, chairman of West Cheshire CCG, told the committee that webcasts of his governing body’s public meetings had increased public engagement.

Cllr Paul Dolan, CWAC cabinet member for health and adult social care, added: “I would like to see it, but if there is no interest then we can’t justify it.”

The committee agreed to look into webcasting future meetings.

Following Cllr Riley’s comments, Cllr Dixon told the Guardian: “I have never expressed any objection to the health and wellbeing board being webcast. 

“It is a decision that the board members needed to agree to as they did yesterday.”