Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online

Contact: Emma James / Jo Weston  Overview and Scrutiny Officers

Media

Items
No. Item

1003.

Apologies and Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone and confirmed the arrangements for the remote meeting.

 

Apologies had been received from Mr P Grove, Prof J W Raine and Mr C B Taylor.

1004.

Declarations of Interest and of any Party Whip

Minutes:

None.

1005.

Public Participation

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 26 January 2021). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

Minutes:

None.

1006.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Previously circulated

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 16 November 2020 were agreed as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

1007.

Update on Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Minutes:

Attending for this Item were:

 

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Mari Gay, Managing Director (Worcestershire)

 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT)

Sue Harris, Director of Strategy and Partnerships

 

Worcestershire County Council (the Council)

Dr Kathryn Cobain, Director of Public Health

 

The Chairman explained that given the current immense pressure on acute services, he had agreed that representation from Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT) was not necessary at this time, and that the Managing Director (CCG) would provide a system wide update, with input from colleagues representing HWHCT and Public Health.

 

The Managing Director (CCG) reported that Worcestershire’s health and social care organisations continued to work as one system for the benefit of residents, however, there were some very difficult decisions being made to prioritise care, with executive leaders meeting daily, seven days a week.

 

Until the middle of December, restoration of health services in Worcestershire had been progressing fairly well, however, since then, and since the rise to UK alert level 5 from 4 January, there had been a very rapid increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, which was impacting heavily on both Primary and Secondary Care at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine delivery campaign.

 

As of 22 January, there had been daily increases in the number of positive cases, the number of hospital admissions, the number of intensive care beds required and the number of deaths.  However, early indications suggested that the Worcestershire situation may be stabilising, which could be attributed to the impact of the national Lockdown and the vaccine rollout.

 

There was continued pressure on the workforce across the system, not only through sickness absence, but also on staff redeployed to deliver the vaccine and manage patient flow.  Staff had been redeployed to support additional ICU beds and also to support patients to be discharged home to keep as many acute beds available as possible.  Military assistance had been sought, for non-clinical roles which if approved, would be welcomed.

 

Commissioners hoped that when the situation was more stable, the restoration of services could recommence in order of priority, however, they recognised that it would be more challenging than previously due to the increased numbers of patients waiting, especially for non-urgent surgery.  The independent hospital sector continued to be fully utilised, however, the workforce was finite and staff wellbeing was a key priority.

 

Care Homes had managed very well, despite high levels of outbreaks, and support was available from both the Acute and Council Quality Assurance Teams.

 

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were raised:

 

·         As of 22 January, 20 more patients were in hospital beds than at the peak of the first wave and 32 intensive care beds were in use.  As of 26 January, the figure had fallen from 32 to 23

·         The current wave grew much quicker and was lasting longer.  Evidence suggested that the following two weeks would be difficult, however, there were early signs of stabilisation

·         The age profile of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1007.

1008.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Round-up pdf icon PDF 137 KB

Minutes:

Members had nothing to note at this time.

1009.

Work Programme 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

No Items were added to the Work Programme.