Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online only

Contact: Emma James / Jo Weston  Overview and Scrutiny Officers

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies and Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the first HOSC following the local elections and outlined the arrangements for the informal meeting, which was being held remotely and livestreamed on YouTube so that members of the public could observe.  The meeting was therefore not classed as a public meeting.

2.

Declarations of Interest and of any Party Whip

Minutes:

Cllr Lynn Denham and Cllr Mike Johnson declared an Interest as they were both in receipt of an NHS pension.

3.

Update on Health Services and Temporary Service Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic pdf icon PDF 206 KB

Minutes:

Attending for this Item were:

 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (HWCCG)

Emily Godfrey, Associate Director of Programme Management

 

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAHT)

Paul Brennan, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer

 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT)

Sue Harris, Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships

 

Worcestershire County Council (the Council)

Kathryn Cobain, Director of Public Health

 

Update on Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

The Associate Director of Programme Management took the HOSC through the Report, highlighting the following key points:

 

·         The NHS had continued to provide urgent and non-urgent treatment throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst taking steps to protect patients

·         The pressure on staff, beds and equipment combined with enhanced infection protection and social distancing had resulted in patients waiting much longer for treatment

·         The COVID-19 vaccination programme had been a success, meaning that the NHS was in a position to refocus its efforts on a recovery plan ensuring that priority was given to patients in most need of urgent treatment

·         The national NHS Operational Planning guidance, released on 25 March 2021, had resulted in a single Herefordshire and Worcestershire reset and recovery plan taking into account the strategic goals of the NHS Long Term Plan

·         The local Plan included areas such as agreeing key priority risk areas, financial and workforce challenges, embedding learning from the pandemic and communication strategies at all levels

·         Senior Leaders from across the Herefordshire and Worcestershire health and social care economy were meeting weekly to oversee the delivery of the Reset and Recovery Plan as a system, mindful that COVID-19 would impact the programme for some time.

 

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

 

·         A Member asked about the GP provision for Tenbury in particular the difficulties in the GP practice wishing to expand into to the Hospital due to an increase in population, yet the indicative costs being prohibitive.  In response, it was reported that discussions were ongoing, but conversations, especially around finance, would become easier when the Integrated Care System (ICS) was in place

·         When asked what assumptions were made when the Reset and Recovery Plan was written, Members heard that meetings were taking place daily to ensure plans could progress, however, at the time of writing, COVID-19 cases in Worcestershire were at around half of the England figure.  At the time of the HOSC, the figure was much higher, with around 330 new community transmitted cases each week.  Plans were in place for a third wave of COVID-19

·         The number of COVID-19 patients being admitted to Hospital was small, although admissions had doubled in the previous 10 days.  If NHS projections were accurate locally, the restoration of services may need to be paused.  It was noted that all admitted patients had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine

·         Length of stay was now also significantly reduced.  In Wave 1, average length of stay was 12 days, in Wave 2 it had been 11 days and at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Year End Budget Monitoring / Outturn pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Finance outlined the Year End 2020/21 financial position in relation to the Public Health Ring Fenced Grant (PHRFG) by stating that although the Council had expected to use PHRFG Reserves during the year, there had been no requirement to do so.  100% of the PHRFG had been used in year, with the PHRFG Reserve maintained at £6.4m.  In addition, all external grants had been fully utilised, and the year had been financially positive with a £30,078m spend, which included support for the Worcestershire response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Chairman asked Officers how often they would suggest reporting the PHRFG to the HOSC, with the Director of Public Health suggesting that twice yearly would be more appropriate than quarterly given the limited scope of the PHRFG.

 

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Health and Wellbeing advised Members that the Health and Wellbeing Board was currently undergoing a review of governance and that she was looking forward to working with the HOSC for the benefit of Worcestershire residents.

 

A Member asked whether the PHRFG was adequate and how the County’s allocation compared to other local authorities.  In response, it was reported that the PHRFG had seen a national 1% increase this year.  The Director added that when comparing public health outcomes, Worcestershire performed really well, although there was always more that could be done.  It was agreed that an Item on Public Health Outcomes would be added to the Work Programme.

 

For clarity, a PHRFG contribution towards the Dawns Project mentioned under Children’s Prevention services, was the DAWN (Domestic Abuse Working Network) Project.  The Director stated that there was an ongoing piece of work around domestic abuse with all statutory partners, however, it was a complex area and would need further discussion to bring all the pieces together.

 

A Member asked whether Officers linked in with the National Institute for Health Research, to be informed that Public Health Officers benefited from its research every day.  The Director would not rule out putting in a research bid to the Institute, however, the application stage was very detailed and the chance of success low. 

 

The HOSC agreed:

·         that a Report on the PHRFG would be provided twice a year

·         that a Report on comparative data (spend and outcome) from previous years and other local authorities would be added to the Work Programme.

5.

Review of the Work Programme pdf icon PDF 133 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The HOSC had been asked to review the 2021/22 Work Programme.  Several additions were made:

 

·         Health Inequalities

·         Physiotherapy Services

·         X Ray Service

·         Dental Services

·         Primary Care (GP) Access

·         Screening and Immunisation

·         Mental Health (initial overview, with the challenges to be highlighted, i.e. Dementia diagnosis rates)

·         Public Health Outcomes, including promoting active lifestyles, targeting rising obesity levels, prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy etc

 

Furthermore:

 

·         The Item on the Impact on A&E Services to changes in access to GPs/NHS111/MIU should include the Ambulance Service

·         A query around non-emergency transport not carrying a defibrillator would be followed up by Scrutiny Officers.

 

The revised Work Programme would be discussed at OSPB on 21 July and agreed by Council in due course.