Agenda and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

To receive the Minutes of the meeting of the Health Scrutiny Panel held on 22 September 2020

The minutes of the Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 22 September 2020 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

To receive the Minutes of the meeting of the Health Scrutiny Panel held on 13 October 2020

To Follow

The minutes of the Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 13 October 2020 were yet to be finalised and would be submitted for consideration by Members at the next panel meeting.

Mark Adams, Director of Public Heath (South Tees) (CCG) will be in attendance to provide an update on Covid-19 and the local Public Health / NHS response.

Recommendation: Panel notes the information provided.

Presentation

Presentation - TVCCG

The Director of Public Health (South Tees) was in attendance to provide the Panel with an update in respect of COVID-19 and the local Public Health and NHS response. The Director advised that at the last Health Scrutiny Panel meeting, as held on 13 October 2020, the 7 day rolling average figure for the COVID-19 infection rate in Middlesbrough was 268.8 per 100,000 (11 October 2020). Today that rate had climbed to 430 per 100,000 (8 November 2020).

Reference was made to the fact that Middlesbrough and Hartlepool had been placed in Tier 2 'high' restrictions from 3 October 2020. It was noted that although around 29 October the rates had started to decrease infection rates had since started to increase. There remained a high prevalence of infection in the community and the current rate of infection was similar to the highest rates seen in the previous peak.

In terms of the regional picture Middlesbrough's testing rate of 2,825 (1 - 7 November) was the highest in the North East, which indicated that access to testing was not an issue. The rate of positive tests at 13.6 per cent was high and a figure of 5 per cent would be an expected ratio. However, the rate was consistent with other Local Authorities in the North East region. 

In terms of analysis by age the figures showed that the prevalence of COVID-19 was highest in Middlesbrough amongst people of working age (age ranges 35-49, age 15-34 and age 50-64) with rates of between 350 and 450 per 100,000. Currently the rates amongst those aged 65+ was around the 200 per 100,000 figure. 

In relation to the approach that was being adopted to disrupt the spread and protect local communities it was advised that there were four main areas of activity:-

- Community Capacity Building

- Test and Trace

- Protecting Vulnerable People

- Covid-Safe Settings

Within each area specific work was being undertaken, for example, some of the work would be co-ordinated at a regional level including:-

- Mass Testing - Lateral Flow Tests(LFTs)

- NE Test, Trace & Isolate (TTI) Programme

- Building behavioural insights

In terms of the LFT's it was explained that Middlesbrough was anticipating receiving a large supply of LFT's (a weekly amount of 10 per cent of the population) and it was explained that these would be used to protect the most vulnerable people in our community. Across the North East the plan was that the LFT's would be used primarily for the following purposes: 

- Opening up testing to care home visitors

- Introducing testing amongst Domicilary Care staff

- Potentially testing Care Home staff more frequently than weekly

In addition the Local Authority was looking to develop a more locally enhanced contact tracing programme. The Panel was advised that currently the national system reached about 75 per cent of positive cases and less than that figure for contacts of cases. With the introduction of a locally enhanced programme after 8 hours the national contact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/23

Lisa Bosomworth, Healthwatch Development and Delivery Manager will be in attendance to provide an overview of the work undertaken by South Tees Healthwatch.

The findings of the South Tees Healthwatch 'Lockdown Survey' report, which highlights the experiences for local people of health and social care services, during lockdown will also be discussed.

Recommendation: Panel notes the information provided.

Report

The Development and Delivery Manager at South Tees Healthwatch was in attendance to provide the panel with an update in respect of the work undertaken by South Tees Healthwatch in 2019/20.

The panel was informed that a Healthwatch was established in every local authority area of England and it acted as the independent champion for people using local health and social care services. In summary ‘local Healthwatch's’ role was to:

- Listen to what people thought of services
- Use people's views to help shape better services
- Provide information about health and social care services locally.

Healthwatch Middlesbrough and Healthwatch Redcar & Cleveland had been working together across South Tees (HWST), since 1 April 2017.

The panel was advised that since the start of lockdown Healthwatch South Tees had wanted to gather local people's experiences, particularly when accessing and using health, social care and community support services. The aim of the 'Experiences of lockdown across South Tees' research was to shine a light on the positive actions that services had undertaken during lockdown, and to find out what could have been better, to help influence improvements based on public and patient experiences. Due to government guidance and lockdown restrictions, all surveys had to be shared online through Healthwatch's distribution lists and partnerships, social media channels, websites and monthly e-bulletins.

The surveys posted also explored the ‘new normal' in health and social care, asking questions about phone and video consultations, and whether going forward, people would be happy to have appointments in this digital way. It was advised that the findings of the report were supported by the qualitative study ‘The Dr Will Zoom You Now’, where Traverse, National Voices and Healthwatch England spoke to 49 people about their experience of remote consultations.

A copy of the report, as produced by South Tees Healthwatch was provided to the panel and it was explained that a great response had been provided by the community. In addition 300 letters / emails of thanks had been received highlighting the difference health, social care and community services had made to people's lives throughout lockdown. 

A summary of the key themes was provided as follows:-

-      People appreciated how efficient services had been in comparison to what they experienced before COVID-19.

-      Staff were described as friendly, helpful and supportive, which had  positive impact on experiences of services.

-      Safety measures in health and care settings, e.g. PPE and social distancing were critical for people to feel safe and at ease when attending face-to-face appointments, however the extent to which these were imposed varied between people's experiences of services.

-      Video calls were seen as an efficient, safe and reassuring way of accessing care in the current climate, however they weren't always thorough enough or appropriate for the patients' digital literacy, accessibility and actual care needs.

-      Some people's access to care had been affected by services' immediate reaction to COVID-19, e.g. postponement of operations.

-      Experiences of maternity services had been negatively affected by social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/24

A verbal update was provided in relation to the business conducted at the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 5 November 2020, namely:-

-      Executive forward work programme.

-      Middlesbrough Council Covid-19 Response - Chief Executive and Director of Public Health.

-      Executive Member update - Deputy Mayor and Lead Member for Children's Social Care (Councillor High)

-      OSB Membership

-      Final Report - Adult Social Care & Services Scrutiny Panel - Physical Activity for older people (65+)

-      Final Report - Children & Young People's Learning Scrutiny Panel - Addressing Poverty Issues and the impact on learning.

-      Final Report - Economic Development, Environment & Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel - Teesside Crematorium

-      Scrutiny Panel Chairs Updates.

AGREED that the information provided be noted.