Venue: Council Chamber
Contact: Scott Bonner
No. | Item |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were
no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting. |
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Minutes - Health Scrutiny Panel - 16 February 2021 PDF 156 KB Minutes: The minutes of the Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 16 February
2021 were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Minutes- Health Scrutiny Panel - 23 March 2021 PDF 216 KB Minutes: The minutes of the Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 23 March 2021 were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Proposed Schedule of Meetings Dates for the 2021/2022 Municipal Year PDF 13 KB Minutes: The Chair presented
the Panel with prospective meeting dates for the forthcoming municipal year and
sought any comments. ORDERED: That the proposed meeting dates for the
forthcoming municipal year be agreed. |
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Covid-19 Update Mark Adams, Director
of Public Heath (South Tees) will be in attendance to provide an update on
COVID-19 and the local Public Health / NHS response. Minutes: The Chair
welcomed the Joint Director for Public Health to the meeting and invited him to
provide an update on the current Covid situation. During
his presentation the Director made the following points: ·
Infection
rates in northern parts of the South Tees were growing in a similar way to
areas such as Newcastle. ·
The
Teesside areas were experiencing lower rates than others in the North East,
however rates were picking up in the North East generally. ·
The
upward trajectory of infections showed slow growth in Middlesbrough,
but it was unlikely this rate would remain slow and plateau. ·
Infections
for those in the 0-19 age group had risen but plateaued whereas those in the
20-39 year age group had continued to rise. ·
There
was a clear impact of the vaccination programme given
infection rates for those within the 60+ age group was much smaller. ·
While
there was less concern regarding hospital activity for younger people there
were concerns regarding “Long Covid” in this age
category as this was not fully understood. ·
Previous
trends had also shown that peaks starting in younger age groups worked their
way through to older age groups, although the vaccination programme
had slowed this. ·
Positivity
rates were picking up, but were still quite low. ·
Infection
rates were spread across the town with no specific area affected. However there
was no need for surge testing at that point. ·
With
regard to hospital statistics; there were currently 12 in-patients in South
Tees which was a slight increase. ·
While
these numbers were not causing immediate concern the numbers were being
monitored. ·
James
Cook Hospital was standing up activity that was lost during the Pandemic, so
any increase to patient numbers due to Covid would impact
on this further. ·
Northumberland
had the highest vaccination rate nationally with 85.7%. This was reflected in
other rural more affluent areas of the country. Middlesbrough
and Newcastle were positioned at the bottom of the list for vaccinations as
these areas were generally younger and had more problems with deprivation. ·
Middlesbrough had a single dose vaccination rate of 67.5%. A Member
queried if the information being presented was current and what was being done
to redress Middlesbrough’s low vaccination rate. It
was confirmed the information was up to the 21st June 2021 and that
various initiatives were being undertaken with Primary Care Networks to
increase vaccine take-up, and to raise awareness of the vaccine. Examples
included the Covid MELISSA Bus and moving to drop-in
rather than booking models for distributing vaccines. It was
noted that vaccine take-up numbers may not increase significantly initially as
this was a longer-term strategy. Members were invited to suggest ideas to
increase vaccine take-up. A Member queried what messages could be transmitted across Social Media to increase awareness and dispel inaccurate information. It was clarified there were numerous initiatives being employed to communicate and promote the vaccination programme. This included the every concept counts approach whereby the message of vaccine take-up was transmitted to care givers who ... view the full minutes text for item 21/5 |
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Overview of Service Areas Mark Adams, Director of Public Health (South Tees) will be in attendance to provide the Panel with an overview of the key areas of work undertaken by Public Health South Tees. Minutes: The Joint
Director of Public Health provided an overview of his service and made the
following points: ·
The
position of Director for Public Health was statutorily mandated since the
passing of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. ·
The
statutory duties if the Public Health Service were often wrapped up in other
legislation which meant there was often no clear distinction between Public
Health services the services supported by Public Health. As the
National Childhood Weight Management Programme was a mandated
service a Member queried the accuracy of that programme
as they felt it could be stigmatic for children to be labelled as obese. It was
clarified that while the system for measuring children’s weight via the BMI
index was not perfect it was something that could not be changed locally as it
was a national programme. The Chair stated that it
was an issue that could be brought back to the Committee as part of its work programme. The
Director continued with his presentation and made the following points: ·
The
service was also required to be part of the Health and Wellbeing Board and to
create Joint Strategic Needs Assessment which fed into the Joint Strategic
Health and Wellbeing Strategy which ran until 2023, as well as creating the
Pharmaceutical needs assessment. A Member queried how the Joint Strategic Needs
Assessment was being made available. It was confirmed that the JSNA was more accessible via web formats given the nature
of its content. It was also clarified the JSNA needed
to be updated going forward. ·
One
of the principles that Public Health operated to was the offer of service
across all areas but to target those services at some groups, so called
“proportionate universalism”. Public Health’s job was to understand and
appreciate different needs and how those needs were expressed. · Some of the key issues that Public Health were addressing were inequalities in life expectancy and health outcomes; reducing mortality and morbidity from preventable causes; and ensuring local population health is protected from infectious and communicable disease. ·
One
of the approaches used by Public Health was the population intervention
triangle, which it was hoped would allow a more focused approach to Service,
Civic and Community interventions and services. Ultimately, this model tried to
move away from simply providing a service. ·
Public
Health’s values were based on a model of five Programmes,
five Business Imperatives and three Levels of intervention across the life
course. A Member queried what successes the Heroin
Assisted Treatment had seen. It was clarified that the evidence suggested the programme had been successful with the small number of
participants involved. It was also clarified that the Police and Crime
Commissioner was supportive of treatment being provided through the ADDER programme although his primary objective was to address the
issue of drugs as a crime rather than as a public health issue. It was also
confirmed that there was no immediate threat to the funding available to the programme. · The key issues and ... view the full minutes text for item 21/6 |
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Review Topic Outline - Health for Wealth PDF 670 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair and Democratic Services Officer advised the Panel that this review had been planned during the previous municipal year, but given the Panel’s different composition for the municipal year 2021-2022 it was prudent to outline the rationale and methodology for the review and invited comments from Members. A Member suggested that, as part of the review, previous statistics relating to life expectancy rates across Middlesbrough be revisited to understand if any change had taken place. It was also suggested that representatives from the Health and Wellbeing Board be asked to attend to provide evidence. A Member suggested that regular updates be provided to the Panel regarding progress in respite care at Aygarth and Bankfield. A Member also suggested inviting the Clinical Directors of the Primary Care Networks to introduce themselves to the Panel. ORDERED: 1. That the Health Inequalities review as presented to the Panel be undertaken; 2. That previous life expectancy statistics across Middlesbrough be fed into the Health Inequalities review; 3. That representatives of the Health and Wellbeing Board be invited to provide evidence in pursuance of the Health Inequalities review; 4. That regular updates be brought to the Panel regarding respite care at Aygarth and Bankfield and; 5. That the Clinical Directors of the Primary Care Networks in Middlesbrough be invited to the Panel by means of general introduction and service overview and |
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Setting the Scrutiny Panel’s Work Programme for 2021/2022 PDF 300 KB Minutes: The Chair
outlined the proposed work programme for the
Municipal Year 2021-2022. From the
proposed work topics the Panel were keen to explore: ·
Health
Inequalities – accessibility to Health Care ·
PFI Schemes at James Cook Hospital ·
Women’s
Health and Infant Feeding and ·
Dental
Health A Member
queried if it was possible to understand which NHS PFI
contracts had been paid back. In addition
to the topics cited in the report the Panel were keen to receive information
relating to the impact the Covid Pandemic has had on
Mental Health. In addition
to the updates cited in the work programme report,
and following a recommendation from the Adult Social Care’s Scrutiny Panel report
into the LGBT+ community, the Panel were also keen to
receive information from various Health providers relating to how those
identifying as LGBT+ accessed health care. ORDERED: That the topics identified from the work programme report and Member discussion be examined in the
Municipal Year 2021-2022. |
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Any other urgent items which in the opinion of the Chair, may be considered Minutes: None. |